I started to realise that a space could look fine – even great – but still feel off. We did everything by the book. Rip out that horrendous, still-can’t-believe-they-made-people-buy-that bathroom carpet; paint the walls; get a semi-decent shower.
The whole bathroom situation was leaps and bounds beyond the 1980’ smile-inducing monstrosity the previous owner installed. But something still felt…blah? Clinical?
Like walking into the display bathroom at Homebase/HomeDepot where they contour everything to perfection but realistically no one uses that bathroom like that. My girlfriend thought it looked great, and it did, but I couldn’t help feeling like we were missing something.
That epiphany occurred to me one morning as I was rushing around getting ready for school.
Forgetting to add context, I teach middle school. So when I say year 9 first period, you have to wake up already stressed out because you’re going to be asking and answering algebraic equations in the hour you’ll spend sleeping. I am brushing my teeth with a random cup we swiped from our kitchen to hold my toothbrush, squeezing soap from one of those cheap plastic soap dispensers you get from Walmart/Target, and I’m just thinking – this is stupid.
We spent months deliberating paint colours and reading reviews on bathroom sinks and taps and then used whatever junk we had laying around to “finish” the space. It was kinda like buying an ultra comfortable couch and then throwing a dirty dingy towel over it and calling it “decorated”. The foundation was there, but it was lacking all those extra things that make a space feel homy and yours.
So I began to pay attention to the small things we used every day. We squeezed that soap dispenser about twenty times per day combined just walking through our morning routines. Hands.
Teeth. Every single press of that dispenser was pushing that flimsy plastic container meant to look like soap holder you’d buy at the petrol station. Plus, the dispensing mechanism was sketchy.
Most days you had to press super hard for it to release anything, and then you had to continue pressing until you had way too much soap flowing out. We found a ceramic soap dispenser that was only slightly lighter than our wall colour. This warm grey was one of the many colours we stressed over for days/months because I thought it’d make our bathroom look too dark (it’s small).
It was around £15/$30 – which was insanity for something that just sits there and dispenses soap – but INSTANTLY after replacing it, that section of the vanity transformed. Rather than feel like we haphazardly dropped whatever we could find into that corner of the vanity, it felt like it belonged there. Our toothbrush situation was far worse.
The cup wasn’t cutting it, and we would knock it over all the time because cups weren’t meant to sit on bathroom counters. We found an adorable toothbrush holder with individual sections and nothing too fancy, but it LOOKED like it belonged there. Can you believe something as simple as that made such a massive difference in how everything else in the bathroom seemed?
This was also when I almost ruined everything – I walked into Home Goods/HomeSense with good intentions and nearly purchased a bathroom bundle. You know those sets that match your soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, etc. I completely understand why people do those when they need to whip a bathroom together.
But to me, they always seemed to….well… Ikea-y? Like checking boxes on a list instead of buying things you actually like. So I avoided that trap by mixing-and-matching.
We stuck with the same colour scheme, but different material types – ceramic for our soap/toothbrush holders and glass for my girlfriend’s jewellery (her ring pops off when she washes her hands and she forgets where she places it) and even a bamboo holder for cotton balls/pads ($3 at HomeGoods). Our towel bars were another annoyance. Whoever put in our original towel bars clearly didn’t think about how people use bathrooms.
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The hand towel was right next to the sink so it got hit with splashback all the time. And the main towel bar was at an angle where you’d always pour water all over the floor when grabbing towels post-shower. Lowkey stuff, but it made the entire bathroom feel unpleasant to use.
Switching their location was a pain – I needed to fill the holes from the previous locations, repaint, and then drill new holes. I did this all in a weekend when I should have been grading 8th grade history papers. Haha, looking back I had more fun doing that than reading 30 identical essays on the industrial revolution.
But they look SO much better now and I upgraded the finishes to something warmer that pairs nicely with our ceramic accents. Storage was another issue we faced. Our bathroom is tiny – most bathroom conversions from old Victorian flats are because the builders wanted to fit a bathroom in what used to be a closet/another nook.
As soon as you start stacking your “essentials” on your counter space, it goes bye-bye quick. I didn’t want all of our necessities tucked away either because now you’ll find yourself constantly opening cabinets; but I also didn’t want it look like everything just happens to sit out. #IHATAPOLOGYMESS Eventually, I decided to DIY a small wooden shelf up above our toilet. I know, I know.
Store-bought storage above the toilet is probably one of the biggest debate topics. My mum thinks it’s gross and harps on me about bacteria/hygienic qualities. But hey, when you have approximately 4sq ft of floor space you’ll take counter space wherever you can get it.
Plus I painted it to match our wall colour so it seems like it’s there instead of some plastic shelf slapped on. And similar to the soap dispenser, I’m picky about what I put on it. My girlfriend even convinced me to put a small potted pothos on the end of the shelf.
Looked dumb to me because I kill plants with a touch of hydrogren. HOWEVER,apparently bathroom humidity is the optimal growing condition and I now have the most gorgeous pothos plant. It helps soften up all the hard angles/bare surfaces in the bathroom and really helped make the whole room feel more calming.
Not to mention plants make you feel like you’re an actual adult who has their shit together. Lastly, lighting was bugging me too. We kept the overhead light because it worked and we wanted to save money – teacher wages + student loan > aren’t typically swimming in extra funds for meaningless upgrades.
But it’s kinda bright – especially when you’re half asleep trying to saunter your way to the bathroom for a “quick pit stop”.. I found these battery operated LED lights you can stick underneath our bathroom vanity that create this nice ambient glow that is soooo much easier on the eyes at night.
Plus NO electrical work needed – hallelujah because I don’t have any qualifications to start playing with bathroom wires.
They were around $15 and really helped set the vibe for our nightly routines. For less than $150 and a couple weekends, we transformed our boring ol’ functional bathroom into a space that felt like US. To me, that’s the most important part of any home you live in – making your space reflect who you are as a person and transferring that same vibe to anyone who walks in your front door.
What I didn’t expect was how these small changes affected our everyday lives. Using “nice” things to complete your everyday routines just gives you one more reason to smile throughout your day. It’s like treating yourself to dine off actual plates and silverware vs. paper bowls and chopsticks.
Same food / 100% different experience. Our bathroom isn’t perfect – far from it. The tile around the edge of our bathtub is a little uneven because we DIY’d that (we’ll get it done someday!) and there’s a paint streak by the door that needs touched up.
But our bathroom finally feels complete to us and “lived-in” rather than simply exists because we need a space to shower. Sometimes it really is the little things that change your whole perspective on having a space feel like home vs. just where you keep your stuff between office hours.
