DIY Large Scale Wall Art from a Shower Curtain
How to make your own large wall art using a shower curtain for less than $100 plus a round-up of gorgeous art design shower curtains for the job.
This project officially climbed to the top of the list of our favorite art DIY ever! And that’s saying something. Because we’ve done a lot. Like… a LOT of art projects.
DIY Large Scale Wall Art from a Shower Curtain
We’ll print high resolution images from our home printer and stick them in a frame or run to Staples for a cheap engineer print any time. But those freebie/cheapo art solutions only go so far and the max size we can usually print is 24″x36″.
This time, we made a honkin’ 5’x4′ stretched canvas for less than $60! (Thanks to finding a shower curtain on sale for $40.) I swear if we bought this thing from an actual retailer, it’d be several hundred to $1,000-ish.
Total props to House of Jade Interiors and Angela Rose Home because we thought we came up with this totally brilliant idea until we discovered they are the O.G.s of this concept.
If you wanted to paint your own art, you could make your own large scale canvas inexpensively this way using a plain canvas drop cloth too.
Related: 28 Creative DIY Wall Decor Ideas for Your Blank Walls
Here’s how we made it…
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)
Supplies
- 5 1″x2″x8′ boards
- 4 lattice strips
- Shower curtain with design of your choice (We chose this pretty abstract landscape one and I’ve rounded up a bunch of my favorite shower curtains to make into art at the end of this post.)
- Power drill & bits
- Hand saw or miter saw (You could definitely do this project with very basic tools.)
- Staple gun
- Hammer or brad nail gun
- Brad nails
- 6 wood screws
- Staples
- Wood stain (I used the color Minwax Special Walnut.)
Related: DIY Large Wall Art Magnetic Memo Board
Step 1 – Stain Lattice Strips
1. Stain the lattice strips and allow to dry while you work on the next steps.
Step 2 – Measure & Trim Shower Curtain
Decide the dimensions you want for your art first by measuring your shower curtain and allowing for 3-4 inches of excess for overhang. We decided to make ours 5’8″ x 4′.
Step 3 – Cut 1×2 Boards
Measure, mark, and cut your 1″x2″ boards to make the canvas frame (4 boards around the perimeter and 1 or 2 boards in the middle for support).
Step 4 – Attach Boards
Use a drill to make a pilot hole at the corners where the boards meet and drive in wood screws to attach the boards. Staple the boards at the seams too.
Step 5 – Align Shower Curtain
Lay your shower curtain on top of the canvas frame and align it as desired. Place a couple of staples at the top of the shower curtain to secure it to the canvas frame.
Step 6 – Attach Curtain to Frame
Flip the canvas frame over so that the shower curtain is facing down with the frame on top of it.
Step 7 – Secure Curtain Edge
Begin wrapping the top edge of the shower curtain, smoothing the fabric along the board, and staple it along the entire edge.
Step 8 – Stretch Curtain Across Frame
Repeat on the bottom edge of the shower curtain, this time stretching the fabric to eliminate any wrinkles.
Step 9 – Finish Attaching Curtain Edges
Stretch and staple the fabric at both side edges.
Step 10 – Secure Corners
Fold and staple each of the four corners.
Step 11 – Hide Excess Fabric
Staple any excess fabric to the boards as well.
Step 12 – Cut and Attach Top and Bottom Lattice Strips
Measure and cut 2 lattice strips to fit the top and bottom of the canvas. Use brad nails to attach the strips to the canvas frame.
Step 13 – Attach Lattice Strips to Sides
Repeat for the side lattice strips, making sure to account the side lattice measurements for the top and bottom lattice strips you previously added.
Step 14 – Hang Art
Anchor a couple of screws to the wall where you want to place the canvas, hang, and you’re done!
This whole project took less than 2 hours to do and it has made such a huge impact in our office makeover already!
Robert says he wants to make another one with a giant world map for our garage since he technically considers the garage his office. Poor guy needs a man cave. Haha!
Related: DIY Large Wall Art and Landscape Printable
What do you think?!
Here are a few more shower curtain designs from some of my favorite artists that I think would make gorgeous art! I had a hard time choosing just one for ours.
If you want more DIY art ideas, you can see a bunch more here.
More DIY Art Ideas
28 Creative DIY Wall Decor Ideas for Your Blank Walls
The Secret to Find Free Printable Wall Art Online
sounds like a great idea to me!
You come up with the best ideas !
ha! no, this isn’t new at all. In the 90’s, it was popular to do the same thing using favorite fabric patterns. Actually, I still see it – not often – but the fabric art is still out there. I’ve seen it using wrapping paper too. I’ve found that the ones that don’t just look like “you framed a bedsheet!” are the ones, like yours, where you use a scene. I’d suggest to other viewers to keep that in mind if they do the same thing. Buy one with a scene, or an object – those tend to look better.
This is absolutely genius! The finished art product looks amazing. Now I’m wishing that I still had a stair landing that needed a huge piece of art. I do have a big, empty wall over my bathtub. How appropriate would that be?!? Shower curtain art above the tub! Seriously, this is amazing!
Well I happen to absolutely love your idea (s) this is one that I would use for so many things. Funny how in the 90’s I’ve never seen anything like this unless it was taken from a Photographer. Your idea is by far my favorite. I’m on here a lot, like you I’ve been introduced by my dear friend who makes her money doing these things. It’s paid off as she’s been working for 30 years. If you want it she has it or she can get it. I’m going to snap a photo see if she has any from the 90’s. She’s got some items over 100 years or more.
Looks like some have had a similar idea but not acting on it. Now seeing it in form, old news from the 90’s!!! Ya, everything from the 90’s came back and the 70’s never really left.
Making a lot of $ if you know what you’re doing and what you’re customers are looking for!
Thank you both for sharing, I’m going to put together my moms Elvis shirt and mine together. I was going to take her to Graceland but the cancer spread so fast, she couldn’t even take a plane to my house is the west. So, I’m going to go gotta make more jewelry so I can go. I was rear ended and I can’t work ever this was a side thing that I loved but I loved my job. I’m not gonna be around long, frontal lobe and undiagnosed injury to my spine that hits without warning and I’m numb from the things to toes. I’m not able to get around my car was my exercise running to get the kids or pick them up but I’m paying for the car and no car. Other driver intentionally hit the gas going through the stop sign and hit my golf spinning us in circles and then into a telephone pole, my youngest and I were both expecting physio but Insurance Company who also has my car loan lowballed then closed the claim, I was cut out so I was a zombie for weeks and months. Today was the first time out since June and I saw my baby win the soccer game 6-2
Anyway I’m a chatty person most of us are down here. Off to find some ideas for a closet that is not big but I have a lot of clothes. I’ve got over 100 jeans in every size lol
kristine
Kristine, I am so happy to hear you were able to get out and have such a great day watching soccer. I like your idea of putting the shirts together for an art hanging. Thank you for reaching out. And thank you for following along. I am blessed to have you here.
Beautiful!!