Bathroom

Style Guide: Bathroom Wall Decor Ideas

When it comes to decorative ideas for the bathroom walls there are simple ideas like putting up a large painting, artwork, photographs or prints as seen in picture (1). Or if you are into the more vintage style, wall decor ideas include skeleton keys, subway art signs, bird cages, and letters (Vintage Wall Decor Ideas: From Bird Cages to Designing with Frames). But I believe that the best bathroom wall decor ideas are more structural, functional, and part of the bathroom itself. For example how you paint the walls adds to the decor of the room.

Wall Texture: When it comes to painting the walls you’ll have a ton of unique choices in creating textures. Using a dry brush can create a linen texture (2) while a sponge can be used for a more marble look (3). Check out my post here for more ideas and painting techniques. Another idea would be to the paint the wall a solid color, then hang up a framed piece of decorative wallpaper that really stands out.

Mirror Styling: The bathroom mirror itself can act as a wall decor piece. In most bathrooms this is a large wall fixture. You can easily restyle the look of the bathroom just by changing the frame of the mirror. Have a look here for pictures and ideas: Designer Bathroom Mirror Ideas: From Lighting to Framing. A designer touch would be to add back lighting behind the mirror. This will add a nice soft glow in the room, and elegantly frame the mirror.

Wainscoting: Then there is wainscoting or using beadboard. This is when a panel is fitted to the lower part, breaking up a flat wall – just like in pictures (4) and (5).

Storage: The things you need to store like extra towels and cotton swabs, can be arranged to be used as decorations. Keeping them in glass jars or wicker hampers creates a nice look. These can be put up on open shelves or wall storage and cabinets with glass doors. For pictures and ideas on this take a look at this post: Design Guide: Bathroom Shelving Ideas Mood Board.

Other Unique Ideas: A few other decorative wall ideas include your window treatment, plants, and even lighting. How you do up your windows will play a role in the style and design of the bathroom. Curtains are more traditional, while the barn style windows in picture (6) are more rustic. Bamboo blinds work well for a more tropical spa like feel. Having plants and flowers in the bathroom keeps the space feeling fresh. Most people will usually just use a vase and put them on the vanity. Picture (7) shows a more unique approach with plants hanging in wall planters in the bathroom. One last idea is to use mini chandelier lights just like in picture (8). The walls in that picture have an elegant pattern from the reflection of the chandelier’s glass. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

May 23, 2013 in Bathroom, Decor

Design Notes for Shower Room Ideas

When it comes to shower rooms, the best option for partitions and enclosures is glass – either for the doors, or to separate the shower and bathroom area (instead of using shower curtains). The ideal way of doing this would to go for frameless glass pieces just like in picture (1), and have them go from the floor to the ceiling. Doing all of this, frameless and floor to ceiling, will create a more spacious and open feeling area.

Comfort and Ease of Use: A great feature to have in the showering area is a built in, recessed shelf. Another way of making the shower area comfortable and easy to use is to have a light right above (2) in the shower, instead of just having general lighting in the rest of the room.

Luxury Design Ideas: A skylight is a much better option than a window (3). As a window will need to be small, frosted or curtained off for privacy – while a skylight will bath the entire shower area in light.

Another luxurious touch would be to have the floor of the shower raised by wooden planks. This way the water drains underneath and you’re left with a tropical spa like shower room design just like in picture (4). Using rustic stone tiles for the walls of the shower is another way of creating a spa like atmosphere.

Other Great Shower Room Ideas: For a dream and modern shower design, you’ll want to have 2 shower heads. One attached to the wall or ceiling which will be large like a rain shower head. The other shower head is one that you can operate by hand. In photo (6) you can see a shower room that uses both types of shower heads (some showers have 3 different kinds of shower heads – one attached to the ceiling, one attached to the wall, and one hand operated).

One other great feature to include in your shower design is a bench. This can be built in like in pictures (7) and (8), or a free standing teak shower bench can also work well. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

May 23, 2013 in Bathroom

Design Guide: Bathroom Shelving Ideas Mood Board

Shelving in the bathroom is often overlooked, but it can play a big role in the style, decor, and how convenient and comfortable the space is.

Vanity Storage: A vanity with storage units underneath is great for saving space as seen in picture (1). Draws work well for keeping items separate and organized. Or like in picture (2) a curtain is an informal way of hiding the shelves.

The Mirror: If you have a small bathroom it would be best to get a large mirror with a great frame, instead of having one that sticks out and has a medicine cabinet behind it. Check out my post here for more mirror ideas: Designer Bathroom Mirror Ideas: From Lighting to Framing.

An Island: If you have a really large bathroom space, a great furniture piece to have would be an island (3). This is great for storage, lets you have countertop space, and makes everything a little bit more convenient.

Unique Ideas: Some unique bathroom shelving ideas include having a shadow box mirror like in picture (4), a portable shelf that can be used for the bathtub (5), or take a look at the shelves that divide up peoples bathroom amenities in picture (6). Another great and unique shelving idea is to instead of storing towels on a shelf or hooks, use a ladder (7). If you want to get crafty and go DIY, A Merry Mishap has a great tutorial on how to make your own ladder rack.

Decor and Style: One thing to remember is that your shelves and what you put in/on them can be a part of the bathroom’s decor. Rolled up towels, decorative items, glass jar containers, and plants can all be shelved and used to decorate the room. One way to do this is to have open shelves, or like in picture (8) have glass cabinet doors. These can also have lights in them to showcase the items even more. Other options when it comes to the cabinet doors is to have them completely covered, or have them frosted (9). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

May 23, 2013 in Bathroom, Storage

Shabby Chic Bathroom Ideas and Decor Designs

The shabby chic style is quite like the bohemian style in that it is quite carefree and relaxed – they also both make use of drapery and informal storage ideas. But with the shabby style the decor colors are more pastel shades.

Keeping to the informal and relaxed style, a lot of a shabby chic style storage space is out in the open. You’ve got wire baskets being used as storage (1). Towels being stored out in the open on ladders as seen in picture (2). If you do want to close your cabinets, glass panel doors will look great (3) or fabric covers (4). One idea in our vintage wall decor post was to hang up vintage/antique door knobs on the wall to act as towel hooks.

Some accessories that with fit well into shabby chic bathrooms include the old school table mirrors that flip over, and vintage perfume bottles that can be refilled with hand soap, body lotion, etc.

When it comes to furniture pieces like vanities or the wall mirror, chip painted furniture looks best (5). Or just painted wooden pieces in a pastel color. Picture (6) shows a large mirror just leaning up against the wall – this informal and relaxed style is the kind of design thinking to go for.

If you really want to go for that shabby chic look then a mini chandelier is a must have piece. Another feature piece to have in the bathroom is a canopy over the bathtub (7) – or just curtaining off the bathtub like in picture (8). It will make the bathtub feel more secluded and intimate, but it also introduces a lot of drapery into the bathroom – which really creates that shabby chic vibe. Another way of introducing a lot of fabric into the bathroom is through the windows. Hang up large fluffy and frilly curtains, even if you have a small window (9). Or if you have a shower in the bathroom, a white frilly or pastel colored fabric shower curtain is another way to go. Picture (10) shows a frilly pastel colored bathroom rug.

Having plain white walls will look great, as the pastel shades of furniture and decor will add color to the room. Another idea for decorating the walls is to create a texture just like in picture (11). You can also create a textured wall style with just paint. Check out our post here for simple and easy painting techniques. The colors showed in the pictures of that post are quite bright and colorful – for a more shabby chic style mix and blend more pastel shades. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12