Bathroom Decor Ideas

The nice thing about bathrooms is, they are small so you can get a little more extravagant than you might when decorating other rooms. You can often get away with not having to replace the bathroom fixures too. You may want to replace the toilet with a more efficient one if it's old, and consider refinishing the tub instead of replacing it.

Speaking of bathroom fixtures, I don't really recommend going with trendy colors. You can usually decorate in any theme or style if you have just plain old white or almond (beige) fixtures. An added bonus is, 5-10 years down the line if you have to replace one of the fixtures, and it's a trendy color. . .good luck finding one to match. Even beige and white fixtures come in many different shades.

And if you're thinking a nice navy blue, burgundy or black would look cool, it sure would! But they show every little water (or other fluid) spot, finger prints and tp dust etc. So unless you have a housekeeper or love cleaning house, skip the dark colors. Instead of dark bathroom fixtures, how about dark countertops or black or bronze bathroom accessories? And remember, shiny glossy finishes show more dirt and scratches than satin or brushed finishes

custom bathroom vanity

You can get away with spending more on things like hardware and light fixtures due to the small size of the room. You can upgrade the mirror and/or medicine cabinet as well. But again, restrain yourself from being too trendy. Most medicine cabinets are recessed in the wall and you only see the mirror anyway. Tip: If you have a small bathroom, it's best to have the medicine cabinet recessed. If your bathroom is a pretty good size, you can use a wall mount medicine cabinet without feeling cramped.

I didn't even put medicine cabinets in my new bathroom. We have plenty of drawer space for storage, so I put nice decorative mirrors on the wall.

On the right at the bottom of resources are several sites that offer free bathroom pictures that will give you lots of bathroom decorating ideas. I've also included some good articles or videos of bathroom improvements, repairs and tips.

Bathroom Fixtures & Accessories

As mentioned above, when buying your tub, toilet & sink, it's more practical to stay generic. And if you are replacing these items, how old are you?

No offense, but if you're getting up there and plan to be in the house for many more years, or you may have an elderly parent you may be taking care of in the future, plan for handicap accessible fixtures and accessories.

Things like having at least one wheelchair accessible bathroom could mean the difference between being able to stay at home or being sent off to a nursing home or using a portapotty type thing. Grab bars are also a must next to the toilet and in the shower/tub.

As for accessories, what's your preference? Do you like chrome, rust, black, bronze, white or gold? And are you willing to live with it for years? Here's where you can use your black accents. I put black tp and towel holders in my bathroom and I love them. But the tp holder is constantly covered in white tp dust! I'm just sayin'.

While you're at it, you may want to add an on demand water heater under the cabinet if you can. You'll be surprised how much it'll save on the electric bill versus a hot water heater with 40 gallons of storage. We put an electric whole house on demand water heater under our house in the crawl space.

More Bathroom Decorating

Have you decided on a theme or style for your bathroom decor? How about doing the main portions of the decor in such a way that all you have to do is change out the towels, candles, wall decor and other bathroom accessories to totally change the look of your bathroom? This makes it even easier if you like to do holiday decorating throughout the house.

Bathroom decor lends itself to beachy or spa type themes. Even a woodsy nature decor works in there. And you could easily switch between them all if you lay your foundation colors right.

Paint is easy to change, so you can go 'off the wall' here and use the color you prefer, because if you decide to change your theme later, it's pretty easy to paint over.

Do you get any natural light in there? If not it's best to use light colors on the walls and have some decent mirrors and good lighting.

If you do have a window or are going to add one, the frosted ones are nice because you don't need any kind of shade on them for privacy and they let lots of light in.

If you have a small bathroom that you have to share, get organized under the cabinet, in the cupboards and on the wall.

If it's really tight quarters, get everybody their own basket or tote that they can keep personal things in and have them keep it in their bedrooms, and bring it in with them when it's their turn in the bathroom.

Color coding works well too. If everybody has their own color, there'll be no arguing about whose towel is whose!

 

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I Broke The Rules!

OMG! I mixed metals in my bathroom. Here's why.

I, like many of you, like the black or dark bronze accessories. I think they make a gorgeous accent. BUT, I did my shower in blue ceramic tiles reminiscent of water, my countertops and back splash in sandy colors with blue glass & natural stone accents (think ocean) and the black bathroom faucets stood out like a sore thumb! So I went with brushed stainless in the shower and brushed nickel for the sink and tub faucets

The glass shower surround is trimmed with bronze, the light fixtures, towel bars, tp holder and mirror frames are the bronze (rusty metal)

When I walk into my bathroom, I want to see my beautiful tile and stones, not be drawn to my faucets and shower fixtures.

And it worked, because I've actually had people gasp when they turn the corner and see the shower.

Of course I guess they could be gasping because I mixed metals! LOL!