Ohhhhhh, man. I am so excited about this post. Designing a calming bathroom is something I could literally do for the rest of my life. It’s such a gift to yourself, and a bathroom is the perfect place to design an intimate setting specifically for self love and care. I’m currently exhausted and a zen bath sounds like a great place to relax with a Lush bath bomb and Cheetos. I mean…oolong tea and Mediterranean chickpea salad? Nah, forget it.
Much like last week’s post about creating an outdoor oasis, today we will be focusing on ways you can transform your own bathroom into a peaceful sanctuary. A bathroom doesn’t just have to be a place of business; it can be a place of calm. In my opinion, we need to hold space for ourselves and dedicate that space to self care. In this post, I give you tips and DIYs to help you easily up the tranquility in your space. Let’s get started!
Designing a Calming Bathroom
When designing a calming bathroom, there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Matte Surfaces
There is something to be said, or rather experienced, about the absence of a shiny surface. Matte counters and tiles are perfect in that they add interest and texture, but feel more calm and natural. This is exactly why I love me a honed marble. It allows you to see all of the texture and brilliant veining because it is not also trying to reflect light. Surfaces with a glare really don’t let your eye experience the detailing as well as a matte surface. For some reason, honed marble makes me feel like it is made of literal air (or cotton balls). I can’t tell if that is weird or cool. Probably weird. Moving on…
2. An Awesome Tub
Obviously, I’m pretty sure the consensus would be to always add a free standing tub if you can. So, if you can, you owe it to us to utilize this extreme privilege and please get a beautiful tub for us. Please. If you don’t have room for one, welcome to the rest of the world! It’s not a problem. But there are some things we can do to spice up your tub and tile area. Designing a calming bathroom is all about updating as best you can.
First, redo your grout if it’s dingy. A pristine grout will cover a multitude of sins. Honestly, our rented pre-war apartment bathroom is all blue and I used to feel kinda “meh” about it. But then our landlord redid the grout and it looks like the blue tile was installed that day instead of a million decades ago. If you want a clean slate and a clean space, take 2-6 hours (depending on size) and re-grout. Even if you’re not crazy about the tile color or design, amping up the grout will make it look so much better. Take it from me, the “meh” tile girl who now loves her bathroom. Grout is everything. Pro tip: try a different color grout like gray, navy, or black. It can be difficult to keep white grout looking clean, so sometimes it’s best to not even bother.
Next, paint your tub and tile. I know a full bathroom reno is suuuuuper pricey, and it’s not even necessary. If you want a quick and affordable fix for your less-than-stellar tub and tile, just paint it. Paint it all. Here are some tips from DIY Network on how to paint your tub. It’s affordable and possible–especially if you’re bathroom is from the 70s like mine. Nothing says “I’m starting over” than pure white. One of my designer friends recently painted her entire kitchen (cabinets, walls, tile backsplash) and it looks amazing. See, even interior designers are down for a DIY.
Last, install a luxury shower head. This is a great tip that will cost less than $50 but feel like $5,000. Get one with a nice attachment so when you’re in the tub doing a hair mask, you can rinse it out with ease instead of using an orange plastic kid’s cup like I do. I might be an interior designer, but boy do I do some tacky things. That’s life, though. Not every space will look magazine worthy in order to keep up with your day to day. And that’s fine. Designing a calming bathroom should fit your routine. And you can just hide the orange kid’s cup anyway.
3. Wall Covering
Ok, let’s talk wall covering! There seems to be a bit of a divide when it come to wall covering in a bathroom: should it be paint, shiplap, tile, wallpaper, a beaded board? I tend to side with the no wallpaper team. There’s just so much moisture in a bathroom, and wallpaper runs the risk of yellowing and/or peeling. That being said, I might just be projecting my wallpaper fears because growing up, I remember 2 of our houses eventually had yellowing peeling wallpaper that was a pain to remove. If you are adamant about wallpaper, maybe go for a soft color so that if it does start to yellow, it will be invisible.
I really do like the look of shiplap and beadboard. Beadboard is cheaper so that gets my vote if I had to choose. But I will say, just like my wallpaper woes, wood is not so great with moisture, so make sure it’s good quality and properly sealed…or your oasis will literally rot. The summer before my senior year of design school, I was an interior design intern at an architecture and design firm in NYC. One of the projects I tagged along for was the remodel of Delmonico’s basement. They had an abundance of wood and the owner wanted to use it in the bathroom. The designer confirmed my fears when explaining how wood wouldn’t work in a wet environment. And this was just a restaurant bathroom, not even a place where people shower! So, there you have it.
If I were designing a calming bathroom (and had a good sized budget), my choice of wallcovering would be this carved honed marble tile. The texture of it is SO good. It is very reminiscent of more primitive times in the simplicity and repetition of its carvings.
This marble would look glorious in any sized bathroom. In a small bathroom, I think you would feel that you were in heaven. Just make sure your space has sufficient lighting (preferably natural light!) because it would be a great tragedy to miss out on the gorgeous detailing and shadow of the marble.
For a budget redo, I would just use good ol’ house paint and add texture with the other elements. A favorite color of mine is Tradewind by Sherwin Williams. Tradewind is the current color of my bathroom walls and my painted faux tile kitchen backsplash. But if you’re realllly committed to this luxury oasis, and are in the mood for a remodel, go for the honed marble tile (and then tag me in the photo so I can live vicariously through you, please).
