Give your bathroom a new look

Bathrooms are one of those areas which can often be placed in the too-hard basket of interior projects, and for good reason.

Bathrooms are one of the most expensive areas to renovate, and are often delegated to second place, behind the holy grail of kitchen renovations.

It’s easy to discount the bathroom, as the kitchen and living areas do get more use, but while a costly renovation might be on the back burner, it is worth considering how you can add value and refresh your bathroom with a DIY update.

With a little research, some planning and a weekend or two set aside, there are a number of ways you can update your bathroom to make it livable and lovable now.

Paint

Paint can be a mental rabbit-warren in bathrooms, and the unknown often makes us avoid trying to update with paint.

Tiles are a great example of this, and older tiles can often date a bathroom, when the rest of the room is fairly functional.

Researching the right paints for wet areas, as well as the preparation product, is crucial. Remember that bathrooms can be affected by mould, mildew and heat, so it’s best to think about using a specialised product.

Specially formulated prep and paint products are available at paint stores – Resene has a specially formulated kitchen and bathroom paint range which is perfect for tackling those peach and navy tiles. Simone Graham from Kiwi DIY blog Great Fun for Kids (greatfun4kidsblog.com), recently tackled her wood-panelled bathroom, with surprisingly quick and fantastic results.

When painting a bathroom, it is wise to consider light and bright colours on the walls (including wall tiles), and this is one room where myriad choices are best avoided on base colours and finishes.

Keeping floors a mid to dark texture can help keep it looking tidy in between cleans, while a white ceiling helps lift the room height and avoids a closed-in feeling. Painting the ceiling with a high gloss paint can add a point of difference and help reflect natural light, water and flickering candlelight.

Clean, declutter, store

It goes without saying that giving your bathroom a deep clean and de-clutter is important, but also consider the right storage to keep the room tidy day-to-day.

A busy family bathroom can quickly get messy with towels, toys and toiletries, so having a place for everything is the best way to think about storage.

If your bathroom is lacking space and storage, it can be worth investing in a few purpose-designed storage solutions.

Wall hooks are a great addition for stray towels and bathrobes, and the market is awash with cute and quirky hooks.

If you have room, then a robust laundry hamper is essential for a bathroom, and makes quick work of stashing away towels and clothes.

For those bathrooms with a severe lack of floor space for cupboards and low vanities, shelves are a fantastic way to add storage.

Purchasing simple wall brackets and adding shelves in lengths (and don’t forget width) suited to your space, is a quick and easy way to store towels and toiletries for daily use.

Accessories

Once the canvas of your bathroom is set, with paint updates and your storage dilemmas sorted, adding accessories enables you to stamp your personality on the space. This is a good opportunity to add on-trend colour which can easily be changed later with minimal fuss and cost.

Updating the shower curtain and hand towels instantly modernises a bathroom – then layering a few luxury touches such as pick vases and candles help give it a sense of calm.