A restroom is more than just a functional space; as its name suggests, it is and should be a place of rest. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, a quality bathroom is always clean, and it usually has a few decorative touches. In this post, I’d like to reflect on what those decorative touches are — and how a few simple tricks can enhance a restroom environment.
This is not to say that every restroom must have all the following characteristics. Depending on the space, even just one or two of these suggestions could be enough to transform a bathroom for the better. Above all, honor your own personal taste and the circumstances of your own home.
Why decorate the bathroom?
As with any room, a restroom’s decor should reflect and reinforce its function. A quality restroom is a place of solace, a place where an individual can have a few moments of quiet and tend to physical and emotional needs. As such, its physical appearance should have a relaxing or cheering effect.
As a host, a pleasant bathroom acts as an unspoken gesture toward guests. Even something as simple as a lighted candle sends the message, “I’ve been expecting you, and you are welcome here.” I don’t know about you, but those little details can’t help but lift my mood!
Small Space, Big Possibilities
Compared to the other rooms in the home, most bathrooms are small, and they might seem like poor candidates for thoughtful design. But that small space could be a great opportunity to try new things and go bold with decor without leaving an overwhelming effect. In the worst case scenario, a small bathroom design gone wrong can easily be changed!
1. Keep it clean.
Before diving into decorating, it’s important to tackle the most essential characteristic of a restroom: cleanliness. If a bathroom isn’t clean, it doesn’t matter how many frills are stuffed into it; it will still smell and feel icky. Cheryl Mendelson, author of Home Comforts, cautions homemakers against relying on air fresheners. They might banish an unpleasant odor in the short-term, but if used too frequently, they mask the underlying causes of those odors and allow the space to grow increasingly unsanitary. It’s helpful to practice tidy habits for day-to-day cleanliness — closing the shower curtain and removing any visible hair after a shower, wiping down the sink after using it, etc. If everyone at home keeps up these small habits, it makes a more thorough clean much easier. I aim to clean the bathroom from top to bottom once a week (read more about my routine here).
2. Stock it with the essentials (and extras).
No one likes to be the person who goes to wash their hands only to find that the soap dispenser is empty — or worse, the person who goes to use the restroom and finds that the toilet paper has run out.
To prevent this from happening, keep an eye on the supply of essentials in the room and restock regularly. Rather than wait till there is barely any soap or TP left, I try to replenish the room when I notice the supply is about one quarter full.
Here are the essential items to keep an eye on:
- Hand soap
- Toilet paper
- Hand towels
- Tissues
- Full-sized towels (for a full bath)
- Bar of soap or body wash (for a full bath)
To make this job easier, I try to find space to store the essential supplies in the restroom itself. That way, I won’t need to run to the cleaning closet every week. Cabinets under the sink, a hanging rack to keep a few extra toilet paper rolls, and a basket or two are great tools for just that.
In addition to the essentials, adding a few personal care items immediately makes a restroom welcoming. My mom-in-law keeps a perpetually stocked basket of toiletries in her guest bathroom, and it always makes me feel special when we visit. The basket has small comfort items like hand lotion, a travel toothpaste kit, a lint roller, deodorant, hairspray, and even small mints and chocolates. I’ve also seen baskets like this in hotel restrooms that have feminine products, first-aid items like bandages and ibuprofen, and Q-tips. Even just a few of these things in a bathroom adds a little something extra to make its users feel well cared for.
Books in the bathroom?
Some people like to keep books or magazines in the bathroom. Personally, I am not a fan of this practice. Not only does it seem a little unsanitary, but it also seems to encourage guests to stay away from rest of the group long enough to read an article. In my view, a painting or a quote on the wall can provide sufficient visual and mental interest while also keeping reading time in the living room.
3. Light a candle.
If I walk into a restroom and there is nothing that adorns it except a lighted scented candle, I still feel warm and welcomed. For an extra fancy feel (perhaps when hosting a party), keep the light switch off, the candle lit, and the door slightly ajar so that guests can easily find the restroom and instantly feel the calming effect of the candle.
If you’ve decorated along a theme, try a scent that matches — a lavender scent in a floral bathroom, a pine scent for a woodland theme. And when in doubt, a fresh linen scent never fails.
A great companion (or even alternative) to candles is flowers. Fresh ones are ideal — and doable with low-maintenance choices like orchids or succulents. They bring a sense of life, warmth, color, and aroma into the room. That said, a nice bouquet of faux flowers still has an elegant effect.
4. Try a theme.
In a living or dining room, themed decorations can come off as overwhelming or tacky. I once visited a home whose living room had a bear theme; everywhere I turned, a bear figurine or painting looked back at me! (The design was done tastefully, so I’m not saying don’t ever try this in your living room, but it was quirky.) In the smaller space of a bathroom, however, decorating with a theme requires fewer items, which makes the overall effect more subtle. Plus, a theme can pull the restroom together with a sense of cohesion and offer some visual interest to its users during the minutes they spend there.
In choosing a theme, something relaxing and soothing suits the restroom well. I’m a big fan of the seashore theme, which need not be limited to the beach house! If anything, it offers a hint of summer vacation year-round. In our New York apartment restroom, I carried out this theme using the following small decor details:
Seashore-Themed Restroom
- A jar filled with seashells on the window sill
- A large seashell in a shadowbox frame on the wall
- A weather-beaten gray clock
- A “pink sands” scented candle
If I had more wall space to work with, I would probably add a small painting off a beach umbrella and chair or other seaside scene.
When it comes to choosing a theme, the sky is the limit! But here are a few more ideas:
- Flowers & gardens
- National parks (if you’ve visited one, this makes for a great memory trove)
- Birds & fish
- Famous art (my mom’s hall bathroom has some lovely Impressionist replicas she got from a gift shop)
Another idea is to tailor the theme to the people who will be using it most often. For instance, a bathroom by the girls’ bedroom could be dressed up with some soft pink curtains, a painting of a girl or fashion items, or any other feminine touch.
5. Go bold with color.
Once again, the small space of the bathroom provides big possibilities. Award-winning interior designer Paula Caravelli, often likes to expand a room with color. “Unless there are incredible doors, moldings, or a tall ceiling, I often paint the walls, ceiling, and all trim in the same color,” she told me for an article on I once wrote about interior design. “It visually enlarges the space as it blurs the demarcation between wall and ceiling and focuses one’s attention on the artwork and/or furnishings.”
Judging from the bathroom designs Caravelli has done (such as this royal blue one or this fire engine red one), this technique can work wonders. And if you’ve never painted a room before, a small place like the bathroom could be a good starter!
If a full-on paint job is out of the question, adding pops of color could work: a painting, a bouquet of flowers, a set of bright towels.
Hopefully, these five tips can lift the tone of this seemingly menial room!
Spreading the Wealth
These tips could spruce up other small functional rooms as well — add some faux flowers to the laundry room, hang a tractor painting above the work bench in the garage, or paint the cleaning closet lime green! A little touch goes a long way.
Resources
“The Air in Your Castle,” Cheryl Mendelson (Home Comforts)
“5 Quarantine-Friendly Design Tips to Enhance Your Home,” Sophia Martinson (Theology of Home)
