The bathroom is one place in the house that often becomes neglected in appearance over time, especially for those of us who live in an apartment- landlords typically frown upon tenants renovating without permission. To bring your bathroom back to life and to help it seem more open and bright, there are a few inexpensive tricks and tips y
ou can follow.
1. Add a freestanding storage unit. It’s not hard to find storage units for the bathroom, and there are actually quite a few that fit nicely around the toilet. Not only do they act as storage, but they may also add to the décor of the room.
2. Install a low flow showerhead. A shower head is something we often don’t think about unless it absolutely doesn’t get the job done. By replacing your shower head to a low flow one, you can save money on your water bill and you’ll have most likely made an upgrade from the old one. The awesome thing about shower heads is if you really like it you can take it with you when you move. Just make sure to keep the old one to put back up.
3. Re-caulk around the bathtub and toilet. As caulk gets older, it begins to look grimy and dirty no matter how many times you try to clean it. Caulk is pretty inexpensive, and it doesn’t take long to do. Once it’s done your bathroom will feel clean and new.
4. Upgrade your toilet seat. Give your bottom a break. Most landlords will replace the toilet seat once a tenant has moved out, but that’s not always the case. Even at your house, the toilet seat may be starting to look a little rough, so you may want to think about replacing the seat.
5. Purchase a new shower curtain. For me, the shower curtain says a lot about my bathroom. It’s the one thing that everyone will notice when they go in, and I don’t think they want to see an old and ugly curtain. Also by replacing the curtain you can decide how you want to decorate (wall art) your bathroom and will make your bathroom less plain.
6. Install a doorway fan. This one isn’t necessarily the most important thing to do because most bathrooms these days have fans already installed. In case yours doesn’t though I would check with your landlord and make sure they approve of it. It will help keep mold and mildew away, and if you are using portable fans as a replacement it will eliminate clutter.
7. The best part of the list is decorating. Try decorating with removable wall art. Some wall art is available in a sticker form and is very easy to remove and put back up. If you’re allowed to paint your bathroom, go for it! I’ve found that nice greens and blues are perfect for the bathroom.
8. Purchase new bathmats and rugs. In college, I always made sure to have a rug in the bathroom because we weren’t really allowed to decorate. By having the rug it added some color and a homier feel to the bathroom. Also, yours may just be looking old and dirty so replacing them may not be such a bad idea.
9. Think about putting up a unique towel rack or shelving unit. Shelving units are pretty easy to put up and take down, but if you take them down you may have to fill in some nail holes. Also, I know in my bathroom I have a pretty plain towel rack that has ceramic ends and plastic bar. I think that’s the next thing to go on my project list.
10. Hang a mirror. A lot of mirrors are the medicine cabinet mirrors which don’t last for decades. You may be beginning to see dark marks or chips in the glass. You can also have more than one mirror. If you already have one above the sink you can add a full-length mirror so that when you’re getting dressed in the morning you can see your entire outfit. A cool idea I came across was at a friend’s house and they had a really thick ribbon holding up an oval mirror over the sink. Its small things like that, that can add to the décor and feel of the bathroom.
Pictures courtesy of A30_Tsitika, EvelynGiggles, and amanky
List of rennovating ideas provided by re-nest