apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love the sink..just not in this bathroom. It seems as though the other fixtures are 'normal', if you will - but the sink is screaming, "I'm new and modern! Look at me!"...You could keep the consistency of the bathroom by painting the cabinet under the sink white (so it matches the toilet and tile and whatnot)...I think a deep, rich color on the walls will give you surprising depth - even in a small windowless room! Personally I like Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams or something charcoaly like that will give the room and that darn sink some seriousness. Keep the ceilings and trim white, and add a decorative ornate frame around a mirror on another wall...This catch any light to give the appearance of more, while also making the room seem larger. Since it is a new construction, your walls are hopefully smooth and spackle/bump/whatever! free. You can retain even more light by using a semi-gloss paint. While it does show imperfections, your walls seem pretty smooth.

Sorry to ramble on, but I hope this helps!

PS - Switch out that awkward light fixture for something less Grandma - modern track lighting from Ikea? That'll balance the modern accent of the sink...

Good luck!

Gentle Readers: When photographing loos, can we all agree to snap away with the lid in the down position? In the loveliest of AT's house tours, I regularly spy home owners posting pics of their toilet bowl, the lid a non-functional appendage. Check out Kohler and how they showcase their loos. Lid down. Always.

Agree with LCD, wtf were they thinking when they put that sink fixture in there?! Obviously not your problem, but I think they should have played it safe and matched the toilet and the sink together.

You could find a picture or wall-hanging of some sort that has green and black in it, and hang that over the towel bar. Mabye some black hand towels? I feel like it needs more black and green, to help the sink make sense.

Maybe the bathroom just feels washed out in comparison to the rest of the house -- in that little sliver of living room, I see teal, orange, blue...

The sink, mirror, and light fixture are all working against each other stylistically, but I don't dislike any one of them in particular. Their spacing is also off; the mirror is SO high above the sink and practically on top of the light fixture.

I've thought out and deleted several solutions, here's my favorite: replace the mirror with a long thin one, and replace the light fixture with a long hanging pendent. In a room that is tight horizontally, it will play up its verticality.

agree the sink is out of place; also the light above the mirror seems inadequate but I guess one with more bulbs woudl be too big. Can you put higher watt bulbs in there safely?

I wouldn't paint it darker, other than maybe one wall. I think colorful accesories, including colored towels and a showercurtain over the door (if that's possible with one of those poprods)...something somewhat shiny might help.

There have been posts on here about painting tile, maybe you could just paint that beige strip in the shower a bright color of choice to add some pop? You can also use window frosting (similar to contact paper) on the shower doors to create a graphic pattern...squares, honeycomb, whatever fits you best. I definitely agree about swapping out the light fixture for something more delicate and to your tastes

art, shelving, a new mirror and sink console that is open

Plants! Hanging plants, in addition to all of the above.

I think paint will fix it. or at least take you a long way toward making it your own. It's a small room, so it won't be a big commitment. Pick something clean and fresh that you like and I think you'll be a lot happier with it. I'd say try an aqua, but that's just me. Looks like you could go any which way with color. Totally a quick fix. Good luck!

If you paint the room, paint the sink base the same color so it blends in.

I'd also add more towel hooks and take down the awkwardly placed towel rack -- that's really not where you want to reach for a towel when you get out of the shower. A tiny rack on the other side of the sink can hold hand towels. That leaves the entire back wall free....

I'd put a large mirror along the entire back wall with track lighting on top. Having the mirror wedged into a corner makes the room look even more cramped.

Paint or wallpaper
Artwork
A mirror in a frame
Personalized guest towels & bath accessories

Never underestimate the Basics.

I concur with others that most of the fixtures are a stylistic mishmash.

A few things I would lose:

1) the towelbar (too hotel/hospital-ish)
2) the mirror over the sink (it's wider than the cabinet beneath it, giving it a weird, unbalanced look)
3) the crazy large sink faucet fixture (way too big)

A few things I would add:

1) a shelf above the toilet. Put a pretty jar/vase on the shelf and fill with wrapped soaps, potpourri or the like in a color of your choice. Underneath you could put a few hooks or a smaller, daintier towelbar to hang hand towels
2) one or two small pieces of artwork on the wall next to the toilet, to fill the void and personalize the space a bit more
3) A new mirror (either oval or rectangular) with a nice frame to draw the eye up away from the sink. I think you should put an identical mirror on the wall to the left of the sink to help open the space and make the corner cabinet look less accidental.
4) If funds allow, switch out the faucet, sink, and/or fixture above mirror.

I agree with above comments and would paint the cabinet.

I'd also consider relocating the towel bar and putting up a much larger mirror that would span the wall above the vanity and toilet. It will help the windowless room reflect light. Balance out the big mirror with a large light fixture above it.

I think a good coat of paint in a color that mimics the rest of your new place will make it "feel" more like part of your home. Also, there is nothing wrong in getting a sink that suites your desires rather than the builders. You live in a big enough city where you could probably post the sink/cabinet for sale on Craigslist and use the money you get for it to buy a sink that you actually like.

I personally like my bathrooms to be as bright as possible so I can accurately see what I look like before going public. So, if this were my bathroom I would actually find a white that matches your tiles as closely as possible (always trickier than you think - definitely grab a bunch of paint chips.) And, like everyone else here, I would change the sink. Ideally the sink and cabinet. I've seen similar sinks in real estate listings and they all scream staging to me. Ikea has much nicer, classier sinks than that with wide enough lips where you can place your toothpaste and soap.

mostly what other people have said in that i would paint and add some artwork, but also I might look for a green glass shelf (to go over the towel rack or somewhere else in the room) that matches the sink so there is a bit more continuity. you could also add more modern accessories on the shelf if you find something that works.

