Throwing in the towel – er, curtain

I’ve got a confession to make.  I love to be thrifty, saving money and reusing products that I already have laying around my home.  Or dumpster.  Or office.  But. . . I really want to fork out some dough to swank up my beachy bathroom in the following ways:

• Replacing the blah plastic shower curtain with a gorgeous cloth one
• Updating the floor with a plush, nonskid, coordinated bath rug
• Buying new, cozy big towels that coordinate with aforementioned cloth curtain and rug
• Installing a homemade fabric curtain/shade to add some swank while replacing the mini blinds that my cat keeps breaking

Yeah, I’m talking major dough.  Probably $100.  Now I know that’s not a lot of money to many of you, but to me it is.  Especially when the year-and-a-half old plastic shower curtain works just fine.

Before she can say “I-told-you-so,” let me give credit to Crysty.  She was crashing with me when I moved to this  condo, and decorated the bathroom as a thank-you present.  She did a kick-ass job on a tiny budget, despite my two mandates.  1:  You can’t shop at Wal-Mart, they’re evil.  2:  I have to have a clear, or almost-clear, shower curtain so I don’t feel claustrophobic.  My, how times have changed.

I tried to jazz up the existing curtain a bit, adding strands of capiz shells from a re-purposed wind chime.

So now I’m ready to graduate to a big-girl shower curtain, primarily for environmental reasons.  I would also purchase a cloth shower curtain liner, because they, too, are much more eco-friendly.  As soon as they get grimy, then into the wash they go!   (Head on over to Small & Chic in Cville to see Jeannine’s testimony to cloth liners.)

 

I fell in love with this white and blue fabric shower curtain at Tar-jay.

Convinced I could find a thrifty alternative, I shopped around . . .

Not finding much in my color scheme, ladies.  The second one I found, Pacific Fabric Shower curtain at Bed Bath and Beyond, is no cheaper, and I like it less.

I don’t really want to spend $30 on a shower curtain.  Especially considering that I have to cover not only the long side of my bathtub, but also the back.  It’s a corner tub, meaning that one long and one short side are both open.  Perhaps, then, I should buy two plain white (and hopefully cheap) shower curtains and then sew on my own blue and green fabric to mimic the one I love at Target.  Not sure if that would end up being cheaper after all is said and done.

Here’s the stores I’ve tried so far.  If you’ve got any other suggestions, please throw them my way before I throw in the towel! (hardy-har-har)

• Bed Bath and Beyond
• JC Penney
• Target
• Boscovs
• Wal-mart
• Overstock.com
• Pottery Barn
• Sears