Woman Transforms Shower Curtain Into Luxe-Looking Wall Art On A Budget

With murals and big, playful paintings capturing the imagination — or at least the dining room walls —of the fashionable, it doesn't take long to realize one unfortunate thing about the trend: big art is expensive. But, as Instagram nano-influencer Nicole Paplia Cisneros has discovered, there's a loophole (a grommet, really): Hang shower curtains where you need an oversized statement piece. Afterall, isn't it about time to consider a fresh and different alternative to that gallery wall?

By now, you will have guessed that it's more complicated than Command Hooking a plastic sheet printed with irises or a gingham pattern over your couch. What you're going for is the look of a large painting, and there are a couple of steps required to make a thin shower curtain look like legitimate art ... stretching the fabric as you would canvas, for example, and backing it with something white to disguise its shower-curtainish lack of opacity.

Cisneros's version of the shower-curtain painting is mounted on 1-inch-by-2-inch boards attached to a bit of hardboard left over from an earlier project. The hardboard is her own unique touch (she says any smooth plywood will do), which lends stability to the frame while preserving the illusion of gallery-wrapped stretcher bars. This is a great way to get to big art without paying big bucks. Even the most affordable prints, which are about the size of a shower curtain, will cost you over $200. With careful budgeting and some creativity, you can manage the shower curtain version for well under $100.

Let's look at some possibilities for putting together your shower-curtain masterpiece, starting from the inside out. Nicole Paplia Cisneros's hardboard or plywood isn't really necessary, but building a stable frame can be tricky. Real, pre-made canvas stretcher bars can be pricey (unless you opt for the cheap Hobby Lobby variety; reviewers suggest you shouldn't). But a frame made from a wooden rectangle nailed together without plywood or additional structure will fold up like a tent. At a minimum, for a stable framework, you'll need bracing in each corner at a 45-degree angle, and ideally at least one middle brace running the full length or width of the frame. We have also seen people build with screws and a pocket hole jig, which can work as long as you use two screws per corner.

Next comes the white backing layer, which adds some opacity to the shower curtain. You could paint hardboard white, but the most common method is to simply put a white shower curtain liner behind the printed fabric. You can pick up a simple white polyester liner for $9.98 to $16.97 at a store like Lowe's, depending on the size you need. Attach the liner and the printed shower curtain the same way: Staple from the center of one side, pulling it tight, then staple the center of the opposite side. Work your way out to the corners, alternating sides every few staples. Once the two opposing sides are done, you can do the two remaining sides using the same method. Keep the corners as neat as you can, for a more convincing stretched-canvas look.

What are the chances of finding unique, affordable shower curtains that also look good as wall art? 100%, actually. There are many vendors selling pretty nifty shower curtains, including the very nice-looking art-oriented ones from Fine Art America, generally priced in the $50-100 range. Many of these take up the entire "canvas," so they usually require cropping. Masterpieces Of Art sells similar prints, also often using the entire piece of fabric, for $78. These are a little on the predictable side (great for college apartments!), but you can also find lesser-known gems, like Van Gogh's "Blossoming Almond Tree." Other sellers of artsy shower curtains include Society5, Shower of Curtains, Wayfair, Amazon, Zazzle, and Etsy.

If you're going for a particular theme or vibe, why not roll your own? There are online services and Etsy sellers who will customize a shower curtain for you, matching the going rate for art-inspired shower curtains. You can also use free printables to save money on artwork, though you'll still have to pay for the curtain itself. Another use for customized shower curtain wall art might be to roll your own mural. Murals are all the rage this year, as are whimsical patterns and the acceptability of imperfection. Imagine a pattern emerging from your "canvas" and covering the wall — think bubbles, say, or stars or fleurs-de-lis or whatever — to take over the rest of the wall. You could pull this off affordably with a custom shower curtain and some paint.