My Custom Monogrammed Shower Curtain

In the midst of all of the holiday hoopla, I started working on our apartment bathroom that I'd never really considered much in the nearly two and a half years that we've lived here. It really was the forgotten room.

I decided to do the right thing and paint the walls a bright white, do some very deep cleaning, and purge a lot of unused toiletries. With a nice, clean, bright base I could start with a simple palette of black and white.

There were so many black and white bathrooms that just felt fresh and perfect for our little bathroom.

(via Decor*Pad and Pure Style Home)

While gathering inspiration, I fell head over heels for Matouk's "Newport" shower curtain, but I knew it would be hard to convince Adam that a $367 shower curtain was a good investment:

(via Horchow)

With inspiration to boot, I knew I what I wanted:

--a black and white color scheme

--a monogrammed shower curtain

So, while Matouk's monogrammed shower curtain was pricey, I found a reasonable alternative that I could further customize from Alphabet Soup Gifts for only $55. When it arrived (on Christmas Eve), I was very pleased. I chose to create a monogram that represented both Adam and I (hence the AHA).

Pretty chic and oh-so-preppy.

As great as the monogram looked, I knew this embroidery in a sea of white cotton wasn't enough of the look I was going for. Think Leontine Linens on a budget.

For this project, all that I chose to use both 1/2" and 1" black cotton trim. Spools of each can be purchased at Joann Fabrics. Before any cutting and sewing, I planned out my trim pattern:

 As you can see I wanted trim to frame the edge of the shower curtain, as well as an interlocking square design around the monogram. I spread the shower curtain out in my parents' dining room and set out to lay out the trim.

 With the 1" edge trim measured and pinned, I tackled the interlocking square design that framed the monogram. I used a thinner 1/2" cotton canvas trim for this. There was a lot of measuring and adjusting to make sure that the squares lined up correctly and professionally.

 Once everything was pinned, Mom managed the stitching.

Overlooking the fact that my bathroom is teeny-tiny (and, therefore, very difficult to photograph), I love the results of this project that I just had to share:

So, for $55 plus $10 in trim and an hour of sewing, I had my very own custom monogrammed & trimmed curtain!
What do you think?