I Used a Shower Curtain in My Bedroom — I’m Obsessed with the Result

Around a year ago, I started to fall head over heels for floral-patterned upholstered headboards. I was seeing them everywhere on my Pinterest feed, but actually finding one IRL proved to be difficult. So many were custom-made and/or super-expensive. I realized that if I really wanted to get the look for my own space, I’d have to get crafty.

Eventually, I decided that recovering an already-upholstered headboard in a new fabric would be the easiest (and most affordable) route to achieving my Pinterest dreams. And finding the headboard was indeed easy: In just a few days of Facebook Marketplace scrolling, I found the exact shape I’d been looking for and picked it up that night. Finding the right fabric, however, proved to be a bit more difficult. 

Eventually I did find the perfect material, just not in the place you might expect it. As it turns out, the key to my dream floral headboard had been hiding in my bathroom all along!

While trolling TikTok to figure out what I’d need to pull this headboard project off, I eventually landed on the video above. This creator had a very similar vision — and a similar headboard — to mine. While her bold red toile fabric looked fantastic in the end, I was imagining a more subtle, cottagecore-inspired fabric for my own piece (think: a striped floral wallpaper-like pattern or a classic block print). 

The problem? The average width of most upholstery fabrics is around 54”, while the width of my queen headboard was about 60”. I didn’t want to have to turn the pattern sideways or deal with seams, as both would be more noticeable. Despite an extensive search, I had no luck finding a block-print floral fabric wide enough for the job. 

Weeks later, while on the hunt for a new soap dish at Marshalls, a blue patterned shower curtain caught my eye. When I checked the dimensions on the package, I had an instant lightbulb moment: This was the perfect fit! The shower curtain was 72” wide, so it was more than enough to cover my queen headboard. And for just $12.99, this was *so* much cheaper than an actual upholstery fabric would’ve been.

On my way home with the shower curtain, I picked up a manual staple gun from the hardware store along with plenty of staples. Then, I simply set the headboard onto the shower curtain, making sure to line up the floral pattern carefully, and I got to stapling!  Because it’s far easier to pull the fabric taut when you have a bit of extra length, I cut the fabric as I went. A few podcast episodes later, and voilá! The cottagecore-inspired designer headboard was done — all for less than $50.

The result, if I do say so myself, is stunning. My headboard gets tons of compliments from guests, and the feeling of being able to say “thanks, I made it” is simply priceless. It was also a lot easier than I thought it would be; I promise, if you can use a standard office stapler and a pair of scissors, you can do this, too. 

Now, by no means will the shower curtain method look or feel quite as luxe as an actual professionally upholstered headboard. Shower curtains are usually thinner than the average upholstery fabric — but they’re thicker than sheets or other similar items, making them a great substitution in this case when you’re on a budget. Mine has held up well these past few months, and it’s been easy to clean, too. 

So if you’re thinking of tackling a similar amateur upholstery project, don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to sourcing materials — and always check the bathroom aisle. The curtain I used is no longer sold, at least not online, but these other shower curtains also would be perfect for the job.