Enough about the short toilet.
Here's what we're working with. This is the entrance to the bathroom. The orange is not something we have to keep, though all the kids are fine with it. It's a happy, gender neutral color, after all.
This is what you see as you stand in the bathroom door.
The seashell wallpaper at the top of the wall? It will be removed. Absolutely. Gag-o-rama. The uneven towel racks that are also different sizes? They've also got to go. I really like symmetry and balance, so those racks drive me batty. Not a huge fan of silver either. I'd like to keep a white shower curtain, partly because I like white and partly because it keeps that room bright. I think I want a framed print of some sort above the toilet, but I'm not sure what I want it to be of. Something bright, maybe a little random or funky.
Moving on to the left side of the sink.
The previous owners installed some shelves here. The two rounded ones are fine, I suppose, but the one that extends the counter bugs me. I understand the desire for extra counter space, but I think it looks tacky.
Want to know what's ridiculous about this bathroom? The toilet paper holder is mounted to the left side of the cabinet. See it peeking out in that picture? There's really no great place to put it, but lame, lame, lame!! A person shouldn't have to turn nearly 180 degrees to reach the toilet paper. Right now we're keeping the toilet paper on the counter so that the kids can reach it. Eventually I want to get an adhesive holder and mount it on the inside of the cabinet under the sink. I know that's an odd place to put it, but an adhesive holder wouldn't have screws that bust through the cabinet door and it would be easy for everyone to access.
The biggest problem we have in this room is that we need somewhere to hang four towels, but there's very little wall space. I saw a towel rack on Pinterest and got inspired on what to do with this corner. Here's the rack.
This particular rack connects to the door hinges, which wouldn't work in our bathroom. However, I could use the same idea with swing arm curtain rods. I'd just tear out the shelves that are mounted to the left of the sink and hang the rods in that corner, pointing toward the toilet. I like that the towels would hang flat against the wall, but that we could pull them out and stagger them when they needed to dry. Brilliant, huh?
Here's the view of the sink.
There's not a lot to say about this part of the bathroom. I love the white cabinets and mirror!! The mirror is also a cabinet, in case that matters to you. Still not digging all the silver, but I could swap out the knobs at some point.
This is a similar shot, but it shows you the light fixture. It's very pretty and silver. Not bad, necessarily, but not what I would have chosen. Even the standard row of round lights would be more up my alley. I'm kinda plain and simple when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Here's the right side of the sink.
That's another rounded shelf. One rounded shelf. One rounded shelf that isn't even with either of the two on the other side. AAAAAGGGGHH!!!
And towel racks. Two different kinds, a hook and a ring, right next to each other. At least they're even.
But wait, we wouldn't want to leave the bathroom without throwing in one more towel rack. Or hook, as the case may be. There's one mounted to the right side of the cabinet.
And that, my friends, completes your tour of our main bathroom.
So, here's what I want.
* Suggestions for paint color. This is the only room where I truly don't care (within reason, of course) what color we go with.
* Pats on the back for my towel solution or other ideas that are equally brilliant.
* Pats on the back for my toilet paper holder solution or other ideas that are equally brilliant.
* A fun print that could be framed and hung above the toilet. It's entirely possible that I would choose the paint color based on the print. Keep in mind that it's for both genders and that I don't want it to be childish. Just fun. I think I'd rather have one larger print than a collection of smaller ones, but I'm open to all suggestions.
* Sympathy for the fact I have to see such an assortment of mismatched and uneven towel holders on a regular basis. It's traumatic, I tell ya!
15 comments:
I came here to see baby pictures. I demand baby pictures.... :)
Decide on the print first, then the wall color will be easier. I don't suggest grass green. That is what someone painted our bathroom and I still can't walk in there. Hope to find some "opps" paint to change that out this summer.
Here is what I reccomend for pretty much all spaces you are living in and redoing. Take down the things you don't like/know you want to change. Then do nothing for awhile. Slowly add things, move them around, etc. If you change everything in one clean sweep and don't love it, you will have a much harder time pinning down exactly what aspect you don't love. Is is t the print with the wall color, though you love them both separately, etc.
DO test paint sections on the wall. I can't recommend this enough even if it costs a little extra to get your paint choices in sample sizes. You don't want to regret your pain choice and colors can be so deceiving before they are on your wall and dry and under your particular lighting, etc.
-jess
When I saw that you were going to post about your bathroom and that you're looking for suggestions, I couldn't wait to get home this afternoon because I wanted to share with you what we did in our bathroom. I realize that you have specific things your are looking for or are looking to avoid, but I just wanted to share with you my plan of attack when we were faced with an unplanned bathroom remodel. I'm going to go post some pics on my facebook. I will either tag you or send you a link as soon as I can get them uploaded!
Linda - I think your're right that the print should be chosen before the paint. And grass green? I'll probably have greens and blues in other parts of the house, so I won't do them in the bathroom, but I wouldn't do grass green anyway. Yikes! Hope you find some cheap paint this summer! :)
Monica - I'll keep an eye on your FB page today!
Jess - Excellent advice! Thanks. I like to get everything done at once, but your approach would be better in the long run for this decorating stuff. Maybe I'll start taking down the towel hook/rack collection today. :)
Saw this just the other day....
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60047896/
Four bars.
Love the corner towel rack idea! We have one that hangs over the back of the door, but only hold three towels. But our bathroom is way more odd than yours. It's next on the list for a redo after the kitchen gets done.
