I started designing these rooms very differently. First things first, I build around what I refer to as the “permanent” fixtures – the expensive things you can’’t justify replacing every few years when their interests change (i.e. floors). Flooring is essential.
I have also developed a thing for large format porcelain tile. I scored some gorgeous ones from Topps Tiles that look like cement but feel like they’’ll never break. Trust me, I’’ve put them to the test.
Jake once dropped an entire bottle of body wash on them from shoulder height and they didn’t chip 😂 Tile this size also has less grout lines than smaller tile meaning less surfaces to clean when accidents happen; and it just screams mature vibes as opposed to screaming kids’ bathroom which means they won’t look ridiculous when he gets to teenager-dom. Painting the walls was almost too much for me.
Research-wise.
I initially wanted to do a very pale blue because DUH it’’s a boy’’s bathroom. Right? I stared at paint swatches at B&Q for about five minutes before coming to my senses.
Bright colours cause too much stimulation in small rooms, they feel busy. And they go out of style quickly. What I learned is that I should be picking neutral colours- muted grey tones, blue hues that aren’t too bright, or every once in a while I’’ll throw a sage green if I feel like taking risks.
Wait. I tried the sage green in our guest bathroom last year and ended up with hospital green rather than the trendy tone I was going for. But hey, I lived with that paint for about 90 days before I got tired of looking at it and painted it again.
Neutral colours are your best bet for bathrooms because they hide grime and age well with your child rather than fight against them. Now is where I really spend my money- the vanity. I learned the hard way that particle-board vanities that look awesome at the store autumn apart at your home when they’’re exposed to water.
They turn into a moist piece of cardboard. Now, I ONLY buy solid-wood or engineered wood vanities – they’re much more costly upfront but they’’ll last you infinitely longer. When it comes to countertops, I am now all about quartz.
It holds up to stains like a champ, doesn’t need to be sealed like marble does, and can take whatever you throw at it. I know this to be true because Jake once tested if his deodorant can would bounce off of it. All of the fun/expression go into things that I know can evolve with them as they get older without needing to take out a second mortgage to fund the updates.
Instead of investing in pricey theme wallpaper that would cost you thousands to take down/install later, opt for removable decals or layer multiple shower curtains. £25 to change the feel of the room versus £300+ for new wallpaper. Just last week my neighbour learned this lesson the hard way when her son told her his Spider- Man wallpaper was “cringe” six months after she spent her hard-earned money having it installed. Closet Storage should actually work as storage and not just look cute.
Those chic open floating shelves everybody posts pictures of on Instagram? Hideous in a functional bathroom. Every.
You Might Also Like
Single. Thing. You put on them collects dust/damp and looks messy even if you clean them daily.
I stick with closed cabinetry with handles my kids can actually grasp. Medicine cabinets are also great for hiding the daily clutter; and I always install at least two towel bars because you can never have enough. One will always be on the floor haha.
The one thing I didn’t understand until I had boys was how important proper lighting is when they hit adolescence and suddenly care about how they look. Fluorescent lighting above the mirror creates awful shadows when trying to see yourself with skin- care products or razors. Now I install LED lighting on either side of mirrors – and I mean mounted DIRECTLY next to the mirror on both sides – using a daylight- balanced bulb so they can actually see what they look like.
Guys notice this and it makes SUCH a difference. And it doesn’t have to break the bank either. Everything in the shower needs to be able to handle the pounding it will receive in the middle school/gym locker room years.
Don’t be fooled by that cute rainfall shower head that looks great in the store but has less water pressure than a crappy garden hose. He complained he couldn’t rinse the shampoo out of his hair for weeks. I test pull everything I buy now before checking out, and only buy solid- brass hardware because plastic doesn’t hold up to teenage abuse.
The brilliance comes in the behind-the-scenes functional details nobody notices when everything is working. Towel hooks instead of towel racks because towels won’t autumn down. Storage step-stool that pulls- out but is always at- hand when they need it.
Motion sensor nightlights because middle of the night trips to the bathroom are always happening- nobody wants to feel around in the dark for a light switch. None of this stuff is glamorous but this is what allows everything to run smoothly everyday. Paint finish is something I didn’t think about until much later.
Semi gloss paint on the walls because you can wipe toothpaste explosions and whatever else lands there.
Tried high-gloss paint thinking it would be easier to clean than semi- gloss… but it reflects fingerprints and every tiny imperfection in the wall. Nightmare to look at.
Mold/moisture-resistant paint on the ceilings- learned this lesson the hard way in our last house when our bathroom ceiling started growing… things. I didn’t want to think about. But my biggest triumph was my friend Sarah’’s boys bathroom that I helped her renovate three years ago when her son was 9 years old.
We kept the walls painted a neutral warm grey colour, installed white subway tile with a dark grout to camouflage hard water stains; and accessorized with a bold geometric shower curtain and some removable wall decals of his favourite hockey team. He’’s 12 now and he still loves it. We changed out the decals twice as his teams changed and eventually replaced the shower curtain when the original finally died.
About $20 total to swap out the “accessories” and watched the room grow with him instead of fighting against him. What I have come to understand is that designing for kids isn’’t about keeping up with the latest trends you see on Pinterest – it’’s about designing for real kids with real personalities who actually live in your home. Boy’’s bathrooms need to be able to withstand anything you throw at them (literally and figuratively.) Invest in high-quality durable materials that’’ll last, have fun with accents in ways that you can switch out for little to no cost; and remember that the best bathroom is the one that gets used – okay yes there will always be a towel or two on the floor… some things don’’t change, and that’’s probably okay too. .