I would totally paint the back wall, and hang a quirky/ adorable piece of art above the toilet. Instant personality. :)

I agree that swapping out things like towel/TP holders and light fixtures are an easy way to bring some unity to the space. Add coordinating towels and you're good to go! I think a nice sage green or charcoal paint (not too dark) would also personalize the space a bit without making it seem smaller.

Just out of curiosity, where in Berkeley did you find this place? It looks really nice :-) If you don't mind, email me off-thread at kimskitchensink [at] gmail [dot] com (I'm a fellow Berkeley resident curious about what's out there).

Paint.
You could do just one wall, but that might make the others seem even more dingy or stark in comparison; perhaps use a jewel tone on one wall and a pastel on the other three.
Having used only jewel tones in my husband's and my apartment, and now in our townhouse, I can say don't shy away from jewel tones. If you like it, it will work.

My suggestions:

A new light fixture, something sleek and more modern-looking (to match the sink).

Get a big, rectangular mirror that goes all the way across that wall. It will make the space seem larger.

Paint the walls and sink cabinet the same color, something deep and dramatic (emerald, plum, cobalt blue). Hang a framed poster or print with brighter, lighter colors (perhaps something art deco-ish) to go on the wall next to the toilet.

Remove the towel bar and either hang it on the wall opposite the toilet or get a combination rack-bar thing. Get a few nice guest towels (plain white would pop nicely against dark walls) to hang from it.

aiee, that faucet is gargantuan! Depends on how much you want to spend but I would run the hot/cold lines into the wall and do a faucet like this: http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?from=thumb&frm=null&module=Lavatory Faucets&item=526302&prod_num=T196&section=2&category=8&resultPage=0-1511113094

then I would get an OVAL mirror not a square one, bonus if it has some sort of pretty trim around it or vintage or something I don't really know your style, but this is where you can reflect it...

and last and most importantly, I would make sure that all of these things line up symmetrically underneath each other.

I can't tell if its just the offset placement of the faucet but it looks horribly off balance.

get a different mirror and light fixture bc that is main problem, and use color bc nothing accentuates a beige cookie cutter new room then the use of a neutral if not boring color.
P.S. I think the sink could be replaced by something more unique then just the plain vessel sink

The sink is the only black thing in a room of light whites and beiges - swap it out for something white.

My first thought on seeing this bathroom was a floral wallpaper... which is odd, because normally I like neither florals nor wallpaper. Either a big stylised 70s pattern or a daintier 80s Laura Ashley style. Something with a lot of organic curves to break up all of those hard straight lines. Just make sure that it's a paper with a lot of white that also picks up the beiges and browns in the tiles. And that's water resistant, obviously.

I love the sink - it's very modern and is something that would stand out when you have guests.

I would want to do some paint in medium gray color and do accents in the color of the sink bowl.

Less is more is small spaces. My suggestions assume you are on a budget (we all are these days!).

Go for larger pieces, which will make the space appear more expansive:

- A rectangular mirror to go across the whole wall, rather than limiting it to above the sink
- Change the light fixture to something more modern that is also wide like the mirror (a dimmer will provide more lighting and mood options)
- Lose the towel bar that is poorly placed, and perhaps opt for hooks for bath towels and some sort of rack/shelving on adjacent wall for items
- Hand towels can be nicely folded/rolled or on a small stand (White towels go with everything and always look fresh)
- I like the sink and would find some way to accent it with interesting glass pieces/bathroom accessories
- Paint: Much discussion about this, and I agree paint would really spark up the bath. I would go with your favorite color and be bold with it. I think anything could work, it's whatever you like best. But I would choose only one color and stick with it.
- Some kind of artwork will make it totally yours...and maybe a color in the piece inspires you for paint
- One other note. A spare, modern bath looks best when it is kept uncluttered and clean. If you have lots of stuff you need to store there, get boxes or baskets with lids to keep the items handy but out of view.

Good luck!

Put up a nice shower curtain in front of the glass doors to your shower.

Thanks all for the advice. I've decided to paint the walls & the cabinet a matching light gray.

I like the idea of a mirror that goes across the whole wall. One question though......will that freak out dudes who are trying to pee? Since the mirror would stretch in front of the toilet?

I love the paint idea. One of my favorite light gray colors is called PORPOISE. Check it out.

Also, there are some cute little mirrors you could stagger (as to not freak out the dudes) at Target:

http://www.target.com/Tarika-MIRROR/dp/B001GZ90GS/sr=1-20/qid=1246568685/ref=sr_1_20/175-1587911-3242724?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&pricerange=&index=target&field-browse=1038576&rh=k%3Amirrors&page=19

The color of the sink stand and the toilette don't match. I think all this would be easily corrected by incorporating the above ideas. It is a small bathroom, but with a little ingenuity, it can become a great space you end up loving.

One question though......will that freak out dudes who are trying to pee?

Hell yes.

But only if the mirror is low enough for the gentlemen in question to see the... um... action. If they can't see below stomach level it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

You may like to get a man to "assume the position" and hold up a small mirror at different heights to find the optimal lower level. While it needs to be done carefully I agree that a wider mirror is worth doing, both in terms of balance and lightening the room.

Suggestions to change out the sink seem to be the most expensive and time consuming! I say work with the sink: change the light fixture to one more compatible, and paint. Relocating the towel bar is also a good idea.

That sink is a lovely springboard that can inform the rest of the room. Good luck!