We stumbled upon this great list of ideas for upgrading your bathroom simply and inexpensively, and want to highlight our favorites during Kitchen & Bath Month. You may already have some of these things around your home and you'll be surprised by their alternative functions.
The Real Simple list inspired us to dig through the Apartment Therapy archives for our own versions of these solutions!
• 1 It is possible to keep toiletries looking neat on a bathroom countertop, with the aid of odds and ends like unused, mismatched serving pieces. Open Storage in the Bathroom.
• 2 A sink skirt hides a multitude of sins. You can easily make a no-sew one from a pretty bedsheet. — Kyle explained the process of making a sink skirt in her follow up to a reader's query How To Hang a Sink Curtain.
• 3 A woven basket holds an ample supply of toilet paper, eliminating the need to hunt when you’re down to the end of a roll (your guests will thank you). — Inexpensive baskets are ideal for stashing extra towels or rolls of toilet paper. Kristen admired Hunter's industrial wire baskets in Basket Envy Turned Inspiration.
• 4 Towel bars have been replaced by hooks next to the shower, eliminating the need for folding and just-so draping. An extra hook installed below gives the bath mat a place to dry. A grand idea — Abby shows how hooks can be used in Keeping Your Towels Neat.
• 5 One lower-cost solution to old bathroom tiles: Blunt the behind-the-times feeling by painting the walls a complimentary color for a cheerful scheme. Leah shares her own tips and inspirational photos for Working The Vintage Bathroom Tile.
For the complete list of tips, see Real Simple | 20 Ways to Upgrade Your Bathroom.
Images: Real Simple
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Comments (6)
I love the idea of using mismatched china to hold bathroom bits. Very pretty! But I would probably end up knocking it off the side so I should stick to melamine.
When my sister and I redid our shared sibling bathroom at my parents' house, we definitely took out the towel bar and added hooks to accomodate our younger, messier brother. Towel bar turned to three hooks, and we added a fourth behind the door for robes!
don't q-tips and things need to be covered?
My cat would love all those q-tips and cotton balls to play with while he's sequestered in the bathroom while I'm at work. lol
plumeria:
That's what I think too. I remember reading somewhere that there is a lot of bacteria floating around in bathrooms. I don't like the idea of these microbes or dust getting onto makeup brushes, cotton balls or q-tips all the time. I put cotton balls and q-tips in closed jars and store in my medicine cabinet. I'm not sure if closed storage is actually better for keeping things cleaner--but it certainly makes me feel better. =)
You can also use mason jars or clear kitchen canisters for the q-tips and cotton balls.
But I love the look of an open container for hair brushes and combs. My roommate has a pitcher for her styling irons. Since it's a tiny bathroom, it keeps them neat and easy to use.