1) Ugly Bathroom Floor? Don’t Replace, Cover It!

Maybe your ugly/dated floor is the reason you have been putting off your bathroom decoration. If that is your case and replacing the tiles is not an option, consider installing a sheet vinyl floor. I know, you probably associate “vinyl floors” with depressing images of decrepit old houses or cheap rentals, but before discarding the idea, do some research and check out the beautiful designs available these days. Not only they can look exactly like tiles, but they are also less expensive, easier to install, and a breeze to clean. It is a great option, especially for small bathrooms.

Jessica from Decor Adventures had some white hex tiles on her ancient bathroom floor. They were original to their 1900 house and for obvious reasons, in very bad shape. As part of an affordable bathroom makeover, she installed a sheet vinyl floor, and the result was impressive.

The vinyl floor comes in rolls, and it does not require any adhesive or nails to secure it to the floor below. You do need to prepare your bathroom and draw a diagram of your space before you cut and install it, but it is still a much easier alternative to installing new tiles. Click the link below the picture to learn all the steps.

See post: Jessica @ Decor Adventures/How to Install a Sheet Vinyl Floor

2) Display your Toiletries with Style

Gone are the days you needed to hide all bathroom articles in cabinets or linen closets. Displaying them in a simple and stylish way adds a lot more interest to the room, and it also makes it easier to find and reach everything you need right away.

Linsey from My Farmhouse Porch applied this strategy when decorating her small guest bathroom. She bought a rustic little shelf/table at an antique show for $20 and filled it with white porcelain, glass and rustic metal containers and baskets to store q tips, soaps, towels, and other toiletries. Sticking to her infallible “all white formula”, she created a pretty and functional unit, keeping it rustic and cohesive with the rest of her farmhouse style bathroom decor.

See post: The Farmhouse Porch/Making toiletries part of your bathroom decor

3) Bring Out Those Hotel Soaps you’ve been Collecting

Carol Becker from HomeTalk Tutorial Team created this pretty decor piece by inserting the hotel soaps and natural sponges she collected over the years into a cute apothecary jar she had saved from a chocolate Christmas gift. The simple green ribbon tied around the top of the jar was a nice complement to the colorful and delicate look. If you don’t have one of these jars at home, it is easy to find similar ones at Homegoods for around $15 to $20.

If you were also wondering what to do with all the hotel soaps or other cute toiletry items you’ve been saving from your trips, this is a great idea to make good use of them, and at the same time cheer up a sad corner in your bathroom.

See post: Carol Becker/Hotel Soap to Bathroom Decor

4) Make a Cool Trash Bin out of a Christmas Tin

Some Christmas tins are just too pretty to throw away, but the annoying truth is, after the treats are gone, we rarely find any function for those cuties and they are left in our pantry all year round taking up precious space.

Tiffany from Dream Design DIY realized that her Christmas popcorn tin had the perfect size and shape for a bathroom trash bin. All she needed to achieve this awesome black and white look were some cans of spray paint and letter stencils. The colors and design she chose look good with virtually any decor style. For the few bucks she spent on this project, you could probably buy nothing more than a boring plastic trash bin. Her post contains a more detailed tutorial so you can try it yourself.

See post: Tiffany from Dream Design DIY/Christmas Tin to Trash Bin Upcycle

5) Print out your Baby-Bath Photos for a Unique Bathroom Wall Decor

If you have young kids, you certainly took dozens of pictures of your children taking a bath. From the classic ones of their first bath to the ones of the siblings playing in the bathtub, and the ones with the soapy mohawk hair. Instead of keeping those fun memories hidden in your phone or computer, you can use them to create a unique bathroom wall decor.

This Hometalker from Chicago Mom Source took some cute pictures of her baby in a bath, and after texting them to all her mommy friends, had a moment of inspiration and decided to make the photos part of her bathroom wall decor. She printed out and framed three of favorite photos using a polka dotted paper as a fun background for each photo. Now she has this very special bathroom wall that will put a smile on the face of everyone who enters the room.

See post: Chicago Mom Source/DIY Bathroom Picture Decor

6) Turn Thrift Finds into Elegant Bathroom Decor Gems

This project is surprisingly easy and inexpensive, and the result is stunning. During your next visit to a thrift store, instead of searching for rare treasures, pay attention to those unremarkable knickknacks. They can become pretty and useful decor items for your bathroom.

Kristine from The Painted Hive spent a grand total of $7 in a collection of discarded little goodies at a thrift shop and turned those ugly ducklings into sophisticated black swans.

All she did was clean each item thoroughly with soapy water and alcohol, then apply three thin coats of spray paint.

