Today I’m talking about my ceiling mounted shower curtain rod and DIY fabric shower curtain with removable liner – but the really exciting news is that the lakehouse bath reno is done! After all of our setbacks, do you want to know what held us up the most? This shower curtain! Oh well, it was worth it because this floor to ceiling turquoise shower curtain is so gorgeous. I love the chic ceiling mounted shower curtain rod and everything about this functions perfectly, so that’s a win in my books – even if it took a lot of trial and error!
Here’s a run down of the hilariously drawn out process, with DIY fails galore, plus I’ll share how we made this DIY shower curtain and why we love our ceiling mounted shower curtain rod, with the fabric + liner shower curtain combo, so much.
Plan #1 – Tension Shower Curtain Rod:
Before I got the ceiling mounted shower curtain rod, the plan was to slap up a tension rod and hang a pretty linen shower curtain. I wanted to try a fabric curtain + waterproof liner combo because it seemed like just the right amount of fancy for our new bathroom – something different than the polyester Marimekko Tuuli shower curtain we had in the townhouse bathroom (here’s a similar birch tree shower curtain). The first tension rod we ordered arrived broken and we tried to fix it, but it still came crashing down one night. For the second attempt we searched high and low in our city, hoping we could examine it carefully for any defects before purchasing. We finally found one, but it didn’t have enough of a surface area to grip our textured tile, so it came crashing down too. We decided we’d have to get a curtain rod that was affixed more firmly but, having realized how much work it is to drill into tile, neither of us wanted to tackle that – or tempt fate and risk cracking our freshly tile shower surround. More importantly, by this point I realized that I really didn’t love the look of a shower curtain rod inside the shower nook because the height made the room seem stumpy. It was time to think outside the box.
Plan #2 – Ceiling Mounted Shower Curtain Rod:
My Mom brought over one of the brushed nickel West Elm curtain rods from her bedroom and we played with some options: mounted right above the shower? Maybe placed a little higher, near the ceiling? It was the craziest option of all of them – a ceiling mounted shower curtain rod – that had Hubby, Mom and I oooo’ing and ahhhh’ing. A ceiling mounted shower rod made such a statement! The floor to ceiling height felt grand. Was it weird, though? I immediately took to Pinterest and found some inspiration in my Bathroom Design Inspiration board. This bathroom had a gorgeous ceiling mounted rod and it sealed the deal for me – but this one and this one made me realize it’s really not that unheard of to go for a ceiling mounted shower curtain rod, even if I don’t see it done that often. I was sold on the idea!
But we couldn’t steal Mom’s curtain rod (which West Elm discontinued), so we needed to find a simple, modern rod with small, ceiling mounted brackets and a brushed nickel finish. That is not an easy thing to track down! I looked online for weeks to no avail and drove to all of the home reno and curtain shops in town – finally tracking down the perfect rod (since finding one, I did spot a somewhat similar rod online, if you’re looking for one). Mine was a custom order from Budget Blinds (which, at $200 for a curtain rod, wasn’t as budget-friendly as I had hoped!). It took a couple of weeks to arrive, and then we still had to cut the rod to length ourselves and install it – you could see a sneak peek of the new curtain rod in my last bathroom update. The ceiling mounted shower curtain rod is excellent quality and it matches the Kohler fixtures exactly, which is important because brushed nickel finishes can really vary and some of them look very, very cheap.
Plan #2A – Gathered Shower Curtain:
I had decided against curtain rings, for some bizarre reason, hoping to create a similar curtain ring-less look as my DIY back tab curtains. I hatched a plan to add a channel to a store-bought shower curtain and my plan went horribly, horribly wrong. It looked so 80s! How did it end up so ruffly? Another week, and lots of thread, wasted.
Plan #2B – Curtain Rings:
Live and learn! I headed back into town to Budget Blinds to order rings, but the owner is the only one who can order things and she was busy so a week went by and I texted every day but she still didn’t/couldn’t get around to it. I gave up and was actually at Fabricland, buying curtain rings, when she called to say that the order had been placed. Curtain rings ultimately added a couple of weeks to my timeline, but I have to admit that these do slide reeealllly nicely and they look really sharp.
Plan #2C – Fancy Metallic Linen Fabric:
In the meantime, I realized the linen shower curtain I had bought, although it was supposed to be long enough, wasn’t actually going to reach the floor everywhere. It hovered in a couple of spots because the hem wasn’t sewn evenly. My Mom and I headed to Fabricland for fabric ideas but I also ordered some samples of a metallic linen. Those samples got lost by Canada Post and took three weeks to get here!
