When you live in a rental, your hands are tied when it comes to the bathroom. You have to live with what you got. But, as we saw the other day, when Laure rounded up some luxurious bathrooms from our house tours, luxury is obtainable. So, after we swooned, we took another look. Here are some ideas you can use in your "beyond hope" bathroom.
- Play with your walls: Whether it's wallpaper, stamp, or good ol' paint, punch up your walls.
- Add a piece of furniture: a small stool, an ottoman, a bench, a chest of drawers if you have the room.
- High quality towels and lots of them: We buy bath sheets and hand towels, which we use for company and for our hair. Stacks of them if you have the space -- a shelf above the door?, a basket of towels rolled up, hooks on the back of the door to hold them -- somehow, a plethora of good, fluffy, matching towels in a bathroom makes it feel opulent.
- Keep it clean, make it neat: here's the room where cleanliness really is next to godliness.
- Add a rug: Yes, it's probably time to invest in a new bathmat but that's not the kind of rug we're talking about. We mean a real rug.
- Candles: The good kind. And use them. Light them when you get home, take a bath or a shower by them. Somehow, a candle in the bathroom, even a flickering votive in a glass, makes your bathroom feel like something else.
- Plants or Flowers: Plants do wonderfully in the moist environment of a bathroom.
- A Way to Play Music: Because if you're gonna sing in the shower, you should have a band to back you up.
- Art: Nope, you don't want to put your prize Picasso lithograph in here but a framed photograph, a few art postcards, a collage would work just as well.
- A table lamp: Lighting in a rental bathroom can be the worst. After you change out your lightbulbs for something more flattering, consider adding a table lamp if you have the room. Somehow, it makes the room feel like a real room, and not just a utilitarian space.
- Frame your mirror: Consider adding a simple frame to a bathroom mirror using an actual frame, molding or paint one on with decorative paint.
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#4! Clean, clean, clean. Clean the window(s), too. Even the most luxurious bathroom is just gross if it's dirty.
Also, using good, high wattage lightbulbs with appropriate shades/covers helps significantly. Bathrooms are one place where you want lots of light. Dimly lit bathrooms (unless it's candlelight next to a deep soaking tub) feel dingy.
SPEAKMAN SHOWERHEAD.
'nuff said.
seriously- we kept saying we'd change out the awful shower in our last rental and never did. Finally got one for the house a while back. HUGE regret not doing it eons before. Even if the rest of the place is a dump, an amazing showerhead will make it all fade away... at least while you're showering ;)
Keep it really clean, uncluttered, and use thick white towels.
Nice tips. Even for a non rental, these are really easy and quick tips for luxurious touches. Good lighting is I think the icing on the cake for any room when it comes to luxury.
~ Sarah @ http://www.queenofdiy.com
Some pretty fancy fixtures & materials in there. It really doesn't look like she started out with a "standard no-hope bathroom."
Funny about the Speakman showerhead I have had mine for 10 years are so installed in my last rental when I left that place put back on the crappy that came with the rental and brought it with me to where I am now. Its worth it!
My bathroom is rather small with no counter and I like it uncluttered, only a nice soap dish and hand soap. Yes super clean is the only way and fluffy good white towels.
The bathroom has a flat large mirror clipped and screwed onto the wall not pretty and probably home depot or a pluming store, so I had a beefy frame made from a inexpensive framing store in white it made all the difference in the world, just a bit more tailored.
I agree that #4 is most crucial. Nothing would make it right, unless it's clean. Anyone got suggestion about how to keep beauty products organized and neat?
Great post.
Does anyone have ideas for wastepaper baskets? I would like to find something chic that doesn't cost a mint. The offerings in TJ Maxx, etc. are depressing. Thanks!
I like posts like this. It could almost inspire me to paint. I've also been desiring more concealed storage to reduce visual clutter.
To the above two commenters -- don't know if this suits your style, but I went to Michael's and bought galvanized metal tins in a variety of sizes for holding everything from hair products to Q-tips, and a matching metal flower pot for a trash can.
I'd also suggest going to thrift/antique stores and looking for containers that you can repurpose for your needs. I have a few that add real charm and character.
I've been flat hunting for the last few months now, still no success. One of the depressing trends I've seen is that none of the bathrooms of the 1 or 2 bedroom places I've been looking at actually have a bathtub. It's all just shower only.
I wish there was a rental solution for that!
#4!!!!! Just clean and simplify, and any bathroom will look just right. Five-star hotel bathrooms are so attractive and gorgeous, not only because it's luxury, but also very very VERY clean!!
I'm totally with you on the showerhead change, it made a huge difference in my apartment. I also have a speakman, it's an 8-jet classic Anystream, having a good showerhead makes all the difference in the world when you live in an apartment.
Table lamp in the bathroom? Noooo.