Easy DIY bathroom solutions
Have you ever thought that your bathroom could do with a little brightening up? Perhaps it’s all one colour, with little detail to draw the eye?
Well, with these ideas you can revamp your boring bathroom without having to redecorate the whole place or even spend much money.
The suggestions below are ideas for how you can add a little personality to your bathroom using recycled materials that you may already have lying around.
Upcycled furniture
Upcycling furniture – like an old chest of drawers or cabinet – is a great idea for brightening up monotone bathrooms and also making use of any old, tired furniture that you might have. You could use old offcuts from wallpaper on the drawers to create a really vibrant feature for the room. Simply measure the wallpaper to fit the drawer fronts, sand the drawer down to get rid of any bumps and use a spray adhesive to fix the wallpaper, smoothing it out and making sure that it’s firmly stuck down at the edges.
You can really have fun with this, the more mismatched the wallpaper pieces are the more vibrant the furniture will be. Use wallpaper in a mixture of textures and colours to create a piece that really stands out. Or, if you’re after something a little more toned down, matching wallpaper will look just as good on the drawer fronts, and you can paint the rest of the cabinet in a co-ordinating colour.
Alternatively, create something different by repainting the furniture. Sand down all the wood to ensure a smooth finish, then apply a coat of primer and leave it to dry. Once it’s dried, apply your first coat of paint, making sure you use light brush strokes to achieve a thin coating. When that’s dry, sand down the wood again and apply a second coat of paint. You can use a colour that will match your existing furniture, or just go for white paint to create a classic, vintage look. If you don’t want to paint the furniture, you can use a stain instead to alter the colour of the wood and create an antiquated finish.
Finally, replace the old handles with a set of really unique ones. There are plenty available on the high street, or antique shops and places like eBay are great for sourcing a range of different door handles at great prices.
Decorate glass jars
This is a good idea if you have a load of glass jars lying around that you’re reluctant to throw away (you never know when they might come in handy). You can create pretty storage jars by painting or decorating them.
All you need is some emulsion paint – the sample pots you can get from DIY stores are ideal – in whichever colours you choose. Pour the paint into the jar and tilt until all of the glass is coated. Once all of it is covered, pour out any excess paint and leave the rest of the paint to dry, preferably for a couple of days. Alternatively, mix glitter with a clear adhesive and pour it inside the jar, repeat the above process for a sparkly finish. It’s as easy as that.
These jars make great storage solutions for things like makeup brushes or toothbrushes, but if you’re going to put anything wet inside them, you may need to place smaller containers inside the jars to stop the paint from getting wet and chipping.
This is a great activity to get kids involved with too, especially during the summer holidays when it’s raining and there’s nothing for them to do. Go to a craft shop and buy stick on gems, craft paint and ribbon and let them create their own unique toothbrush holder. It will give them something to show off and be proud of, as well as adding a personal family touch to your bathroom.
Wooden candle holders
This is a lovely idea if there are any fallen tree branches lying around near your house or garden. If you have anyone in your family who’s handy with power tools, ask them to saw off the edges of the branch until you get it to your desired length. They’ll then need to drill a small hole in the top end, the right size to fit a tea light candle (the top of the tea light should be level with the top of the holder, without any overlap). And it’s that simple.
You can keep replacing the tea light when it burns down, and even create multiple holders of different lengths and arrange them into a feature decoration. A beautiful, earthy addition to any bathroom.
Why not try some of these and let us know how they turn out. If you have any of your own ideas, please share them with us!
As ever, feel free browse our range of illuminated mirrors.They’re definitely a good way to liven up your bathroom!
