Simple Bathroom Makeover Solutions

The bathroom is probably one of the smallest rooms in your home that you probably spend 30 minutes or more in each day.  Make your bathroom attractive, pleasant, comfortable and functional environment for yourself and your family.  Here are some tips to improve on what you have.

• Use reflection:  Install another mirror or replace the small mirror with a larger and fancier one.  Another mirror will give two people more room to get ready.  The size of your bathroom will instantly look larger.  Mirrors are relatively inexpensive as long as you stay with one that is not highly elegant such as gilt-frame beveled mirrors.     

• Add Illumination:  For the best lighting, install incandescent light fixtures on the same wall as the mirror you are using.  This way, the light comes more directly toward you and eliminates shadows.  A light in front of a mirror enhances the light reflection and will give your bathroom the illusion of expanded space. 

• Reduce Clutter:  Magazines and other reading material have no place in the bathroom; doctors routinely advise against prolonging your stay on the toilet seat.  Avoid putting fancy soaps out in the bathroom for decoration; they serve no purpose and sit around collecting dust.

• Create Lushness:  Most plants will flourish in the humidity of the bathroom.  Plants are an inexpensive way to decorate.  Arrange your plants near a window or where they will not be in your way.  Find simple to take care of plants such as Moth orchids; they are some of the least expensive, most common, and longest blooming orchids available.  Visit your local nurseries and select versatile plant varieties that will tolerate low to medium light, high humidity, and not poisonous if eaten or chewed by pets or children.  You don’t want to have something else to worry about.    

• Remove Wallpaper:  If your wallpaper is curling up at the edges or developing mildew, get rid of it.  Replace it with vinyl wall covering which can look the same as wallpaper but vinyl is sturdier and easier to clean.  You can also simply remove the worn out wallpaper and paint the wall.  Mildew-resistant latex-based paints are as good as traditional oil-based paints for their durability and cleanup ease. 

• Window Covering:  Install plastic mini-blinds or shades over the windows.  Fabric curtains or shades are likely to stay wet and grow mildew.  Plastic shades or mini-blinds are easy to wipe clean and are more durable.  Select the shades or mini-blinds that are the most opaque.  No need to put on the show for the neighbors. 

• Replace Showerhead:  If you have an old showerhead, replace it with the newer water-conserving models which have the maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute.  The good showerhead will reduce the flow of water without noticeably lowering the water pressure when you take a shower.  Be careful when buying showerheads; a larger showerhead doesn’t necessarily mean more water pressure.

Your bathroom should be both pleasant and functional refuge.  You and your family refresh and replenish yourselves in this room everyday; make it a grand room; make it a pleasure to be in.  Give your bathroom a number one, or two, priority for a simple makeover.