Walking into my master bathroom for the first time almost gave me PTSD. Aside from being ugly (very ugly), it was busy. There were accessories galore: soap dishes filled with seashell-shaped decorative soaps, three types of air fresheners assaulting my senses, a towel warmer, and rows of…perfume bottles?Mini lotion bottles?Soap bottles?I can’t remember exactly what they were but I do know that there were WAY too many of them.
The mirror featured hideous frosted etching designs around the perimeter. The thing is, I didn’t mind those decorations individually. But together, they made me feel claustrophobic.
I didn’t want to rush through my bathroom routine in that tiny box of a bathroom, but I didn’t want to spend time there, either. The lightbulb moment came when I realized that your master bathroom should do just the opposite.
It should be a space that you actually want to spend time in; a relaxing oasis at the end of your day.
Slowly but surely, I began paring down everything that was cluttering my bathroom. Bye-bye sea soaps! Adios, decorative towel racks!
Below all the nonsense, I actually uncovered a fairly large room with plenty of natural light and good “bones”. It just needed to breathe. When it came time to paint, I was set on going with white.
Always a safe bet, right? Then I saw it: a warm shade of grey that wasn’t too cool or ASHY. It was peaceful.
Not boring peaceful—interesting peaceful. I asked the paint guy to mix me up a sample (“sample” being paint-store talk for “we will tint this so you can paint like, three walls to see if you hate it”) that was a touch darker than the one I originally picked. He blessed me by adding his own touch of beige to give it a more stone-like vibe.
At first I was going to send it back, but then I realized it actually looked pretty good. Lesson learned: paint colors should look good both when you first hop in the shower and as you’re putting on mascara after work. If you want to see truly stunning bathroom colors, scroll through Instagram.
You’ll see thousands of bathrooms painted the latest shade of deep navy or forest green. But talk to yourself in a bathroom that color. Or try to put on eyeliner.
Lesson re-learned: Spend your money on the things that matter to you. For me, that meant towels (this one), a nonslip bath mat, and an actual shower curtain I can toss in the wash when needed. The towels were by far my biggest expense, but I dry off with them every day.
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Because there’s nothing quite like stepping out of the shower and wrapping yourself in a towel that absorbs zero water. I replaced those eyesores with pendant lighting on either side of the mirror. Bonus: now I can actually put on concealer without looking like a raccoon.
The bathroom is tricky because you want enough light for tedious tasks like eyebrow-ing, but there are also times when you just want mood lighting for a relaxing bubble bath. While you still want ample lighting in your bathroom overall, I learned that it’s important to have options. So I picked up this inexpensive lamp and mounted it on my counter.
The base is waterproof, so it doubles as GREAT shower lighting. Another thing I love about this lamp? It gives off soft light that complements my overhead lighting without mirroring it.
A lot of people make the mistake of installing recessed lighting (like overhead light fixtures) throughout their entire house. I think this works in MOST rooms, but bathrooms usually require a little something extra. I could have easily spent my entire bathroom budget on storage solutions and wasted ZERO time at the beginning wondering where the heck I was going to put everything.
Instead, I opted for these floating shelves to house everyday items that I need to access quickly. The shelves are narrow enough that they don’t overwhelm the space, but not so skinny that you have to hunt around to find things. Pro tip: hang them as high as you can.
You’ll still be able to reach your stuff, and it will make your bathroom look and feel bigger. Lastly, mirrors. Fun fact: most people spend way too much time hung up on the sink vanity.
But BOY are you missing out if that’s where your focus stops. Swap out your boring builder-grade mirror for a simple, round one. Notice how I didn’t say “frameless”?
Trust me, you want some sort of perimeter on your bathroom mirror.
Decorative details or not, a mirror is a mirror’s best friend because it reflects light, making your space feel larger and more open. Oh, and it also lets you actually SEE what you look like before you leave the house.
My bathroom makeover ended up costing me WAY less than I had originally planned to spend. And the reason? I focused on changing a few key things instead of trying to overhaul every square inch of my space.
Invest in good paint + lighting. Spend money on towels and bath mats that you’ll actually USE. And most importantly, get rid of things that don’t work and don’t serve you.
Friends and family ALWAYS comment on how relaxed my bathroom looks now. And you know what? It totally is.
