“I have the old ugly olive green bath tub, toilet and sink. The counter top has a green and white swirl look, the floor has 3 different kinds of green mixed in it. There is a beige and olive green tile border around the shower and bath tub. In my opinion there are too many greens, they don’t match – the whole things looks straight out of the 70s. I will get it all redone one day, but for now do you have any suggestions? We don’t have much money to put towards the project right now, but I’m wondering if we should paint or maybe wallpaper? Thanks!”

Jason says…

Thank you so much for your Design Direction submission. Having grown up in the 1970s, I can imagine your bathroom very well! I would keep things really simple until you are ready to renovate. I would paint the walls an eggshell finish off-white that has a tiny touch of green in it like Sherwin Williams ‘Pearly White’. You could also paint the vanity (if there is one) the same color in a gloss finish. Another low budget solution to make the bathroom enjoyable until you renovate is to have the tub reglazed. There are lots of companies that will do this, and I would recommend doing it in white. Finally, depending on how your sink works (is it part of the counter or undermounted to the counter surface?), you could find a remnant piece of granite or marble at Home Depot or Marmara in Washington, DC and have the counter replaced with something light in color for a minimal amount of money. I would pair this all with white towels and simple bathroom accessories. The avocado greens matched with lots of white could result in a more 2010 spa look instead of Greg’s bathroom from The Brady Bunch. Good luck!

What do you think?

“I really like the idea of wallpaper in a bathroom, but I’m a little nervous about wallpapering my own half bath.  I wanted it to be nice since it’s the bath the guests will use, but it’s a little on the small side… I was hoping you could help me with whether to go for a bold printed wallpaper or a textured one? Cover all four walls or just the one behind the vanity? Or the one behind the toilet? Help!”

Jamie says…

The half bath is an area of the home where most residents spend very little time, and the decor does tend to be more for the enjoyment of your guests. With that, I’m all for using wallcovering in a bathroom. Regarding whether to cover all four bathroom walls or just one, I’d suggest covering all four walls if you find a solid, textured wallcovering or a wallpaper with a small pattern you like. It’s also fine to use a more bold and interesting wallpaper in the half bath. But, if you go with a larger pattern, I’d recommend doing only one wall. Large prints and patterns can become very busy in a small space. You want a wow factor, you don’t want to make your guests dizzy. I first instinct is to suggest you wallpaper behind the vanity, but whether you do one wall behind the vanity or toilet is really a personal aesthetic choice. One other thing to consider, going with a more solid, textured wallpaper gives you the opportunity to do more with other decor elements, such as including art or photos, an interesting mirror, etc.  If you go with the more bold print, you want that to stand out, so you’ll want to keep other items in the half bath simple as not to compete with the wallpaper. Hope that helps!

“I just bought a home with a very tiny master bathroom. If being small isn’t enough to deal with, there’s an issue with the toilet being right at the doorway. Originally the door opened in towards the vanity, but prior owners removed the door and put up, of all things, a plastic accordion door. Another issue is the shower stall. First, it has no lighting. Previous owners took off the pivot door and replaced it with a shower curtain. As you reach in to turn on the water, you get soaked. I’m trying to find out what would be the best layout to utilize what little floorspace there is. My best idea for this space would be to replace the shower stall with bypass shower doors, replace the vanity with a smaller vanity that is 15″ or 18″ deep (need the storage space) and we really would like an elongated toilet, so one that takes up the least amount of floor space. Last, put in a pocket door. Other than the above, I really can’t come up with any other ideas. Any help would be greatly appreciated!”

Krissy says…

“Hello! Let me start by saying, congratulations on your new home!

Your master bathroom may be small, but there are certainly ways to improve the efficiency of the space and make it appear larger and more spacious. First, consider making it a “wet bathroom”. Remove the wall dividing the shower from the rest of the room (and consequently let more light into the shower!), re-tile the entire floor, shower included, in 1″ x 1″ tiles (make the shower floor the same level, without any threshold, as the rest of the floor, but angle the entire floor slightly toward the shower drain). Tile the shower walls to the ceiling and the wall behind the sink and toilet, and the wall opposite the sink and toilet, to about shoulder level. Switch the locations of the toilet and vanity. Rather than the heavy “built-in” look of the existing vanity, try to find a unique chest of drawers or cabinet that could be re-purposed as a vanity and still provide you with storage space (and if you can’t find one that will fit the space, have one built for you!). Not only will reorienting the fixtures in this way better suit a “wet bathroom” but having a beautiful piece of furniture with an equally attractive mirror above as the first thing you see will be much more aesthetically appealing than walking into the toilet. With your new “wet bathroom”, a simple glass panel separating the bathroom from the new toilet location will be enough to keep shower water from going everywhere. Leave enough room between the glass partition and the back wall to slide your hand through and turn on the shower so that you don’t get soaked when turning on the shower. If you’re so inclined, a rain-shower would look great in this application. Finally, if the master bedroom beyond allows, opt for an outward swing door which will maximize privacy. If that isn’t an option, than your instinct for a pocket door is spot on!

Best of luck!”

What do you think?

“I have gotten quite a bit accomplished in my place, but I’ve still got this bathroom left. I’m not sure what to do about color and décor because it’s a bathroom used by guests and my children. Any advice on how to quickly make this bathroom better (trying to complete this project before Thanksgiving)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.”

Sarita says…

A bathroom shared by guests and kids…this is a tricky one! Don’t worry; I think there are some quick fixes you can make before Thanksgiving to spruce up this double-duty bathroom!

First, add some color to the walls with a hue that is neutral enough to please a lot of people but has enough color to not be boring for the children. I think that green is a great color for this situation; it isn’t gender specific (I don’t know if you have boys or girls) and many shades of green are neutral enough to work with many other colors. Two of my favorites are Benjamin Moore “Chameleon” and “Sweet Caroline.” Of course, I think that you should consider the color palette of the rest of your home when choosing the color for this bathroom. So, if green doesn’t work, there are other options (yellow is a good one) that may work.

Second, since the sink area is pretty small in this bathroom, I think that you could use an additional surface area for decorative accessories like candles, soaps, or even flowers for guests. There seems to be space on the left-hand wall as you enter the space for a small bathroom shelf. There are so many different styles of free-standing bathroom shelves available! Do a little hunting and find something that fits in that space; then fill it with some new guest towels, pretty soaps and decorative accessories. Make the sole purpose of this new shelf to store items and accessories for guests; then use the under-sink cabinet for storing your children’s bathroom items and toiletries out of sight when you have visitors.

Third, add some color and beauty with a few small pieces of art (above one or both of the towel racks) and maybe a new shower curtain with a fun pattern and you will have a beautiful new bathroom to show off to your Thanksgiving guests!

What do you think? 

Hi Vastu!

A while ago I saw an image of a room painted black and fell in love.  I really want to do it, but I’m afraid. My concern is that while these rooms look moody and intriguing in photos, it might be too much in real life. I sent you all a picture of a black bathroom I found on a blog called Home Interior Design Themes because the room I’m considering painting black is my master bath (though I don’t have the really cool tub).  So, what are you thoughts on painting walls black?  Is it a no, no?

Really looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks

What do you think?