Back in November when we revealed our guest bathroom for the One Room Challenge, I didn’t actually believe we’d finish the room within the challenge time frame, and all my brain cells were taken up by the hard finishes in the space that I improvised and borrowed the shower curtain from our downstairs bathroom for the shoot.
Since then, I spent months trying to find the perfect shower curtain for our drop-in tub. Which, let me tell you is no easy feat. The options on the market for extra-wide shower curtains are few and far between. I actually ordered two before I finally landed on the Goldilocks of shower curtains… which ended up needing to be custom ordered (this one—it was a bit of splurge, but I couldn’t find anything else that was wide enough and long enough).
Here’s the new curtain:
Compared to the placeholder I previously had in here, it’s so much better.
Let’s back up for a second and answer the question of why we opted for a shower curtain over a glass enclosure:
- This is a small bathroom, so the ability to keep the curtain open actually gives us a lot more space when we’re standing at the vanity
- We installed a soaking tub in here, so being able to take a long bath without feeling glassed in is more relaxing to me
- Glass is expensive! We wanted to give a curtain a go in here first, to see if glass is actually necessary.
- We kept a tub in this bathroom for resale purposes, so we could in the future appeal to families, and a non-glass enclosure seems the most family-friendly for bathing kids.
And now for the attributes of what makes a great shower curtain (in my books, at least):
Luxe feeling fabric.
The reason why several of the previous curtains didn’t work out is that they felt plasticky to me. It’s easy for a shower curtain to go wrong, and so many of the options on the market don’t feel high-end to the touch. This is actually a fabric you touch ever single time you shower, so make it feel nice and luxe. Look for fabrics with 50% or lower percentages of polyester. The one we ended up with is Matouk’s Birdseye Pique that feels amazing when you grab it, despite having some polyester in it, which is what makes it more easy-care and durable.
The right length.
Previous photos of the tub in here drive me crazy because the curtain is so obviously way too short. We were running low on ball chain to hang the curtain from so we did as best as we could, but I always knew it wasn’t quite right. You want your shower curtain to almost graze the floor, where possible. The taller the curtain, the taller your ceiling’s going to look, so make sure to nail the height. You don’t want it pooling on the floor because that’s a tripping hazard and you could end up with the fabric sitting in water or getting quite dirty, so make sure to hem it if it’s too long.
Hang your rod nice and high. Just like window curtains, you want to elongate your space. In our bathroom, we forgoed a rod in favour of a wall-mounted track that added some unexpected detail to the room, but kept our curtain high. If you hang your rod nice and high, your standard 72″ tall shower curtain will be too short. Depending on your ceiling height, you should be looking for 84″+ curtains.
Simple look.
Think about how you can use a shower curtain to elevate your space – just as beautiful fabric elevates any other space, it can help make a bathroom feel high-end. White is always a good idea, as is a rich, grey linen. I also love the addition of an embroidered border detail to amp up the glam. I do find that patterned or kitschy curtains become tired fast, so stick to the classics.
Here’s a round-up of the extra long shower curtains I came across in my searches that weren’t extra-wide, but I desperately wished came in the right size:
- Diamond Matelasse Curtain 2. Pebble Matelasse Curtain 3. Embroidered Border Curtain 4. Italian Hotel Stitch Curtain 5. Jacquard Shower Curtain 6. Vintage Washed Belgian Linen Curtain
