This fall, images of my own home started making their way around the internet. I shared my home tour with our friends at The Everygirl, did a product recap here on #RueDaily, and spoke with the team at Barn & Willow about using their custom drapery to create my dream view. In all of the features, I mention that our bedroom was one of the toughest spaces for me to decorate. In the spirit of sharing “real life” moments — you know, beyond an overly-filtered Instagram photo — I wanted to get candid and show the before & after images.

Our bedroom is on the smaller side, and there is a window or door on every single wall. This made furniture placement a little difficult. Where the bed is now offers the best flow, but the window behind it looks directly at my neighbor’s driveway. Our home is on a slight hill, so this means we see their car tires and sneakers, and they have a view down onto our pillows. (Yikes!) Since my husband and I rent, a fence or creative landscaping isn’t reasonable. I needed to find a great solution for window coverings.

As you’ll see in the slideshow’s “before” pictures, I first chose some patterned curtains from H&M. I hoped that they would look a bit like wallpaper and be a nice focal point in the room. But since they weren’t blackout, it ended up just highlighting the low quality of the textile. I could have gotten a blackout lining, but realized I didn’t actually love the pattern all that much. On the adjacent window, I had hung IKEA curtains from our previous apartment. They were too long for the ceilings and I often tied them up — tacky! It also made the room feel congested and much smaller to have drapes in such a small walkway. 

While updating Rue’s shopping directory, I clicked on Barn & Willow and fell in love with the serene aesthetic of the brand. I realized that custom window coverings would be a perfect solution! I I picked a Roman shade for the side window, which made the space feel much bigger. For behind the bed, I ordered custom drapes with interlining, which is blackout and noise reducing. I wanted both to just blend into the wall, so I ordered swatches from Barn & Willow beforehand and color matched to the existing paint. 

Once we installed the new window coverings, the room felt totally peaceful and put together, which is what I’d hoped for. The process with Barn & Willow was incredibly easy and I felt a little silly I hadn’t jumped on the custom train sooner. 

Are there any spaces in your home that you have trouble decorating?