Although you may love spending time in your bedroom, living room, and kitchen, the bathroom is arguably the most important room in your home. It’s the first room that you go to when you wake up and the last one you visit before you go to bed at the end of the day. As such, you might be wondering how to decorate your bathroom to make it a welcoming, peaceful space.
If you decorate it with neutral color schemes and beautiful decor, this space can help clear your thoughts and provide you with a moment of solitude. When you’re stressed out after a hard day of work, you can go to the bathroom to take a warm bath or a hot shower and wash the worries of the day away.
Finally, a luxury bathroom can set the tone for the rest of your home. To ensure that it goes together perfectly with your other rooms, you should try some of the following tips on how to decorate your bathroom.
How to Decorate Your Bathroom: Paint the Walls
You can give your bathroom a completely new look by simply painting the walls. Although the most obvious choice of paint color is a white or beige bathroom, keep in mind that there are more options that’ll work perfectly for this room of your home. Vibrant teal has become very popular in modern bathroom design, while light blue is something that’ll never go out of style.
Your first step is to choose a color and test it to see how it looks during different parts of the day. It’s also important to calculate the amount of paint that you’ll need. Once you do that, you should get some basic supplies like a roller, a tray, painter’s tape, sandpaper, a patch, and an angled paintbrush.
What Type of Paint to Use in a Bathroom
The paint should be satin, matte, or semi-gloss. High-gloss is also an excellent option but it can be incredibly difficult to apply for an amateur. (You can always call in the professionals to help you, though.) Both semi-gloss and high-gloss are great repellents of water, which is why they’re often used for bathrooms.
Satin paint is a good choice only if there is little moisture in the air. Matte paint is very easy to apply and repels water as well. However, you should not use flat or eggshell paints as they’re not washable. Aside from the walls, you should also paint your radiators in the bathroom if you have them since they also contribute to the overall look of the space. This will take some extra effort compared to painting walls or other pieces of furniture.
After you gather all the necessary equipment it’s time to clean all surfaces that you’ll paint. Cleaning is an important part of learning how to decorate your bathroom. Although you might want to jump to the fun stuff, cleaning comes first! Be sure to remove the toilet tank before you start painting, as it can make it much harder for you to reach the narrow crack between it and the wall. In fact, you should remove any obstructions that’ll prevent you from reaching the walls. Apply the paint and watch as you transform your bathroom into a completely new space.
Get a New Bathroom Rug
One of the most inexpensive ways to give your bathroom a fresh look is to get a new bathroom rug. You should especially do this if you’ve already been using your current rug for a long time. This is one item that you don’t want to look old and dirty, as it will make your bathroom seem messy.
Although purchasing a new rug may look like a simple task, you should take some time to find the one that’ll fit in your bathroom perfectly. After all, it will shape the look of the whole bathroom. It’s always best to place smaller rugs in the sink area, and larger ones in front of your bathtub. If you have enough space in the room to place more than one rug, you should do it.
The color of the rug should depend on the vibe you want your bathroom to have. One idea is to have the color match those of the curtains or carpet in your bedroom. On the other hand, you can give your bathroom a relaxing tone by getting a blue, pale green, or beige rug. Finding a rug with texture can also enhance your bathroom design.
Looking for more affordable ideas? Check out 10 Ways to Update Your Bathroom for Under $100
Invest in Good Bathroom Vanity Lighting
Vanity lighting comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, so you’ll have to find fixtures that will best suit your space. One option is to get light bars, which work great both for small and large spaces. It’s recommended that you get a bar that is around 75% of the mirror’s total width. You should also make sure that the light bar isn’t wider than your bathroom cabinets or vanity.
One of the most popular choices when it comes to lighting for a bathroom are sconces. You can place them either on one or both sides of your mirror to create a wonderful ambiance. Apart from looking stylish, sconces are a great option because they increase the amount of usable light in the room. In case you’re interested in something similar to sconces, a great alternative would be pendant lights.