My thought on the paint color would be something light as there are no windows in the room.
And people who design bathrooms never think about the toilet paper, do they? We've had some odd TP placement in past houses...
We had issues with towel racks as well. Just never found a great place near the shower. Yep, my child is 19 so no more helping there.:-) We finally bought some hooks to just put in the wall. Doesn't take up any space, and fits anywhere you like. It works for us so figured I would throw it out there. I know it will all look great when you are done Bethany.
Steffi
My thoughts on the towel rack in the corner. I would make sure it's out of the "pee splash zone". I don't like to keep anything near the toilet for that reason. My dh and son, do not make a mess, but we've had visitors with poor aim, to say the least, and still there is the splash... If it was my bathroom, I'd hang the towels over the register. It's not like you're going to hang dripping wet things over the vent and you'll have less chances of mold if the towels are getting dry. One year, while we were in the States staying in a small place, my sister bought us an over the door towel rack that was handy and out of the way. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture and am not sure how to describe it.
I love that mirror cabinet! Very cute! Hope that soon you won't be dealing with all kinds of mismatched towel racks/bars/hooks/hangers...etc. :) Have fun!
I'd go with the beautiful orange you picked and keep that for a theme. There are really great fun prints you can find with orange in them for above the toilet. It keeps the room bright when it doesn't have any window. I like the idea of just ripping out what you hate and then slowly adding things. I love all the white too. Definitely scrap that border along the ceiling. I mean really? I like your towel rack behind the door solution for bath towels. In our girls' bath we have a coat rack painted glossy white (you know, it has the four things sticking out to hang coats on). They hang their towels off that and maybe that would work for hand towels/washclothes near the sink. Just a thought.
Rosie - Thanks for the link!
Kristal - Good call on the light paint. I don't want neutral, but I better not get a color that turns the bathroom into a cave. :)
Steffi - I thought about doing hooks on the back wall, but none of our shrimpy kids would be able to reach them til high school. Of course, they may not be able to reach the rack/rod things either. Hmmmm ... I *did* find some really cute hooks on pinterest made out of faucets. Another hmmmmmmmmm .....
Lorinda - I like the idea of having the towels over the vent for drying out, but I don't think that wall is wide enough. Here's another hmmmmmm ..... :)
Don't forget about that ugly fleshy counter top when picking colors. A real bright, kid-friendly color might not jive with 'boring beige.' But, you know what WOULD compliment that sink well? - mauve and peach! (hee, hee)
I would get rid of that corner shelf, it causes shadows, which makes the room seem smaller.
I like the mirror!
Fun idea to have folks pitch in to help you decorate! :o) Here’s my take:
-Neutral/earth tone light paint color. Reason is it’s a small bathroom so the lighter color will make it appear larger. Also, the color will never “go out of style”. If you are screaming for color, use it in accessories/deco. How about a small plant on one of the shelves?
-Although it may be lower priority, installing shower doors instead of using a curtain would look nice.
-Remove the towel bars away from the toilet – icky! I’m 5’ and I have a hard time reach over a toilet if I ever need to. I think you should have 1 and the 1 to the right of the sink works.
-A pic above the toilet would be good –You could get creative and buy 4 of the smaller art canvas’ – then go to the fabric store and have kids pick out fabric they like and stretch it around the canvas and staple it in the back – voila – 4 personalized art pieces. If you did this, you may have to find 10-15 fabrics you like first that all match and then let them pick their own out of those.
-Towel rack for the kids – use a behind the door rack – very easy and fits over the door so no holes!
-I’ve never liked them but there are TP stands to move about wherever you like.
Can you get a row of coat hooks for hanging towels? It seems like that would fit neatly above the heating vent & it's easier for kids to hang their towels neatly on hooks. as for the tp holder, I bought one that holds one roll on a bar & a spare just below it. It hooks over the side of the toilet tank...you lift the lid & hang it there. It works great for our kid bathroom, & it was inexpensive at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It's chrome but you may be able to find one in a different finish (although the chrome would go the bathroom as it is now). I'd check Etsy for orange artwork..did you know you can shop by color there?!
I love what Jess said about taking out everything you can't stand and leaving it for a while.
We did this in almost every. single. room. in. this. house. - the only reason those stinkin' blue countertops are still there is I actually figured leaving them would be safer than ripping those suckers out and be stuck in construction he!! for the next year. (SOOOOOOOONNNNNNN those nasty countertops are comin' out!).
This method of coping did have the after effect that I didn't have LIGHTS in my kitchen for almost 6 months though....:) IMO, that was better than the nasty track lighting (BLUE!! circa 1982) that was there.
Those shelves are bizzare. As are the towel racks. As is the sneaky toilet paper holder.
Honestly though, I just want to see what you do with all your black frames and Ws. :)
Hi Bethany,
I'm NOT a decorator so I'd do something really simple. I'd probably keep the pain white, maybe pain the mirror orange, get cool orange handles for the cabinet, etc. I agree that I don't like the little shelf extension and the asymmetry of the racks would bother me. Have you thought about a floor stand for the toilet paper roll? My sister has one and it works for her toddlers as well as for the adults. I've also seen families who had towel racks for each kid in the bedroom (over the back of the door, perhaps) so the bathroom wasn't so crowded.
Aurora Borealis from Sonlight
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