Michelle recently contacted The Design Tabloid to ask our resident Décor Diva some advice…

Michelle asks:

“We have just bought a new house and have a lot of great ideas for decorating (especially from your site!) but the guest bathroom has stumped us! It is huge…with only a toilet and small basin. I would really appreciate your creative ideas! We are open to colour / patterns / anything…it just needs to be budget friendly as we are spending money on other more important aspects of the house! My hubby is a graphic designer and this guest toilet is between the living areas of the house and his design studio and clients /guests will use it.”

Décor Diva says:

In essence, this bathroom dilemma has two primary issues that need to be resolved. One – it is a large, sparsely furnished space that needs to be transformed into something visually “smaller” and more intimate. And two – the necessity to change this drab, blank canvas of a room into a showpiece that pops. Both these issues can be resolved by addressing the same key aspects.

The majority of South Africans still think about bathrooms in a very traditional way – a little room, tiled from floor to ceiling, with some nice towels and a couple of collected seashells as decoration. It should be clean and functional – nothing more… How very sad! Bathrooms, especially guest bathrooms, have awesome feature room potential! It is the perfect little space for a dramatic, over-the-top statement that will make your guests and clients go – “Wow!”

The truth is – we spend a lot of idle time in bathrooms, so why not give us something interesting to stare at while there…

As your husband is a graphic designer and potential clients will often use the loo, I suggest giving him a little more creative reign than usual. View the bathroom as blank billboard space – an extension of his portfolio. There are a multitude of ways he can incorporate some of his work into the bathroom – framed illustrations maybe, or a collection of funky vintage logos.

The basin wall is an excellent space to create a gallery wall – a collection of framed art, prints, photos or funky graphics. The net is filled with awesome images and tutorials illustrating how to put together an attractive feature wall. I’m also loving the current trend of having multiple mirror in various shapes and size on one wall. Speaking of mirrors – do a little secondhand / craft market shopping and see if you can find a nice big ornate vintage mirror for above the basin. Paint the mirror frame in a bright bold colour to turn it into a gorgeous statement piece.

Now, making a large room look cosy is all about décor and visual tricks you can use to create an illusion of a smaller, more intimate space. Walls can be painted in darker, deeper, and bolder colours as they absorb light and make a room look warmer and smaller. Wallpaper is also a great option for this space – something edgy and different (check out Design Kist or Cara Saven). OR, if your husband is feeling especially industrious, he can design something himself that can easily be converted into wallpaper.

Another aspect to consider is furniture. “Whaaat, furniture in the bathroom?” you may ask. Yup, I guess in today’s smaller, contemporary, integrated homes it is not something that we see often. However, in big older houses it was quite a common thing (think Cape Dutch bigger and older).

An underused shelving unit or glass-front cabinet from a living room or bedroom can find new purpose in a bathroom. Stack folded towels and linen along the shelves and display decorative accessories & books. Another cool piece is one of those tiered ladder shelf units (I know @Home has some: here).Otherwise, you can add a funky chair or a sleek little bench seat to the area next to the basin. Include a round side table between the bench seat and the toilet – stack it with books or comics for some good on-the-loo reads.

Last thing, instead of using the traditional (and oudoos) bathroom mat set – you know, the small mat in front of the toilet and another in front of the basin – buy a gorgeous big rug to ‘ground’, balance and add warmth to your space. Your bathroom is the perfect size to accommodate a bigger rug and since no bathing or showering is involved you won’t have to worry about water damage. The Kilim type rugs are super trendy right know.

Below find some inspirational image I sourced from around the net. They are in various interior styles but the principles are sound – you can just ‘translate’ it into your preferred style…

Hope this put you on the right path to an awesome guest bathroom! Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Love, Rose  x x x

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