Home well-traveled: Bathroom Décor Ideas.

When it comes to home improvement, home décor and picking and choosing art for your walls, often the main focus is the living room, bedrooms and general areas where we spend time with family and guests. Today’s article is how to bring art objects and décor elements to your bathroom.

The well thought out bathroom can take one’s overall experience and quality of living to a whole new level. The problem with bathrooms, especially when we live in a small apartment or a house which has an already built and planned facility, is that it’s exceedingly difficult to reimagine the space and sometimes it’s too expensive to adjust it for your wants and needs, and more importantly, to fit our aesthetics and lifestyle.

Yet when we look back at our ancestors, we can learn that that common place has always been Important. For instance, even though many bathrooms uncovered at Pompeii were communal, they were very aesthetically pleasing, ornate with frescoes, mosaic floors and sculptures.

If we look at the other side of the world, Ancient China, we can learn from Ancient Chinese Bath Culture – viewofchina.com In the 6th century BC, it was a requirement for the government officials of the Zhou era to wash their hair every three days and take a bath every five days. Bath practices also included using two towels, one for the upper body and one for the lower, showering with clean warm water after stepping out of the bathtub before drying oneself and putting on clothing. The entire bath ritual was concluded with a drink and a light meal.

The question is … Can YOU enjoy a drink or a light meal in your bathroom?

Where to start?

Here are some tips on how to add decor elements for a well-traveled home.

1. Know yourself. Think Colors.

What is the best place for you to relax? Is it the beach, forest or a colorful garden? What colors can you choose to achieve the feeling of cleanliness and relaxation? If the main function of the space is to relax, think of what color scheme can provide that for you. It’s been proven that neutral, earth tones with a low density can create a nice soothing effect.

2. How do you want to perceive the space? Value.

Do you want it to appear bigger or smaller? To open the room, use large and extra-large mirrors. Don’t be afraid to bring in extra-large art prints or original paintings. Leave plenty of negative space. You don’t need to cover every inch of your wall. Think. Do you need to bring extra light into the space?

3. Texture.

You need to consider texture and everything we touch. I read somewhere that: “Texture is the ability of our eyes to take in things around it and our brains to translate how those things feel.” There are lots of blogs written on how to combine different textures, etc.

To make it easy, my advice would be, know what your body likes. If you like to touch fresh linen, include linen towels. If it’s a soft cotton, pick the softest cotton towels on the market. When you get out of the shower, will you enjoy a low shag rug or the warmth of a stone-heated floor. It can be wood for all I know.

4. Functionality vs. Aesthetics. Balance.

Human nature is interesting. Over time, we can learn new habits and develop new behaviors. In an ideal world, we want to have both: beauty and functionality. However, sometimes we need to compromise. What will it be for you?

It took me some time to realize I can compromise certain functionalities for aesthetics. For example. I know that a dark bathroom rug will be more functional, but white and fluffy brings me more joy. I know that in many cases tiles and bathroom curtains are must haves, yet, if you’re like me, someone who absolutely dislikes those, don’t include them in your design.

The good news is that most of the paint today is latex based and water resistant, and many laundry detergents can make your white rug look new. As for the shower curtain, trust me, you will learn how to live without it or find a different way to replace it, whether with glass blocks or a special water drainage system.

5. Be creative.

For your storage, you don’t need to buy containers. Bring fun and unexpected elements. For example, for my miscellaneous items, I use a coconut bowl I bought on my trip to Cambodia. And for small jewelry and hair accessories, I use beautiful white seashells. Also, I have a small woven bag with handmade natural soaps, and it always smells like a combination of fresh lemongrass and Florida oranges.

Here are a few things I implemented during the renovation:

Bringing neutral colors and a monochromatic palette made it very relaxing.
A huge round mirror made it look much bigger.
I had to compromise a little bit of comfort, by not having a shower curtain and bathroom wall tiles, but overcompensated by having the look and feel I was looking for.
First, I was thinking about hanging a big painting or XL print, but then decided to add a few décor pieces from around the world: two small drawings from Thailand, a carved mirror from India and a ceramic dog from South America.
And I finally found a 31” White Capiz Wind Chime, which brought everything together and has the most beautiful shadow.

And finally, don’t take your renovation too seriously. In time you can totally redesign it or add/remove certain elements. Have fun and stay creative!