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How to Hang Shower Curtains for a Garden Tub

Mandi Rogier

A garden tub is typically defined as a large soaking tub with a rounded shape. Most garden tubs are deeper than standard tubs to provide a more luxurious bathing experience. These tubs are used for bathing only and do not usually include any kind of a shower.

However, you may still want to include a shower curtain around your tub for privacy. The ability to pull a curtain closed on the rest of the bathroom can help create a sheltered escape for soaking your cares away.

  1. Select a curtain rod which has approximately the same shape as the exterior side of your garden tub. If your tub is freestanding, the side may be curved along with the contour of the tub – perfect for a gently curved curtain rod. A freestanding garden tub that is not against a wall will need a circular or oval shaped curtain rod to surround the entire tub. If you have a drop-in garden tub, there may be straight sides surrounding the tub with a small shelf along the edges. This arrangement will work well with a standard, straight curtain rod.

  2. Determine where you want the curtain to fall. Since a shower curtain around a garden tub is for privacy, rather than containing water as it is in a traditional shower, the curtain does not need to fall directly into the bathtub. Instead, it should fall just outside the tub with 1 or 2 inches of space between the edge of the tub and the curtain.

  3. Use a yardstick or broomstick to measure straight up from the spot where you want the curtain to fall, to the corresponding place along the ceiling where the curtain rod will need to be mounted. Make a light pencil mark to indicate the proper placement for the curtain rod. If the garden tub is set back into its own cove in the wall, or if the tub is the same length as the bathroom, you may be able to mount the curtain rod on the walls. In this case, make appropriate marks on the opposite walls to indicate the placement of the curtain rod.

  4. Install a ceiling-mounted or wall-mounted curtain rod in line with the pencil marks, per the directions on your type of curtain rod.

  5. Hang one or two shower curtains from the rod. With two curtains, you can pull the curtains back on either side of the tub and fasten with ribbons for an attractive way to frame the tub when not in use. A single curtain can be pulled closed across the tub, seamlessly concealing it.