Covering windows: an alternative to blinds

In the master bathroom, there's a lovely large window over the tub.  It lets in lots of natural light and has a nice thick ledge to house various items.  The only problem is that it's covered by white blinds (did I mention that the walls are white as is the tile?).

I had thought about putting up curtains, but I'd still have to put something up for privacy's sake.  While trolling the internet, I came across the idea of starching fabric to the window (you can apparently also do it on walls as well).  While I read tons of posts on the idea and sadly didn't bookmark them all, I did save two of my favorites here and here.

So here's the breakdown on my first experience:

The first problem I ran in to was that my window is 47 inches square.  This means that any fabric I found would be a few inches shy.  So what I decided to do was find a patterned paper for the middle and create a fabric frame around it in a darker color.

Here's the fabric I found:

I'm going for a pseudo Morrocan/Asian, generic international vibe in my bathroom.  I thought the lotus like shapes worked well, and the colors were perfect for the space.  I cut the fabric to fit the window, with some spare fabric in case it shrunk (it did a little, but not much).

Then I mixed 1/4 cup corn starch with 1/2 cup cold water, and added 4 cups hot water.  Even for the large space I had to cover, it made a lot of liquid.

The rest is pretty simple, if a bit time consuming.  Get your fabric wet and hang it on the surface.  Here's the husband hanging the fabric for me.  My poor short arms just couldn't reach.

Here's the finished product with the frame around it (please forgive the crookedness).  During the day it looks a bit off, but at night it looks really good.  I'm thinking I might try a heavy ribbon or something like that to frame it out, something that's not so sheer.

I'd definitely recommend giving this a try, especially if you're in a rental, dorm, or have an awkward space like I do.