15 Creative Touches to Perk Up the Bathroom

All hard surfaces and fixtures, the bathroom is often the blandest room in the house, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Because it’s usually small, the bathroom is actually quite easy to spice up — a splash of color or a few creative accessories will go a long way. Check out these 15 ideas to transform your bathroom into a unique, color-filled haven that reflects your personality.

1. Use an antique in place of a medicine cabinet. An antique gem like the petite mirror with shelf shown here would be the centerpiece of your bathroom.

Keep an eye out at antiques shops, flea markets and fairs for a piece you love. It can help to keep the measurements of your bathroom wall on your phone or in your wallet, so if you do see something, you can check instantly if it will fit.



2. Hang vintage paintings. Sure, you probably won’t want to hang valuable art in a room that gets steamed up every day, but that doesn’t mean your walls must stay bare. The bathroom is the perfect place to hang quirky, inexpensive flea market and yard sale finds.

3. Paint your claw-foot tub. Have an old claw-foot? Freshen it up with chili-pepper-red paint on the base. Or, for a subtler update, paint only the feet a bold hue.

4. Use a vintage stand to hold towels. Vintage wicker stands meant for plants and magazines are perfectly suited to holding towels in the bathroom, and they have so much more character than a new find.


5. Hang an exotic lantern. Why stick with that boring ceiling light when you can have something really beautiful lighting your space? A lovely lantern like the one shown here will make getting ready in the morning and unwinding at night so much more pleasant.

6. Transform a table into a sink stand. Tired of cookie cutter bathroom fixtures? Have your own sink stand made out of a sturdy old table for a unique look. The table (a chest can work well too) must be strong enough to hold up the sink bowl, so have a pro look at the piece you are thinking of buying to be sure it will work.


7. Put a picture shelf around the tub. Create a rotating display of photos, postcards and small framed art to enjoy while you soak. You can either use picture shelves meant for this purpose or put a chair rail atop beadboard.



8. Cover every wall with chalkboard paint. Make like a cool coffeehouse and paint the entire interior of your bathroom with chalkboard paint. Since it’s your house, the “graffiti” can be anything you want it to be — sketches, poetry, inspiring quotations, song lyrics … whatever you can dream up!

See some of the best chalkboard art on Houzz


9. Hang shaded sconces. To give your powder room a more formal elegance, replace standard bathroom light fixtures with pretty sconces that have paper- or fabric-covered shades.

10. Paper the walls. A lovely wallpaper can make the bathroom feel really special. And as a bonus, a repeating pattern creates a sense of depth, making a space feel larger.


11. Cover the walls in maps. For a quick and inexpensive change of pace, why not paper your bathroom walls in old maps? Simply layer them on the walls, using plenty of double-sided tape to hold them up. In the moist environment of the bathroom, this look won’t last forever, but if you love it, you may be able to seal it to make it permanent.


12. Use a pretty textile as a sink skirt. Have exposed pipes beneath your sink? Hide them in the prettiest possible way by having a sink skirt made from an eye-catching fabric.


13. Set toiletries in a shadow box. Need a bit of extra storage? Instead of putting up the typical glass shelves or medicine cabinet, try a wooden shadow box. Paint it however you like and hang it on the wall to hold soaps and lotions.

14. Use a colorful plastic tote as a wastebasket. Trade your boring old trash can for a colorful plastic market tote. Isn’t that better?


15. Put up shiny wallpaper in a tiny powder room. As far as big-impact changes go, you can’t get much bigger than this supershiny hot pink wallpaper! Something this bold is best in small doses, making it the ideal choice for a pocket-size powder room. Won’t your guests be surprised when they open the door?

Tell us: What creative touches have you added to your bathroom?

More: Bathroom color guides

URL: 15 Creative Touches to Perk Up the Bathroom http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-22940.html