Plan #2D – Clearance Fabric Score:
The wait was good (bad for the fabric company, good for me) because I came to my senses and decided that it would cost way too much for this shower curtain (now it’s $25-30 USD per yard, but when I was first looking is was around $45 and I would have needed six yards!). I just thought it would look so chic and upscale but, at the end of the day, this is a shower curtain and that fabric isn’t even washable! In hindsight, the dark grey might have also really made the bathroom feel dark and dreary. At Fabricland I found a clearance fabric that was double the regular width (it’s meant for draperies). I bought all of the yardage I needed for around $30! The light grey and pale aqua tie together my colors scheme and brighten up the room which, although blindingly sunny in the winter, is quite a bit darker in the summer thanks to heavy tree coverage behind our house (you can see the trees on this side of our house actually peeking over the roof in my DIY fire pit post). The best part about this fabric choice: I tossed it in the washer and dryer with no problems.
After my fabric finding victory, my Mom and I still need to sew the darn thing! We decided to add a soft, very minimal pleat so the curtain would drape evenly when closed. We used drapery hooks to easily affix the curtain to the rings, but they remove in snap for laundering. My biggest concern was that I wanted the shower curtain to wrap around and cover the shower opening at the edges, so you can’t see a sliver of it walking by the bathroom. Success (and look at that gorgeous ceiling mounted shower curtain rod):
But here’s where the real genius is:
I wanted a separate curtain liner so I ordered the Hotel Fabric Shower Curtain Liner from Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s excellent quality, with grommets and bonus little suction cups on either side to hold it in place (so clever). I wanted it hidden though, so we sewed the shower curtain with two more rings than the shower curtain has, so the liner starts one ring in on both ends, ensuring that it stays hidden when the shower curtain is closed. To affix it to the shower curtain, I used ball chain ordered from Amazon. I ordered 25 feet with connectors and just cut my own chain curtain rings. The ball chain links hold the shower liner to the curtain, but are easily removed for laundering the liner.
It took me a week to order the ball chain and another two weeks to finally cut it to length and get up on a step ladder to add the liner. By this point, I had grown a little weary of the whole shower curtain business because, frankly, I prefer a soothing bath these days anyway.
BUT this DIY shower curtain and ceiling mounted showed curtain rod turned out so beautifully, and it’s so, so practical, so it was worth the fussing and fiddling and re-working our plans. Whew – hard to believe this shower curtain took longer to choose and make than anything else in the bathroom!
See More of the Bathroom Renovation Here:
Check out my mid-century modern inspired bathroom renovation reveal and if you’re in the mood for more bathroom renovation magic – and another ceiling mounted shower curtain – check out my Scandinavian inspired bunkie bathroom renovation too! I have a way easier DIY shower curtain tutorial – with liner – right here, you just need to sew button holes.
P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!
This looks beautiful and genius idea for hanging the curtain liner! What is the difference between a ceiling mounted curtain rod and a regular one that's just rotated?
Thank you! Many curtain rods can be mounted either on the wall or ceiling, but some cannot. First, the bracket must hold the rod all the say around – not the style that looks like a C, where the rod is just set in place. Second, the bracket has to screw straight in. Our bedroom curtain rod bracket, for example, has a hook that's screwed into the wall and the bracket slides down on to it. We wouldn't be able to ceiling mount it, even though it looks like we could at first glance. I also wanted a rather small bracket, so the rod didn't hang to low from the ceiling. That limited my choices a bit. Finding brushed nickel that didn't look cheap was the trickiest! But short answer: yes, some curtain rods can be rotated, just not all of them.
This is such a great idea! And it was worth the wait it's the best looking (and functional) shower curtain I've ever seen. Love how it goes all the way to the ceiling very nicely done.Hmmmm where do I start? I've renovated my entire house inside and out (well we've almost finished the outside!) and there have been many delays but the one that stands out was the kitchen renovation – when they cut our granite stone benchtop it snapped in half when they were carrying it into my house so I had to wait for them to cut another piece, then one of the cupboard doors was a beige colour instead of white so I had to wait for them to make a new door in the right colour! It added a few more weeks to a 7 week with no kitchen renovation but it's all part of the excitement of renovating right 🙂
Thank you! I'm learning to be patient with home renovations and just keep on fiddling until I'm really happy. It's a process that I have to will myself not to rush sometimes.Oh gosh – you're kitchen reno was jinxed! That must have been heartbreaking to see the granite snap in half. What a shame, and what a frustrating delay. Hopefully you like the new slab just as much? How did one door end up beige? So random! At least it's a funny story now 🙂
Wouldn't that make your shower incredibly steamy and dark because there is no gap between the ceiling and floor? Also, mould?
