Beautiful Abodes: bathroom decor

Showing posts with label bathroom decor. Show all posts

Small Bathrooms Can Have Double Sinks?!

My master bathroom only has a single sink but luckily our home has two bathrooms so if ever we catch ourselves fighting to brush our teeth at the same time one of us simply moves to the other bathroom to finish brushing. An amateur such as myself thought the most logical thing when our home was being renovated, our bathroom is just too small to have a double sink, apparently, I was wrong. Our bathroom wasn't too small to have a double sink- there is no such thing, but my mind was too small to think otherwise. Of course as I look at all these images of beautiful small bathrooms with double sinks I'm kicking myself for not thinking outside of the box and into the circle.

stylishly Unique Bathrooms

I have to admit that I am pretty obsessed with the look of bathrooms, maybe it's because I always love being pleasantly surprised and wowed by bathrooms that exude more than what they are, a place where one relieves themselves. Here are a few bathrooms that I thought go beyond in style and unique-ness, and while I can't say all of them are user-friendly I will say the concept and style is very interesting and worth looking at.

I Stand Behind: The Single Post Toilet Paper Holder

I remember all too well the nightmare having to change out the toilet paper rolls in the bathroom, the spring-loaded double posted toilet paper roll holders were anything but easy to handle. I'm still not quite sure why those things still exist because the single post toilet paper roll holders are soooo awesome! It really is that easy to use and the design is flawless. The little lip at the edge of the single post holders keep the toilet roll from falling off the post and the design is so simple it's almost as if the holder isn't there at all.

Check out the Gatco Latitude II Single Post Toilet Paper Holder in Satin Nickel ($29)

@ Home Depot

Bathrooms With That Special Something

I find the funnest rooms to decorate are the rooms that you expect the least decoration from, rooms such as the mudroom, bathrooms, entryway etc. I always love walking into a bathroom with an unexpected design. Below are a few choice images of bathrooms with exceptionally unique decor that will hopefully open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking... about your restrooms.

The teal wood panelled walls and raised platform for the claw-foot tub caught my eye in this image. It's a prairie house bathroom gone chic!

The tile and tub of this restroom reminds me of the old restrooms in the older homes I've seen except usually the tiles I've seen in these homes are usually pink. I love the green tiles here and how they go so unexpectedly well with the marble sink counter top.

The accessories: plant, stool and wooden tub board plays on the vintage bathroom accessorizing it to maintain it's main feature of being... well, vintage.

It's almost comical that a painted portrait would sit where the mirror should be, aside from that the gold toned plumbing fixtures lends a certain air of sophistication to the otherwise "old" restroom.

The combination of off-white shower tiles and dark wooden floors is very hipster-ish while the combination of the wooden circular table and high back arm chair is country chic.

The wooden sink counter top lends a very "natural" element to the restroom and also a thumbs up to the sink fixtures on the walls!

The large furniture cabinet piece for storage creates a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere to the fully tiled bathroom.

Mis-matched mirrors for the dual sink restroom makes for an eccentric vibe.

The vintage bell fixture holds the bathroom together.

What is there NOT TO mention in this restroom. Everything is unique in this restroom from the claw shower stall, to the brightly colored arm chair and the baby blue towel hanger, one may say it's a bit over the top- but that's exactly why it's so great.

Item Of Note: Ikea's affordable Hemnes 3-drawer dresser

Up until recently I was using a kitchen island as a counter top in my bathroom and for awhile I had noticed how cluttered and messy the bathroom was looking due to the towels and things on the exposed shelving on the lower part of the kitchen island. Had I not had so many items and so many different colored and differently designed towels perhaps the exposed shelving of the kitchen island may not have ended up looking so untidy. I purchased a 3-drawer dresser in a red stain (the Hemnes 3-drawer dresser from Ikea) as a way to clean up the look of the bathroom and get it to look the way I wanted it which is tidy, eclectic and charming.

Areaware Offer Hand Soapdish $65
Terrain Mesh Soap Dish, $7.95 (ON-SALE NOW!)
Costplus World Market Ivory Whale Soap Dish, $6.99

The square soap-dish with floral designs or whatever it is they decide to adorn it with are a dime a dozen. I'm always looking for something different and unique, and if you've got a quite minimal look going on in your bathroom or even kitchen (where a soap dish can double as a sponge holder) then a truly cute, stand-out soap dish can really make a difference.