And for your wallcovering color scheme? Calming hues. Think of the beach, and no, you don’t have to base your decor on a coastal theme. Just picture the ocean at 6am and use those colors. There are soft cool blues, grays, pale greens, lilacs, whites, soft yellows and tangerines, and sands. The sun is just coming up on the cloudy horizon and the humidity is in the air. You can feel the warmth emerging from the sky awaiting the sun’s arrival. THAT feeling is what you want. Just admiring the splendor of your environment. Don’t you want that for your own space? I sure do. Oh wait, I’m writing this based off my own bathroom style, so I do have that feeling, thankfully. Designing a calming bathroom is what I did last year as a gift for myself.
4. Natural Elements
Can I tell you something? This is where most people go “wrong”. I put “wrong” in quotes because as I’ve said many times before, there is no right and wrong, only personal preference. So when I say “wrong”, I’m merely suggesting a missed opportunity to have something great. Got it? Designing a calming bathroom is about every element flowing together. So nix what’s not working or worthy.
So where most people go “wrong” is not taking the opportunity to replace necessary items (toothbrush holder, waste basket, soap dish, etc) with something more design worthy. Don’t just go with the beige memory foam bath rug because that’s what’s abundantly stocked at your local Home Goods. Get a color or at least something with an interesting pattern. Honestly, my favorite source for bathroom textiles is Target.
PLEASE don’t settle for the plastic soap dispensers that you throw away once it runs out; it’s wasteful, unnecessary, and terrible for the environment. Buy a glass, stone, or ceramic soap pump and then just buy large refill bottles of hand soap. The environment will thank you; there’s already too much plastic floating in the ocean. My favorite soap pumps are the glass apothecary ones! If you search on Etsy, you can find vintage tinted glass (like cobalt or green) that someone turned into a soap pump. People are so crafty.
Also, don’t settle for a “meh” shower curtain. West Elm and Target have some great ones that are thick and interesting, providing another textural element in your space. You can also get a woven laundry basket, a wooden/glass/ceramic/stone toothbrush holder and cup, a wooden or ceramic waste basket (not stainless steel!), and glass jars or baskets for your cotton balls and Q tips.
And please, hide the toilet brush. There are many modern options with clean lines that allow you to have your toilet brush in the bathroom, but not scream “I may or may not have fecal matter on me”. Yuck.
Bonus points if you have enough room for a small plant either on the counter or floor. And yes, there are many plants that will survive in a bathroom without windows. You wanted an oasis, babe, and you’re getting one!
5. Ambient Lighting
Designing a calming bathroom, or ANY SPACE, is only successful if the lighting design is successful. Too bright? Bad. Too dark? Bad. You want that Goldilocks “just right” porridge lighting. Lighting can ruin your space and I’m not even kidding. Why do you think there’s such a big different between an expensive DSLR camera and an iphone camera? It’s the amount of light the camera can take in.
In a medium sized space, there should be 2 points of lighting: overhead pendant or flush mount, and sconces framing the mirror. For the love of God, please install dimmers. There is nothing worse than creating a calm oasis and ruining everything because you room is so so bright. I live in an apartment, so there’s not much I can do when it comes to hard wiring. But, I can choose lower watt bulbs so they won’t be so bright. I used to take baths in the dark surrounded by candles because our lighting was so intense, but the bathroom is so small that certainly something would eventually catch fire. Lower watt bulbs were my solution.
If you are in a position to install new lighting (you lucky homeowner, you), install a dimmer switch and don’t get the complicated light fixture with like 8 bulbs. Oye. Too bright. If you have tall ceilings, go for the pendant because it adds to the feeling of luxury. My favorite is the classic glass globe pendant. If you have normal ceiling heights, just stick with a flush mount or semi flush mount fixture. I prefer something without harsh edges, so just stick to circular fixtures for a more relaxed feel.
Pro tip: don’t forget your bath candles for ambiance! Unless this is a fire hazard in your space, then DO forget your bath candles.
6. Small Details
(Here’s the DIY for this lucite bath tray.)
I like to call this the spa or boutique hotel touch. This is the final step where you fill in the blanks in the space to make it more luxurious. I always talk about layering in a space, and that even includes layering special moments in your bathroom. Designing a calming bathroom is all about intimacy and intimacy is in the details you so aptly feathered in.
Get that candle with the pretty jar, fill that vase with fresh flowers or my personal favorite: dried lavender sprigs, fill that woven basket with pristine white towels that are carefully rolled up, treat yourself to a coral loofah and luxury soap. Take baths? Treat yourself to a pretty bowl full of your favorite bath bombs and display them proudly, hang a wooden body brush on the towel rack (if you’re not reaping the benefits of dry brushing, start now), fill clear dishes with cotton balls and Q tips, align your skincare products on a glass shelf, buy that apothecary soap and lotion pump. All these little touches really complete your space, making it your own personal sanctuary.
(Here’s the printing template for the DIY apothecary labels above.)
I would even go as far as to replace the bathroom door knobs (like these special Anthropologie beauties) and wall light plate. If you’re installing a dimmer, you need to replace the plate anyway, why not make it something that elevates your space? Adding personal touches are what will set your bathroom apart and make it your own. Designing a calming bathroom is all about the details, so make yours count!
I’m curious, do you have a bathroom oasis? Are there any tips you would like to share?
-Kristen
