Posted on: October 10, 2008
Bathroom Bylaws
Effortless ways to spruce up your bathroom
By Carley Ribet
CTW Features
Image courtesy SÃURA, Inc
Keeping a bathroom clean is a tricky and expensive task, especially if you have to share the space. There are, however, cheap and easy ways to improve your powder room, i.e., decorate with brightly colored accents, add a coat of paint or create extra storage options. Get the most bang for your buck with these ideas
Shelf Life
Some extra shelving in the bathroom is not only practical, but can bring the room to life as well. A shelving unit above the toilet can hold a lot of items and requires little to no assembly. Use it for everyday items such as tissues, or to hold cute picture frames. "You can go out and buy wood or metal shelves at Crate & Barrel and use it as a place to put pictures or candles," says Lori Carroll an interior designer and owner of Tucson, Ariz.-based Lori Carroll & Associates.
Keep it Clean
It seems simple, but make sure that the bathroom stays clean. By taking the time at least once a month to use a good cleaner and really scrub down the bathroom, you will see how the room can shine. If something spills (as it is bound to do), don't wait a week before cleaning it up. If you do it right away, it won't have time to dry, which makes the process much easier.
Accessorize!
Sure, it's the bathroom, and you don't typically think about it as a place to decorate, but don't underestimate the power of a cute mirror or bathmat. Whether you want to think about it or not, you and your guests are going to excuse themselves and head to the bathroom at some point, so you might as well make the experience enjoyable. "You can always find inexpensive framed mirrors to add a little pizzazz to a bathroom. Bring in some fun textural baskets to spice up a bathroom," Carroll says.
Scents Sense
Add some candles or a plug-in air freshener to really transform your bathroom. Place a candle on one of your shelves behind the toilet or plug in the air freshener where no one can see it. You can program some air fresheners to dispense at a given interval of time so there is never a lull in the good-smelling aroma of watermelon citrus.
Color by Number
Adding just a tad of color to the bathroom can really open it up - typically, bathrooms are small, but that doesn't mean they have to be boring. Buy brightly colored towels, soap dishes or other small pieces to accomplish the same thing with less effort. "You can really spruce up a bathroom pretty easily this way," says Matt White, design consultant and brand manager at Neil Kelly Designs in Eugene, Ore. "We just get into our tired routines and we put up the same towels and accessories and it can get old."