I Tried Joanna Gaines’ “Three-Word Method,” and It Totally Transformed My Room

Of all the rooms in my apartment, the bathroom has always felt the least inspiring to me. It’s a decent size, but it lacks natural light and doesn’t have a soaking tub (a girl can dream), and some finishes feel more “meh” than memorable. My decorating process went as far as swapping the original light fixtures, hanging a thing or two, and painting the walls. 

But recently, as I stood in the bathroom staring at its lack of character and vibrancy, I realized it no longer felt right. I’ve always trusted my instincts to guide me (to be fair, my husband picked out the paint shade), but I knew I rushed into this process, and it was time for a change. That’s when I came across Joanna Gaines’ new Masterclass — which just launched last month — and learned her “three-word rule,” a simple formula she follows to create spaces with a unique story and clear vision.

The concept is straightforward: Define how you want your space to feel, distill it into three guiding words, and use them as a compass for all your design decisions (your design North Star, if you will!). Gaines says the three words you choose can literally be anything, like a style, mood, or simply a word that you like. If you’re stuck, she suggests flipping the script: Identify how you don’t want your space to feel and work backward from there.

I was intrigued by this idea, and my bathroom makeover was officially underway. The first step involved discovering what story I wanted my bathroom to tell. My home is an extension of me, but what did I want to say in this particular space? How did I want it to feel? I landed on romantic, sophisticated, and layered. Each of these words embodied something that I realized I deeply craved and lacked in the “before” space.

Once I had my three words set, decisions suddenly became easier. Replacing the green walls was an obvious starting point, but I toyed between a few different colors. At first, I thought I wanted to brighten up the bathroom by painting the walls a creamy butter yellow, but I realized that it would look dull due to the lighting. Instead, I chose a pinkish mauve that felt romantic and sophisticated — even a little moody when the overhead lights were off. 

The color instantly changed the entire vibe of the room, going from an electric jolt to that feeling you get when you walk into your favorite hotel’s bathroom. To enhance the sophistication I wanted to channel, I sourced an ornate brass mirror to swap for the plain one on the wall. I even went as far as thinking about scent here, too, and lit one of my favorite floral candles to really instill the romantic mood.

While the color and scent set the tone, the room still needed its finishing touch: personal layers. I’ve always loved the look of jam-packed gallery walls in small bathrooms (one of my favorite wine bars near me does this so well), so I pulled together postcards and artwork I had lying around the house to hang. There’s no specific theme for the pieces I selected other than that they make me happy (if that’s not the point of artwork then what is?). This made it even easier for me to mix and match various styles that brought charm to my space.

Redecorating a room can feel overwhelming, but I had a plan in place with Gaines’ three-word rule. I love how my new bathroom looks, but most importantly I love how it feels: romantic, sophisticated, and layered, just like I envisioned.