The top-picks for "stand-out" soap dish comes from Areaware, Terrain and Costplus World Market. Each with their own specific attitude it's hard not to be interested, simply looking at these soap dishes make you feel something, and for such a simple over-looked item such as a soap dish to do that is quite unique.

Switching-Up The Functions Of Your Furnishings & Decor, A Great Way To Think Outside The Box

Who would have thought that a kitchen island wasn't a kitchen island and a cupcake tier wasn't a cupcake tier. Chopping board by day and bathroom storage by night! Switching up the functions of your furnishings and decor can't get any better than this... then again, there are new surprises everyday!

the kitchen island in the bathroom now consists of "His" and "Hers" drawer and functions mainly as exposed shelving for bathroom supplies, towels and weave baskets full of other bathroom goods.

At a width of about 3'11" and a height of almost 3' this affordable kitchen island ($100.00) from Ikea makes a great rustic-looking bathroom counter top and storage for a bathroom space that is of medium size. The natural birch wood can be treated with oil should you be worried of moisture damage (though I haven't treated mine and seems to be doing quite well without it) and can also be painted to the color(s) you desire to custom match it to your bathroom or any other space you wish to use it for storage.

Another kitchen item that makes for a beautiful bathroom decor or even vanity table decor is the 3-tiered cupcake holder that serves as a unique and adorable way to store your cosmetics and hair supplies, even try it as a jewelry stand!

I purchased the above 3-tier cupcake stand at Costplus World Market for $20.00 and have used it only twice for birthday cupcakes. Costplus may not have this exact style anymore but I have seen recently a rather modern 3-tier wire cupcake stand in it's place ($20). A great affordable buy with a variety of functions once you can look past the "cupcake stand".

A closet pole in lieu of a shower pole

Upon moving into our newly renovated home we realized we had planned the master bathroom tub to be too long in length, for two months my husband and I showered in the guest bathroom for we looked high and low and was unable to find a shower curtain rod long enough for our master bathroom tub. We then moved on to thinking about more creative options, wires and even ceiling hanging rod options, of course all of these were not actual shower curtain rods but possible ideas of what could work. After two months of no shower curtain rod my sister came to visit one day and when she inquired about the curtain-less tub I told her our conundrum, and she, with a mere blink of an eye said to me, "why don't you just use one of those long wooden closet poles?" I was of course happy and at the same time completely dumb-founded that we hadn't thought of it. The next week my husband and I made a trip to our local Home Depot where we bought a pole for $10 and a pack of rubber caps for $2.00.

We measured out the length of the wall and cut the wood to the proper length with a handsaw, popped rubber caps on the end and hung it up, we both took a shower in the master bathroom that night and we really could not have been more excited about it.

There is the concern that the wooden rod will warp into a condition that will eventually deem it unusable due to moisture, whether this will actually happen or not I have no idea but it beats not being able to use the tub at all. The thought that coating the wood with a paint seal did occur to me, this may possibly help it from not being affected by the moisture. Other than this moisture concern on the wood the closet rod worked beautifully, not just mechanically but aesthetically as well. The natural wood color of the closet rod goes perfectly with the other natural wood colors in the bathroom and ended up tying the bathroom decor nicely together, something I did not expect and a very pleasant surprise.

The wooden rod seems to have other advantages when compared to all other shower curtain rods, it is not only cheaper than purchasing an actual shower curtain rod but can also be painted to a color of your liking, naturally this would require a little bit more work than purchasing a shower curtain rod but it would be an original, your original, with this in mind painting and sealing doesn't seem half bad does it?

Items of Note @ A+R: Toilet Bowl Brush & Modern Fish Bowl

Normann Copenhagen & Jozeph Forakis' Ballo Toilet Brush
Plastic Material / 19.7"h x 8.66"w

Unfortunately, there are simply some things you can not do without... such as, the toilet brush. Ick! But perhaps a nice toilet brush just might do the trick, A+R's Ballo Toilet Brush by Normann Copenhagen and Jozeph Forakis centers their toilet brush design around the concept of balance and surprise, making the experience fun? Or maybe just plain different, for a change. Next time I decide to brush clean my toilet I will surely be envisioning the Ballo Toilet Brush concept and design in my bathroom, if anything, I'm sure the design is much more modern than my current too common Bed, Bath & Beyond toilet brush.

