How This Tiny Bathroom Came to Life

You would think that decorating a small bathroom would be easier than decorating a big one, right? Well, as I recently found out, it took as long to find a shower curtain, towels and art as it did for a bathroom twice the size. Anyhoo, here’s what I did to bring this tiny bathroom to life, and to give it maturity while keeping it looking youthful. *Written by Liette

Buying the right shower curtain

This is a super tiny bathroom with a tub/shower combo as the focal point, so finding a good looking shower curtain to enhance the “view” from the hallway was definitely a priority. Little did I know how challenging this task was going to be.

The challenge with this guest bathroom is the busy “vein” patterns of the tiles – it really overwhelms the space. With that said, I was convinced a solid color or a small pattern would help tone down the busy-ness of the tiles.

Well, there was no shortage of curtains featuring mermaids, seashells, flamingos, pineapples, palm leaves and other cutesy prints, but I was looking for a more “grown up” style. Since I couldn’t find anything I liked in the bathroom department, I popped over in the curtain department. Bingo! As soon as I spotted this black curtain I knew it was the right one. I bought it. I also bought a plastic liner to transform it into a legitimate shower curtain. Done! Next, finding towels. 

What color towels should I buy?

There were lots to choose from but when a co-worker I was shopping with spotted the bright coral pink towels, we knew they were “the ones”. We put them next to the black curtain I was holding and we both loved the look.

The bright coral adds a much needed pop of color in the otherwise plain space, and they look and feel fresh. To be honest, on a separate shopping trip I bought yellow, mauve, white and gray towels to try out and it confirmed that coral was definitely the color to go with. Tags off, I kept them.

Lastly, choosing art

What do you hang in a bathroom that has busy veiny tiles, a black (with a bit of white) shower curtain and coral towels? Black and white art. It’s just like the little black dress, it goes well with everything.

Since budget was tight and we wanted to be creative, we made our own art. We made five bun bath art images (a hair brush, two different styles of comb, a blow dryer and bobby pins.) – all bathroom-friendly art.

To draw the curtain to the right or to the left?

This was the easiest part of the whole project. I knew I wanted to center the brush right above the towel rack. All I needed to know was how far above the towel rack to hang the art.

In most bathrooms, the popular spots to hang art are above towel racks and above the toilet. In our small bathroom there is a cupboard above the throne, so we were only able to hang art above the racks.

(For additional tips about hanging art in bathrooms, have a look at this article.)

I used our handy dandy Hang&Level tool to mark exactly where to hang the hook

I used a Déco Hook to hang my frame. If you’re not familiar with this type of hook, you simply push and twist it into the drywall by hand – no need for a hammer. That’s simply genius!

Watch this 30 second clip to see the Déco Hook in action. It’s pretty cool.

I hung the brush on the hook, hung the towels and I was done.

Note: The art is hanging four inches above the rack – high enough to not be in the way when you reach for a towel. You won’t bump the frame

Here’s the view from the mirror, it’s quite pretty! By the way, here’s the cupboard I was talking about that sits right above the toilet. 

I hung a comb print above the hand towel rack. I hopped on a stool, used my Hang&Level and followed the same steps as above to hang it. It’s two and half inches above the rack. 

Best decorating tip ever

I say this all the time: taking a picture of your space will help see how it truly looks. You’ll be amazed how such a simple step will help you notice things that you didn’t see with the naked eye. Try it, it really works!

Leave the door open, please! 

When your bathroom looks this good, please don’t close the door – it would be a shame to hide this prettiness.

Funny story: Here I am talking about how beautiful the space looks, but when I showed these pictures to my 88 year-old mother, she didn’t like the look at all. She said black was too dark for the tiny bathroom, and she doesn’t like pink. Period! With that said, the bathroom is really bright, with white walls, a white tub, white porcelain tiles and white flooring. The black curtain doesn’t darken the space at all; au contraire, it actually grounds the space.  

If you’d like to add Déco Hooks to your toolbox, you can buy them at Lowe’s stores in the USA, or buy directly from our online store. You’ll find our handy Hang&Level online too.

P.S. If you know someone who is about to move or has recently done so, our picture hanging tools make great house warming gifts. Wall décor needs to be hung, so why not give something practical and useful? Okay, you can also include a bottle of wine – as long as the drinking takes place after the art is hung. LOL!

If you downloaded the bath art, comment below to let us know which image you like the most.

Thanks for dropping by! Talk to you soon.

Liette Tousignant
Co-Founder of Under The Roof Decorating