Good question! There is a super powerful fan with a light inside that we installed. It works like a champ (you can actually see it clearly in one of the photos – it's not the prettiest, but it functions really well!) For additional mold and mildew prevention, I always leave the shower curtain open all evening. We shower/bathe at night and then leave the shower curtain open while we sleep – I close it in the morning. I once read advice from a very popular design magazine that suggested always keeping the shower curtain closed to prevent mildew developing on it – but any tiler will tell you that's the worst idea! Leaving it open until it's dry is what I hear from tilers and that's the advice I follow.
It's so pretty but I would never want to keep it closed because I'd love to look at the tile in the shower, it glimmers so much.
Haha, it DOES glimmer a lot – I love when the sun shines into the bathroom (which is rare this time of year). I'm happy with my choice, but still peeved at how the tilers buggered up.
Where did you get the rings? I can't find anything like them online. I really like the flat metal ring with the plastic center.
I like them too, they slide really nicely. I couldn't find anything online that was really similar. I ordered mine from Budget Blinds along with the curtain rod. I went in store and they didn't give me any info. If you have a Budget Blinds nearby send them a photo.
My local budget blinds is having trouble locating the rings. They don't all have the same suppliers. Can you post info in the one you used so I can call them?
Of course! I'm in Canada, I hope that doesn't make this more difficult for you. Here's the listing info for my local Budget Blinds:615-A Memorial Avenue, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 3Z3Hours: Open today · 9AM–5PM (EST)Phone: (807) 285-4873I am sure they can identify them by photo, this is what they recommended so I got the feeling it was a pretty common order for them. If they can't help you let me know – I'll try to track down my receipt in the meantime, maybe it has a sku or something that could be useful. I don't remember it having much info at all but if I still have it I'll double check.
Hi, I am in the process of doing a ceiling mounted shower curtain and found your tutorial – such a beautiful inspiration for me! I’m curious how much fabric you used for your curtain (relative to the shower opening) 2x? 1.5x? Store bought shower curtains seem like 1x but yours looks much more full. Thanks!
Author
Hi Natalie, thank you! I’m so glad you like it. And great question! I have 60″ tub and the shower curtain width is approx 92″. I found drapery fabric that’s double width, so I don’t have a seam in the middle which is nice but limited my selection a bit. My fabric is also very thick. This width worked for me for the gathers – I played around with it a bit to see what I liked and spaced it out.
Hi I’m actually in process of creating my shower curtain now and had a similar question. So you are saying your curtain is 92″ wide completed with the pleats or you used 92″ wide and then finished by adding pleats? My tub opening is 58″ wide and I was contemplating having a final product with pleats to measure 75″ wide. I wanted it to have a fullness and nice drape when open or closed.
Author
Hi! My tub opening is the same as yours: 58″ wide. My curtain material across, without pleats, measures 92″ wide. With the pleats in place, my finished curtain spans approx 65″ – it covers both sides of the shower opening. So 75″ is pretty close to mine. I hope this helps! My fabric is also pretty stiff and heavy, it is technically a drapery fabric but it almost has the weight of an upholstery fabric. Hopefully that makes sense!
I want to do something very very similar. Because my house is 100 years old and I absolutely adore wallpaper. I can’t fathom hanging wallpaper again. So my idea is to use a custom made shower curtain very long like 95 inches and make it out of Waverly material. That is usually very old looking floral and it satisfies my need for wallpaper. The lady at the fabric store said if you get too heavy it will look like drapes if you get it to light it will look cheap. Waverley is kind of a woven cotton and not real light not real heavy. I’m still in the planning stages of this so I will see if there’s anything else I need to think about here.
Author
That sounds gorgeous! And a great way to infuse your space with a nice burst of pattern. I agree with what she says – a nice, heavy weight will look really expensive and luxurious! Especially if you have a little volume with an extra wide material – that’s what I used here. Good luck with your project!!
This is a great idea for a DIY shower curtain rod!
Author
Thanks so much! I’m glad you found this helpful!