Bathroom Design Basics

Here are a few of our favorite ways to lend big impact to one of the smallest and most overlooked spaces in your home.

Many people worry that wallpaper in a bathroom might get moldy; but that’s all down to choosing the proper type. If you opt for treated or vinyl wallpaper, you should be totally fine. And yes, you can wallpaper a rental bathroom, too! There are tons of peel-and-stick options on the market that look just as good as the real thing. We’re obsessed with Backdrop’s options: Rhinestone Cowboy is the perfect feminine pick, and you can never go wrong with an earthy tiled pattern like Gambit. For two more classic wallpaper looks, we love a sky blue ticking stripe–and, of course, the Scalamandre zebra wallpaper, an “if you know, you know” pattern for all design obsessives.

We’ve always been inspired by the glamour of an old-school English clawfoot tub. And while we can’t all be lucky enough to get our hands on the perfect vintage version in an antique shop or estate sale (though we can dream), you can still make a few design tweaks to make yourself feel like you’re manor-born. If you are lucky enough to own a freestanding tub, why not paint it a calming color, like the sage green Pandora Sykes opted for in her London home?

Even if you don’t have a freestanding tub, you can still paint–bathroom cabinets look amazing in many colors besides white. Again, a calming sage, soft-washed blue, or pale pink can lend a playful edge to an otherwise basic room–and we believe the bathroom is one of the best places to experiment with color; the (typically) smaller space means that tiny tweaks will make a big difference.

If you own your home and are thinking about a bathroom upgrade, you don’t need to default to the classic shower setup. The shower is an amazing space for playing with fun tiles (we love the European flair of a brown-and-cream combination or the spa-like atmosphere of small tiles in seafoam green).

There’s also no need to stick to tradition when it comes to cabinetry; we are obsessed with the creative inlaid shelving in this project by London-based designer Lonika Chande, and we also love the look of a curtain instead of a cabinet–which just so happens to reduce those pesky instances of bumping your knee against a cabinet corner. It’s also a great way to play with a statement fabric you’ve been considering but might be too much for a curtain or couch.

Art in the bathroom might seem like an afterthought, but to us, it can be the main event. Even if you live in a rental where tile swaps and painted bathtubs aren’t possible, you can still create a magical ambiance with the help of peel-and-stick wallpaper and a well-placed gallery wall of affordable art. We love cheeky, referential pieces like these from Tatiana Alida and Natalia Bagniewska juxtaposed with wanderlust-forward photographs–we’re partial to Louis AW Sheridan’s work.

Another tip that applies to homeowners and renters alike: the littlest things can make the biggest difference. For one: products! We’re always happiest when we have a luxurious bath oil (we love Olverum) and a nice body wash (Le Labo’s Hinoki scent is divine) on our bath and shower vanity.

We also believe in creating a uniform scent for your bathrooms, if you have more than one, and a diffuser is the most fire-safe way to achieve that olfactory goal (we’re all for candles, but it’s easy to forget one in a bathroom, which is why we tend to light them in larger, more open spaces instead).

There’s so much you can do to make a bathroom your favorite room in the house, whether you’re in a forever home or a short-term stay. Happy upgrading!