You may already know that my word for the year is romance. I’ve been watching for romance in my life, in the lives of others and in the world in general. Life or reality seeks to connect with us. There is a depth to reality that wants to reveal itself to us. Life continually tries to romance us. We can do the same. When we bring more romance into the world we bring depth to our lives, joy to others and more enjoyment to our own existence.
There are many ways to bring romance to life. But one of the easiest is to simply add a little romance to your surroundings. I have already done this in our bedroom and dining area. Now why not a room we use everyday – the bathroom? It makes life a tiny bit more luxurious. This is our ONLY bathroom, so any changes have a big impact. Just like the re-dos of the other rooms, I decided to use mainly what we already had elsewhere in our townhouse. This is not about replacing the perfectly good cabinet, sink top, lights, tile flooring or tub surround, even though I might want to. 😉
This room hadn’t seen any decorating attention for at least seven years. A more luxurious look was in order. I opted for a higher contrast ivory/cocoa/tangerine color combination. Our bathroom is adjacent to the bedroom so I wanted to use colors that wouldn’t conflict with the bedroom. These same colors are already present in the bedroom, but with less intensity. Another plus was that my existing bath towels (ivory and various turqoise shades) which are nice & soft and in good condition would still look good with the new color scheme. Afterall, I didn’t want to purchase all new towels.
As you know, luxury is a matter of choices – not of money. The glass vase with tropical flowers and a small print were moved from elsewhere in the house. French soaps and incense were placed in a bowl. The only new items were the satin finish paint ($16.99 on sale at Sears), the ivory jacquard shower curtain ($10 TJ Max) and the ivory cotton loop rug ($9 IKEA).
Post Script 3-22-11: Over the years, I’ve always used Sears Easy Living paint in every home I’ve had. It covers almost always in one coat. It’s durable, scrubable, inexpensive and doesn’t fade. They custom mix to match anything AND hurray – it’s also very low VOC at 32g/liter, well below Consumer Report’s limit of 50 for a low VOC designation.
Here’s the ho hum before –
Here’s the more romantic and inviting after –
What do you think? Candles, French soap and a long, hot soak – here we come.
You may also like Romantic Bedroom Before & After and Romantic Dining Area Before & After.
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