I’ll admit it – I used to think bathroom art was a bit snobby. You go to the bathroom to poop and wash your hands. You don’t go to the bathroom to appreciate watercolors at the Tate Modern.
After almost two decades sprinting for stalls mid-flight whilst balancing on the toilet seat edge in airport-level anxiety about someone breezing in at the hospital staff bathroom with its magnolia paint colour, I became desperate for anything remotely calming once I got home. Anything that didn’t scream WORK WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO POOP. Turns out hung some pics.
Ha. How could I have been so blind?
We went on holiday – we rented this teeny cottage in the Peak District.
It wasn’t glamorous at all – just us trying to get away after I’d had a particularly shitty week on my unit. It had this teeny bathroom. Like, probably smaller than most people’s closets.
But this sweet soul that had rented it before us hung up three tiny frame pictures on the wall. Little watercolour-style pictures of birds that were local to the area – a robin, a bluetit, and what I think was a wren. Easily picked up for £10 each at a local craft show.
Except each morning (you know how it is when you wake up) I found myself looking at these tiny pictures instead of glaring at empty white walls or scrolling through my phone. It just made the whole cramped bathroom feel…not necessarily luxurious but less..functional?? When we came home to our own bland white bathroom with its basic mirror it was SUCH a downgrade.
I decided we needed some art up in our bathroom too. Lord did I learn some things through trial and error. Don’t get me wrong, this print is gorgeous.
Lovely botanical style print I picked up from a market vendor. Cute picture of green ferns that I thought would look great in our crisp white bathroom. Got it mounted in this thin cheap wooden frame (£8) from Wilko and hung it up opposite the sink feeling super smug.
A month of toileting had severed all the corners. Edges were splitting, the backing was warped/bubbled all over, it looked like it had been left out in the rain. Bathrooms are essentially damp closets.
Not all frames are designed to handle that kind of moisture; many of them will autumn apart. Learn from my mistakes. /ReallyHopeYouFiguredThatOneOutYourself Also, hypothetically if you spend a significant amount of your life staring at moisture damaged walls/cabinets at hospitals like myself maybe you could have deduced your bathroom at home would be subject to the same issues?! ? I’m now way more choosy about materials.
Metal frames are fantastic. I have some aluminium ones that have lasted two years and look immaculate even after daily showers. These are, of course, more costly (£25-£40 vs < £10) but will also last you significantly longer.
I’ve also discovered there are sealed wooden frames out there with better moisture barriers that should work too; these will also set you back more $$$. Oh ya – I also learned a thing or two about hanging. Scared to drill holes into my bathroom tile and/or hit a pipe, I began to rely on command strips designed for high-humidity areas and they’re AMAZING.
At first I was skeptical because they sounded too easy but I’ve had many prints hanging for months with zero slipping/offing. As far as weight goes, trust me when I say you don’t need the heavy duty hardware. Most art for the bathroom will be fine with simple 3M hooks that are only rated for a few pounds each.
And weight goes for size too. Another rookie mistake I made was hanging TOO MANY tiny pieces. My bathroom has big white subway tiles that I love, so I thought small gallery wall style prints would look classy.
Wrong. They looked like stickers slapped on top of this big ol’ wall of white. Now I keep things more minimal – usually no more than 1 large piece or 2 medium-sized pieces max per wall.
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Looks ten times better that way. Subject matter was another trial-and-error kinda thing. First off I tried hanging some geometric abstract prints because I thought they’d look modern/clinical?
But they were too harsh with the curves of my sink and bathtub. Photographs are by FAR your best bet, especially if they’re in black- and white with soft contrast instead of high/photographic contrast. I picked up this darling photo of sand dunes at a photography festival in Leeds – got it for about £20 and it brings this awesome textured calmness to our bathroom.
The photographer was selling prints of work she’d done previously at a discounted price; this one just spoke to me. It has these soft beige and grey colours that for some reason just make your bathroom feel like a spa. Done correctly, florals aren’t automatically cheesy either!
But if you choose wisely they can work really well. Stay away from bright/busy florals because that’ll just add clutter to an already small space. Instead go for line drawings or vintage style botanical prints.
I picked up this adorable Victorian fern print as a repro online and had it professionally framed – came to £35 and it looks like it belongs in there enhancing the room vs just…decorating. Speaking of stuff that looks like it just…decorates. FAMILY PHOTOS.
BAD idea. I thought it would bring MORE personality to the space so I hung a nice picture of Phil and me from our wedding above the toilet. But there is something WRONG happening when you see your husband’s face staring at you while you poop.
Swapped that baby over to the hallway quicker than you can say “what in God’s name were you thinking? ?” Lastly, pick a colour scheme and STICK WITH IT. Everything else in your bathroom likely won’t be-that colour unless you’re designing an entire bathroom around your art so pick neutral pieces that will match any décor. Mine is mostly white with chrome accents so I stick with B/ W or muted colours – soft greens/warm greys/everyonce in a while a splash of blue.
See how the sand dune picture has these warm beige tones that compliment this ceramic “stone” soap dispenser I found at a pottery festival? Little details like that are what make a room feel curated vs slapped together. One last thing I learned was about lighting.
This was something I didn’t take into account at first. My overhead bathroom light is INCREDIBLY bright (same with most houses) and it created super unflattering shadows on my pictures. To combat this, I picked up these two small LED picture lights – battery operated ones that clip onto the top of your frame.
About £15 each but man do they change how your pictures look. Night and day. Literally.
As in, when I turn those bad boys on at night I want my bathroom to feel like a relaxing spa versus sprinting to poof off as many dribbles as possible before work. FYI – water damage isn’t just a problem with frames either. None of my pictures were in the direct line of fire from the showerhead spritz zone, but I did notice one beginning to accumulate little drops of water on the glass itself!!
Now I strategize about location – i.e. hanging away from showerhead territory and using a small dehumidifier in there when the months of steam are at their highest. It sounds dumb but it helps my art (and overall feel) of the room stay fresher longer.
And functionality.
I initially wanted to hang a set of three that matched that went above the sink. But they would’ve been in the way when I opened our medication cabinet. So pivot – move them somewhere else!
Art should always be visible but if it constantly gets in the way of your everyday routine than maybe rethink where you can hang them. Maybe my biggest lesson was hang nothing up that you don’t like taking down. I used removable strips to play around with layouts/names before committing and living with the art for months before drilling holes/super glueing them to the wall.
You can stand there and admire how professionally your pictures fit together when you’re decorating, but those same pictures will drive YOU crazy when you’re scrambling to make it out the door for work. Our bathroom finally feels like a room now versus just a bathroom. Three well-chosen pieces, hung at the correct height and lit properly, has transformed my morning and evening rush to sprint from the house-just-so-you-can-get-ready-for-work into a positive delight.
For less than £100 total and a lot of time thinking/themed planning/museums visiting — I sure as heck think it was money well spent. Who’d have thought some pictures on the wall in a bathroom could make such a difference in how you start/end your day? ?
