Bathroom

We already covered small bathroom storage. This one is about the other half: how a small bathroom looks. Rental bathrooms tend to come with white tile, a builder mirror and not much else, and because they’re small, every item in there counts for a lot. These are the changes that make the most difference, roughly in order. The shower curtain is the biggest thing in the room In a bathroom with a tub, the curtain is often the largest surface you can change. Choose it first and plan around it. ...

Rental bathrooms are usually small and almost never have enough storage: a sink with a cabinet under it if you’re lucky, a mirror that may or may not open, and one towel bar. Everything else ends up on the edge of the tub or the back of the toilet. The fix is to use the parts of the room that are empty: the wall above the toilet, the corner of the shower, the back of the door and the dead space around the pipes. ...

Guests notice the bathroom more than you’d think. It’s the one room where they’re alone for a few minutes with nothing to do but look around. It’s also the cheapest room in the house to decorate: one set of towels, a tray and a candle gets you most of the way. The main thing to plan around is steam. Real greenery wilts, paper curls and candles don’t throw much scent in a humid room, so a few of these ideas are about choosing things that cope. ...