The tray you see in the picture is actually the wooden top of a stool she had hacked and was just accumulating dust in her garage. Can you believe the granite finish is actually spray paint as well?

Check out her post for all the instructions and tips, if you want to replicate this astonishing transformation.

See post: Kristine | The Painted Hive|From Dated to Devine | Quick & Easy Thrift Store Upcycle

7) Make a Whimsical Bathroom Mat with Fabric Strips

You can take a break from the classic and traditional, by adding a nice pop of color to your bathroom with this fun and comfortable bathroom mat. You will need one standard plastic bathtub mat, plenty of soft fabric strips and some DIYer determination to work with your hands for a few hours. This project is a perfect one for the kids’ bathroom and the little ones will have some fun helping you tie all the knots.

Check out how the talented makers from Troom Troom weaved and tied different sizes of fabric strips to create this funky bath mat.

See post: Troom Troom/DIY Bathroom Décor – Soft Bath Mat

8) Ideas for a Rustic Bathroom Decor with some Glam

Even if you consider your bathroom a finished project, there are always things you can add or replace to create the same impact of a total makeover, without any renovation. Holly from Love the Tompkins had already made a great job renovating her master bathroom until she decided it could use a bit more of rustic glam.

She accomplished the rustic part by installing an antique door from a vintage shop and giving a faux barn wood finish to her under sink cabinet. Another lucky finding was the vintage-look medicine cabinet over the toilet.

The touch of glam came with the addition of an aged gold framed mirror, a floral shower curtain and a sheepskin mat from Ikea.

Her original post has more photos and details of this impressive transformation.

See post: Love the Tompkins/Rustic Glam Bathroom

9) Fixer-Upper Farmhouse Style Bathroom

If you are a fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ show, Fixer-Upper, your wish list probably includes a white shiplap wall. A small bathroom or powder room is the perfect candidate to undertake this project. Different from some types of wallpapers and wall treatments, shiplap can be easily removed in case you decide to go back to conventional walls, so even if you are renting your home, you may be able to cross this item off your wish list.

Chelsea from Making Manzanita had finished decorating all other rooms in her house, except for the little master bathroom. She and her husband finally decided to give it a farmhouse style and the project was a success.

They added a budget-friendly shiplap wall and some rustic wood floating shelves behind the toilet and those two items completely transformed the space. The shiplap cost less the $15 and all the decor items they added to complete the farmhouse charm were either DIYed or collected from thrift stores and flea markets, such as the chippy medicine cabinet placed above the sink.

Watch the fun time-lapse video they shared of this inspiring rustic bathroom decor.

See post: Chelsea @ Making Manzanita/Farmhouse Style Bathroom Tour

10) Add a Beautiful Frame to Your Plain-Jane Bathroom Mirror         

The bathroom mirror is a key item in your bathroom décor. It can be a forgettable reflective sheet of glass or the superstar in the room.

You may relate to Hometalker Lela Burris’s description of her bathroom mirror - “a giant, cheap-o, plain jane mirror, just stuck on the wall like the builder spent his last dollar of the budget on a big mac.” Lela came up with an easy and brilliant solution to convert something that bland into an outstanding piece that is now the focal point of her industrial/farmhouse style bathroom.

The fact that the mirror didn’t have any frame made the execution of her project even easier. Instead of removing and replacing the mirror, she simply attached her DIY wood frame to its edges. The whole project required only four pieces of wood boards, black paint, and a few Velcro strips. That is right. The frame is only attached to the mirror with Velcro! What a genius idea.

See post: Lela Burris/How to Frame a Bathroom Mirror on a Budget

11) Give a Nice Color and New Hardware to Your Boring Bathroom Vanity

No pretty flowers or cute accessories can disguise an ugly bathroom vanity. If you have one of those builder grade oak cabinets from the ’80s in your bathroom, you probably feel the urge to do something drastic about it.

The price of a new, very basic bathroom vanity is at least $250, plus installation costs if you have a contractor do it for you. However, spending only a fraction of that, you can make your cabinets look like new, and much prettier than any entry-level option from the stores.

In about three hours of work and less than $100, Stephanie from Rehab to Fab painted her daughter’s bathroom vanity in a beautiful turquoise, added cup pulls to the drawers, a floral knob to the door, and called it done. The difference is unbelievable.

See post: Stephanie Coon/Rehab to Fab|Transformed my cabinet in a few hours

We hope this selection of bathroom decorating ideas has inspired you to give a little love to the bathrooms in your home. Remember to pin and save this article and the projects you like so you can always find the information and tutorials when you need them. As always, feel free to ask questions in the comments and share your own DIY projects on Hometalk.com!

Written for the Hometalk community by: Pat Rios | The Wood Spa