Limit the Number of Items on Your Countertop
There is no reason for your countertop to be filled with various bathroom accessories like beauty items, grooming tools, toiletries, and other similar products. If you always leave these products out, it will ruin the aesthetic of your bathroom. Instead, what you should do is keep the number of beauty products on your countertop down to a minimum and use the space to add decorative items, even if you have dual vanities or double sinks.
Think about what the most essential products that you need on your countertop are. These should include a hand soap dispenser and hand towels. You can store everything else in lower cabinets or a wall-mounted medicine cabinet. Then, you can use the countertop space to add one or two small plants, candles, and perhaps a photo of your partner or family.
Add Bathroom Wall Art
You probably have art hanging in all other rooms of your home, so why not hang it up on your bathroom walls or lean them on bathroom shelves as well. This will have a huge impact on the overall ambient of the space and give you something better to stare at than blank walls. Because there will be a lot of moisture and humidity in the bathroom, you’ll need art that’ll be able to withstand it.
You can never go wrong with prints and photographs that are professionally framed. Other types of bathroom wall art that you can put up on display include glass and ceramic plates. If you want to include a decorative wall element that you’ll also be able to use for storage, you should consider getting hanging baskets.
Use Wallpaper to Give Your Bathroom a New Look
You can use wallpaper instead of paint if you want to learn how to decorate your bathroom. It will cost you a few hundred dollars and won’t take a lot of your time to set up. This is one of the best ways to completely transform your dated bathroom into a bathroom with character.
Paint Bathroom Floor Tiles
The next time you start thinking about replacing your bathroom floor tiles, consider simply painting them. The most popular tile materials include natural stone, porcelain, and ceramic. Stores usually sell these either in patterns or solid colors. When they start to look old, damaged, or outdated, it’s time to paint them.
Make sure that you choose a pattern or color that’ll go well with other decorative items in your bathroom. It’s worth noting that just like store-bought floor tiles, painted tiles are durable and will withstand a lot.
Related: Can You Paint a Toilet?
Keep Plants in Your Bathroom
You should keep plants in every room of your home, including your bathroom, especially if you have a lot of natural light in there. There are multiple benefits to having a bathroom with plants, such as improved air quality and mood. To make the right decision, you should determine how many hours of sunlight a bathroom plant would be getting in your home.
Some of the most popular bathroom plants include azaleas, aloe vera, peace lilies, gardenias, and spider plants. Gardenias and spider plants thrive in bathrooms because they love humidity. However, the most elegant option would be to get aloe vera.
Get a Vinyl Floor Cloth
Vinyl floor cloths are a great way to disguise an ugly or partially damaged bathroom floor. This is also by far the cheapest option for improving the flooring in the room, as it is way more affordable than even painting tiles. Apart from being incredibly cheap, what’s great about vinyl floor cloths is that they’re incredibly durable and easy to maintain.
In case you have pets, older relatives, or small children, something like a vinyl floor cloth can be a great option. You can simply wipe away the dirt instead of worrying about whether it will stain and ruin your floor.
Invest in Quality Bathroom Cabinets
Cabinets play a huge role in the overall aesthetic of your bathroom. You have a few different options when it comes to the types of bathroom furniture you can purchase. One of the most popular choices are the wall-mounted cabinets, which can help you maximize your room space. You can also choose a freestanding unit, but note that this makes sense mostly for big bathrooms. In case you have a small bathroom, it’s best to go with a corner cabinet.
Final Thoughts on How to Decorate Your Bathroom
Ultimately, when it comes to creating your ideal bathroom and learning how to decorate your bathroom, there are an unlimited number of bathroom decor ideas you can implement. Whether you have DIY bathroom decor or hire a designer to create a full bathroom makeover, you can improve the look and feel of your bathroom with just a couple of the ideas listed above. Make sure to check out our bathroom essentials checklist so that you have everything a bathroom needs.