An Elevated Look with Custom Shades, Surprisingly Easy!
// The blog post is part of a paid partnership with Bali Blinds, experience and views are our own.
The Cowboy Room has always been one of our favorites. It's a space that has evolved organically over time and with every step we have fallen deeper in love with it. Nowadays it functions as a guest room, an office, and above all else, a plant sanctuary.
The Cowboy Room gets the best morning light of any room in our home. As the warm light streams in the natural textures and materials that we have incorporated are highlighted in the best of ways.
But that's the thing about rooms (or anything really), there is always that one thing, right? Even after a room is “finished” there is something you will eventually change? You may (like us) not even realize it at the time.
In this particular instance it was the blinds. We installed stock window blinds as an afterthought when we realized guests were on their way and we wanted to spare them from the early morning wakeup. They do the job, they are functional - but they are less than inspired. They're white, plasticity look does nothing to add to the aesthetic of the room, in fact, they may even detract from it.
Here’s where Bali Natural Shades come in. We were immediately impressed by their selection of natural woven materials as well as the variations of shades you can select from. Their shades are made to order, using measurements you can take yourself, making custom window treatments really accessible. We quickly realized this is exactly what the space was missing.
Selecting Finishes
We started by deciding what kind of materials we wanted to go with. Do we want to contrast with the trim? Tie in the warm tones of the room? On the Bali website you can easily order free samples of all the options you are considering. We were very happy with how generous the size of the samples were when they arrived as it made it much easier to visualize the possibilities.
After much discussion, we eventually decided to go with Antigua, Bahia (left). It’s a warmer tone that will tie into the wood furniture and draw the eye up. We added a Room-Darkening Liner in Snow White to block out light so our guests can sleep in (if they dare) and finished the edges with a chocolate brown 1” edge banding.
Shade Style
There are a variety of styles and control types to choose from:
We decided to go with Old Style to match shades we have elsewhere on the second floor. This is a really classic roman shade look that we have found we really love. It’s both functional and adds a lot of texture to the top of the window when drawn open.
Measuring
Measuring the windows for your custom size can be intimidating - luckily, Bali has a really great blog post here that walks you through the entire process. We followed these instructions step-by-step and (Spoiler!) the finished shades ended up fitting perfectly.
Ordering
With our measurements and selections worked out it’s time to order! You can order from a variety of locations, Bali lists them here. There are options for ordering entirely online, or you can go into one of your local Big Box stores to order them with in-house professionals. We opted to head to a local Lowe’s in order to see real examples of shades and browse the sample books. Here we were able to get even more information on edge banding, backing liners, etc.
For reference, I’ll include a full list of our selections at the bottom of this post!
Installation
They’re here! Now what? Once you receive your shades in the mail, it's time to install them. This was surprisingly easy and yet again, Bali has some great resources online to walk you through the process. You’ll also receive printed instructions in the box.
You don’t need a lot of tools and the bracket system they use is really smart. If you’re like me the “click” of the bracket at the end makes the installation process incredibly satisfying.
The Final Look
So here they are in all their glory! We are so happy with how they turned out. It really makes the Cowboy Room feel complete and fully cohesive.
We loved them so much we even got another set for The Princess Room! We think this muted Sahara tone adds just the right level of contrast to the room.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the product or process! Send us an email or drop us a DM on instagram.
Thanks! - Stephen & David
Ordering Details
// Cowboy Room
Material: Antigua Bahia
Shade Syle: Od Style Shades
Control Type: Continuous Loop Lift
Shade Type: Standard Shade
Valance Style: None
Deco-Trim Valance Style: N/A
Hem Type: Standard Hem
Hem Style: N/A
Fabric Edge Banding: 1” in Chocolate
Liner Type: Room-Darkening Liner in Snow White
Multiple Shades on One Headrail: N/A
// Princess Room
Material: Framework Sahara
Shade Syle: Od Style Shades
Control Type: Continuous Loop Lift
Shade Type: Standard Shade
Valance Style: None
Deco-Trim Valance Style: N/A
Hem Type: Standard Hem
Hem Style: N/A
Fabric Edge Banding: 1” in Taupe
Liner Type: Room-Darkening Liner in Snow White
Multiple Shades on One Headrail: N/A
