Choosing Drapery Fabric with The Shade Store

Well, this is hard. I’ve been writing about design for how long? But coming to a decision on which kind of fabric will look right on the long, skinny windows above our bed is positively agonizing. As the lovely Teresa Knizner told me at The Shade Store’s Mosaic District shop, what looks great in the showroom might not look as nice in your room.

During my sponsorship with The Shade Store, I’m chronicling our path to choosing window treatments in our new master bedroom to replace the old, tired vertical blinds that are currently there:

I fell in love with this modern-organic floral pattern from Dwell Studio, which you can see above on the swatches. It also looked great (of course) in the showroom:

The Shade Store has a rendering service where it can show you what the fabric might look like installed. And this is what I got back:

OMG. Too, too much. Right? I went back for more options and got scared straight—into a plain linen shade with a dark border. And this was my Goldilocks moment: Too strong on one end, but too bland on the other:

Teresa has been very patient with me. She’s like my new confidante. Witnessing my e-mail agony, she came back with her own combo—staying with the solids, but playing with texture.

I’m liking this better, but still not swooning. The texture is very close to the nubby orange-cremecicle cloth on our Lee Industries armchair, so it has that going for it. And it definitely doesn’t compete with the glorious Romo fabric on my skirted table and kidney pillow—or the cool ikat on the bolster (in fact, it picks up some of that fabric’s brown tones).

But is it the right choice? Sigh. I’m going back for a third time this Friday, and am thinking positive thoughts. I KNOW there is an answer there, with all The Shade Store’s designer collections and dozens more options in linen, cotton, wool—you name it.

This one I might ask for in a rendering, for example:

For extra help, I’m taking one of my best friends, designer Victoria Sanchez, along for the ride. She’s the one who got me to put the bed where it is—and she doesn’t pull any punches. Wish me luck!