Gaia & Gino & Aruliden's Fishscape Fish Bowl
2.5 gallons / 8"h x 12.8"dia.

Another A+R Item of Note, the Fishscape Fish Bowl by Gaia & Gino & Aruliden. Pebbles and plastic plants are so 1990 and there probably isn't a simpler way for your pet fishies to adjust to the 21st century than to get a hold of one these modern and minimalistic Fishscape Fish Bowls, a hand-blown glass container with mountain ranges.

Birds On A Mat! Birds On A Dish! Birds To Light Up My Life!

Decor designs are calling for warmer days by channeling birds. I see Birds everywhere and there's no complaint here about that, look how cute they are! Pictured above and below is the Chickadee Delight Doormat ($34.95 @ Mod Cloth). Made from coir fiber with an oversized bird perched on a twig the design is simple and unique.

Above is a white Bird Bath-Room Soap Dish ($16.99 @ Mod Cloth) though I think it would be just darling as a sponge dish next to the kitchen sink or even as a trinket dish on your vanity table as well. I have a porcelain claw-tub soap dish being used as a sponge dish in my kitchen, it's amazing how such a small item can transform and complete the feel of an area. If you don't use bar soap try such a dish as a sponge dish, I think you'll be surprisingly satisfied.

The popping colors and the birds in flight in this Bright in Flight Lamp ($87.99 @ Mod Cloth) is uplifting- perfect for childrens' rooms or your quirky mod home decor.

For more Mod Cloth click here

The Bathroom

There are places where one goes in their own home when everything is awry, a place of comfort. Sometimes it is in the kitchen where you can cook up a storm and get your mind off of things and onto something you know will turn out right. Sometimes in the den where it's nice and cozy and you give yourself permission to relax because... well, it's the den. Sometimes in the library where your favorite and most comfortable chair resides, there you can kick back and breath a sigh of relief. For me it is my bathroom. I have an old bathroom made in the 1920s, it has a deep and long tub perfect for taking baths which I seem to be doing quite often these days, I have on a shelf a large glass jar full of bath salt, a weaved basket of fluffy towels, a flower shaped bath rug, a table to put a box of tissues and magazines. The bathroom is where I relax and it's where I start my day, I think it very important.

Shower Curtains, Turning A Bathroom Into More Than Just A Bathroom

Most of us aren't lucky enough to be sitting on a pile of money which means that the apartment or house that we reside in likely will not have bathrooms that we see in million-dollar homes with loads of space to move around in lined with nicely tiled floors and walls with expensive sink basins and tubs. But this shouldn't exclude us from having a nice bathroom to spend our time in when need be for a warm bubble baths and meetings with the porcelain god.

A trick to brightening up that bathroom and making it look more than what it is, just a bathroom- is to spend a little bit more when picking out those shower curtains. The shower curtain, the largest object in the restroom aside from the tub itself makes a world of difference if chosen with care. Skip Ikea, Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond- shower curtains may be affordable here but they also look affordable if you know what I mean. Instead, go online and check out the shower curtains at CB2, Anthropologie, Marimekko, Urban Outfitters (which surprisingly has pretty good prices for unique looking shower curtains).

Once the shower curtain is up it becomes easy to decorate around it. I opted a couple years ago to spend a little more and get a Marimekko Birch Tree shower curtain with lots of green on it, once hanging in my restroom I knew the bathroom had to have a color scheme around green and a theme relative to nature, so I hung Bamboo wood blinds and used weaved baskets of light wood to store neatly folded towels which I display out in the open. The shower curtains had really brought it all together.

Marimekko Birch Tree Shower Curtain $55

Since I've had the shower curtains for almost 3 years now and is still in good shape, I think the $55 I spent on it was definitely worth the while, especially when I'm praising the porcelain god!

Marimekko