Our bathrooms are one of the most frequently used rooms in our homes, and often the most neglected design-wise. We start and end our days there. In fact, in our lifetime we may spend a total of 1.5 years in the bathroom! Given that statistic, shouldn’t we try to make our bathroom a place we enjoy being? Here are 8 steps to making your bathroom a more pleasant place to be:
1. Start by thinking of a word or two that you want to describe your bathroom. It can be an emotion, a style, a location, anything that will help guide you through the project. Calming. Happy. Hollywood Glam. Spa-like. Paris. Nautical. Choose your own adventure.
2. Visualize your word.
Find color palettes and images that embody your word, online or in magazines. Google Images and Pinterest are great ways to find inspiration. Keep in mind, you may be attracted to an image of something that you think may not necessarily go in a bathroom. Put it in your pile of inspiration because you may have some amazing out-of-the-box ideas later!
3. Time to get your hands dirty.
Set up a folding table or clear a space in another room and remove everything moveable from your bathroom. Take artwork off of the walls. Pull everything out of your medicine cabinet, linen closet, and any other storage area or open shelving.
4. Minimize.
Go through everything you just removed from the bathroom. Get rid of expired medications, beauty products you will not use, stained or damaged towels, and any artwork or decorative accessories that you don’t like (be honest!).
5. Deep clean.
Start with the ceiling and work your way down to the flooring. Clean the fan, wipe the ceiling. Wash the walls. Treat grout and tile. Wipe baseboards. Clean the window(s), inside and out. Put your shower curtain in the washing machine or dispose of, if in bad shape.
6. Decide what you want to change.
Here is where your inspiration comes in and you decide how in-depth you want to get with this project. Just repainting a color from one of your palettes could make a huge difference. To go a step further you could look at replacing light fixtures or plumbing fixtures. And if you really want to go the distance (and the expense), replace dated flooring and/or wall tile. The before and after from Unskinny Boppy doesn’t change cabinetry or flooring. Just the change in paint, mirrors, and lighting makes a huge impact!
7. Put things back.
Organize your beauty products in baskets or pretty jars. Fold all of your towels into neat piles in your linen closet. Group like things together.
8. Finishing touches.
Will a bright magenta orchid help make your bathroom look happy? Will buying fluffy towels and an essential oil diffuser make it more spa-like or calming? Will a new gilded mirror help set off the Hollywood Glam look? Do you have an offbeat idea?
Enjoy! Have a soak in the tub in your new and improved bath, or just smile at the fact that when you open the linen closet things are neat and orderly.