The Bog Blog
Bathrooms are my favourite rooms to decorate. Of course, I’m not talking about opulent spa-like rooms with costly travertine tiles and marble vanities. I’m talking about those funny little bathrooms with functional fixtures, uninspired linoleum and institutional-looking walls that can be given a facelift and a new lease on life in a relatively short period of time and at no great expense. Unpretentious ensuites, basement loos and guest powder rooms don’t necessarily have to conform to the décor and style of the rest of your house. Turn them into little surprises and let your imagination play with colours, textures and accessories.
Here are three such bathrooms:
Served up on a platter: This bathroom developed its palette from the colours in a large, oval serving plate. When clients are uncertain where to begin when choosing colours for a renovation, I often suggest they start with something they love and tuck it under their wing whenever they are out shopping for supplies and accessories. I’ve known clients to carry around pages from calendars, pieces of clothing, photographs from travel brochures, placemats and, in this instance, a hand-painted ceramic plate.
Black & white: This second bathroom is a windowless basement bathroom/utility room that needed to be kept as light as possible. However, as someone allergic to plain white walls, I added checkered graphics. It added a little interest and punch to what was otherwise a purely utilitarian space void of personality. All it took was paint and a few miles of masking tape.
Seafoam—a curse or an opportunity? Confronted by these original 1960s bathroom fixtures there were two possible options available (other than replacing them). Either I could forget they were there altogether and
paint the bathroom any old way, or I could give them the respect they were due and decorate in such a way as to make them the stars. I chose the latter option and splashed seafoam on the floor and parts of the walls and tossed in some other vibrant colours to refresh the countertop and tile backsplash. This ensuite bathroom is like waking up and walking into a painting each morning!
