Can you really change the look of a bathroom without renovating and starting all over again? I have been working on the older bathrooms in my home and I have featured two of them on the blog. When you have an older home there are always projects, but just because you can’t fix everything right away doesn’t mean you should live with a room you really don’t like. I have been working on several projects and searching for for some new art pieces and that inspired me to put together several ideas for remixing your bathroom. People don’t always think about art in a bathroom, but for me I find art so enlivening that a great photograph or painting can really change how I feel about a room. I decided to create a four art driven looks that could transform your bathroom with just a few key accessories.
This first look is a traditional look inspired by a photograph of Chinese pottery. These towels from Pottery Barn have a shape to them that look like the leaves on the painted flower. The shower curtain repeats the same pattern in the reverse so it adds some visual interest. Then for the mirror I liked this quatrefoil shaped mirror from Wisteria. This mirror comes in two sizes and in several different finishes. I like the lighter royal blue because it picks up the lighter blue from the painting, but it also comes in white and silver. The sources are listed below.
Pottery Barn Marlo Shower Curtain
I love a coastal styled bathroom.This crab is from an artist named Alexandra Nicole who lives of the coast in St. Simons, Georgia. I found her work on Etsy and I have ordered a couple of pieces from her and I was impressed. I love the colors in this crab painting so I decided to pick up on the orange and turquoise colors that you see in the crab shell. Serena and Lily had these great striped towels with the turquoise trim and I like their modern pattern on their feather shower curtain. I went with a white mirror white goes with the coastal style. I could see this as a great kids bathroom because of the bright colors and playful patterns. The sources for these items are featured below.
Serena and Lily Feather Shower Curtain
Serena and Lilly Sydney Beach Towel
This bathroom was inspired by this great little painting by artist Stacy Sadack. I liked the black and white details on the vase and I decided to repeat that pattern in the black ticking stripe shower curtain with a ruffle detail. I also like the hand drawn look of Mark and Graham’s linen guest towels. I finished this more romantic styled room with a French gilt mirror. These ruffles and roses would be great of a girl of any age and I could also see it working as a guest bathroom as well. Here are the links below.
Roses in a Black and White Vase
Black and White Ticking Stripe Shower Curtain
Now for a more modern look, there is something about the combination of black and white with a bright green that really catches the eye. I have seen it used in several rooms with anthropology’s black and white Zuber styled wall paper. Marian of the Miss Mustard Seed blog used it in her hall bathroom. Here is a link to the bathroom here. I really love how it turned out, but my experience has been that wall paper can see some wear in a bathroom that has a shower or gets lots of use. So I found I decided to base this look around an engraved painting of a cloud which is reminiscent of the panaramic landscape scenes that you see in Zuber paper with out the expense and commitment of using wallpaper. I added some pattern with the striped Kate Spade shower curtain and the black and white Chevron Mirror. Then to add a touch of green I would add Kate Spade’s towels. I think this color scheme would work well with a bathroom that has white, black or gray tiles. This look puts a colorful and modern twist on a classic. For my sources see the links below.
Kate Spade Black Stripe Curtain
Decorating can’t solve every issue, but it can help you tackle an ordinary or even slightly dated room. Bathrooms are generally smaller rooms so adding just one piece of art or a small pair of prints can give the room a new focal point. Then if you intentionally layer in accessories that pull that style into the room, you can really begin to change how the space feels. So when you are styling your bathroom don’t overlook what you have hanging on your walls. Adding a new mirror, shower curtain and towels that you love can help you transform a room. I have seen some older, tiled bathrooms look completely different when the rest of the room is given a style remix. So the next time you are looking at decorating a room think about starting with art.
I seriously love that crab painting! I desperately need to add some artwork to the walls in our guest bath – now I’m feeling inspired!
So glad you liked it too! I have to admit was thinking about ordering that canvas for my laundry room which needs something happy like that blue crab. I have several Alexandra Nicole’s oyster shell pictures in my girls bathroom and I just love them.