I Tried This 2-Step IKEA Styling Trick & It Transformed My Rental Bathroom
Sprucing up a bathroom can be one of the most difficult parts of living in a rental property. While peel-and-stick tile and wallpaper are always options, I wanted to go with something simple and installation-free — especially as I’ve been pregnant throughout the styling stage of our move. On top of that, I also have three bathrooms in our new apartment, so I couldn’t even begin to think about how big of a task changing all the floors and walls would be.
Instead, I started by upgrading our small bath mats to larger, plushier water-resistant Ruggable rugs, which instantly disguised the cold, bland aesthetic of the bathrooms’ beige tiles. This got me thinking about the rest of the layout: What would cover up the majority of the walls, too? Then it hit me — beyond its functional purpose, a shower curtain can basically act like a wallpaper print that’s covering whatever not-so-pretty bathtub and tiles are behind it.
As soon as this light-bulb moment happened, I was off to find the perfect curtains — and not just any curtains. To elevate the concept, I wanted a custom floor-to-ceiling piece that would fully hide the unappealing off-white bathtub and part of the bathroom’s walls.
I was immediately drawn to Pepper Home’s custom shower curtains for their quality, one-of-a-kind prints. The fabrics aren’t your average neutrals, and there’s a wide selection of colorful patterns and trim options, like tassels, pom-poms, or ricrac. You can also choose your own length, from 60 to 150 inches, to pull off this elevated floor-to-ceiling styling trick with your own shower and rod placement.
To give each bathroom a distinct look, I went with different designs in dainty blue and lavender hues. I also took the advice of Pepper Home co-founder Erin Banta and opted for a moodier green to bring warmth to my bathroom’s all-over tan tones. “Chartreuse, olive, and moss green hues create a fresh and modern look,” she said. “A designer recently paired our Emma Chartreuse fabric with our brown Walnut Velvet fabric and Sage Fringe. The result was a warm and inviting space that felt layered and thoughtfully designed.”
HORNEN Shower curtain tension rod
IKEA
$16.99
Buy Now
Once the custom curtains were in, I jetted off to IKEA for their HORNEN curtain rods. Besides being able to further personalize the bathrooms, the best part was easily hanging up each curtain tool-free — no drilling necessary! All in all, the custom shower curtains start at $134 each, and the rods only cost around $50 for all three. But you can make this low-effort project even more budget-friendly by sourcing your own fabric and sewing a curtain.
My one mistake was not factoring in the rod when measuring, so if you look closely, my curtains are slightly longer than how I envisioned them. Nevertheless, I’ll take that over using peel-and-stick wallpaper any day! Trust me — investing in floor-to-ceiling shower curtains will instantly make any rental bathroom look so elevated in no time at all.
Further Reading
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