As we slowly start to tackle the less glamorous tasks in our master bathroom—like repairing cracked plaster or evicting Blanche Devereaux and the rest of the Golden Girls-inspired design choices—I find myself turning my attention to the eye candy that will some day reside in the space.
From sexy tub faucets and absurdly large rain shower heads to the perfectly glitzy vanity mirror, I've spent...ahem...years dreaming about, contemplating, researching, and in some cases purchasing the best option for our bathroom.
Sure, there have been many design hurdles along the way that have left me feeling stumped. But for the vast majority we've worked through our aesthetic angst and have pulled the trigger. After all, I've settled on the perfect claw foot faucet (not a drippy-looking nozzle in sight).
I've been hoarding a vintage claw foot tub as well as all of the faucets and hardware in our basement for years.
After serious debate, we settled on a style of wainscoting, and purchased an antique buffet to transform into a vanity.
I even scored the ginormous mirror on sale!
From everything I've just outlined, it would seem we've pretty much settled on just about every design decision there is except for the tile, and we have a good idea on that one too.
But there's one design nut item I've yet to crack: fabric.
We have one lonely window in the back corner of the room. The original sash have seen better days, as in about 100 years ago, and a total restoration and reglazing is on our list of to dos. The window also is home to a pair of original shutters (similar to our bedroom). While a bit bleached from the sun and splattered with the paint of a bygone careless handyman, they'll look much better after we spend some time on them.
The window, while a really cool and truly original feature of the room, is one of the few places we're looking to introduce pattern, color, and a lot of personality. The fixed elements such as the tile and vanity will lean more to the traditional and neutral side of the spectrum, as they'd be harder to replace as my tastes change in the future. Fabric, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive and isn't difficult to change down the road.
What I know for certain is that I want nothing like we inherited when we bought the house in 2003. Here's the one and only photo, taken during our home inspection, of the stunning Laura Ashley fabric, circa 1983, hemmed into a stylish balloon valance, reminiscent of an old lady's bunchy undergarments. Me-ow fellas.
In a true act of self loathing and desperation, this valance unseated itself and leapt to its death just a few months after we moved into the house. I know what you're thinking, but we didn't touch it. We took the window treatment's suicide as a sign, and welcomed the fact that this project crossed itself off the ole to-do list well before we ever had to tackle it on our own. We unceremoniously tossed it in the trash and didn't look back. But as much as I'm looking to find a suitable replacement, I'm not thrilled with anything I've seen thus far.
I'm looking for a fabric that can be a bit more fun and whimsical, since the rest of the room will be relatively straight laced. We're leaning toward carrara marble, know we'll paint the trim an antique white (to match the trim throughout the rest of our home), and I'd like the color scheme to complement the adjacent master bedroom.
So that means I'm looking for a fabric that will be gray and white or off white, with blue, turquoise, and/or sea glass green in it.
In terms of style of window treatment, I'm leaning toward full length panels. I know, I know, it seems like a bit of bizarre choice given the proximity of the window to the location of the claw foot tub. But I like the look of full length drapes, want to be able to close them to keep out any winter drafts (that would seriously affect the bathing experience, after all), and am obsessed with the full length drapes/claw foot combo that Sarah Richardson used in her farmhouse bathroom.
I also have an extra curtain rod that matches the ones in our bedroom, so I'm all set.
Some of the options I've looked at so far (from Calico Corners and onlinefabricstore.net) include:
I like some of them, but can't say I've locked eyes with "the one."
So I'm hoping you can help. Do you think any of these options are strong contenders? Do you have an online resource for modern and chic fabrics? If so, I'd love to hear where your go to stop is for your fabric needs.