apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Replace the showerhead! and upgrade doorknobs and switchplate covers. Rental doorknobs are often cheap, and they're pretty easy to replace.

SHOWER HEAD! YES! that's the one thing that always makes me feel like I'm at home... shower head, laundry soap and sheets. After that, I could be at my mom's place but as long as none of those things change, I'm at home. lol

Oh I love the curved tension rod idea and the tea bag scent thingy...

Anyone got anymore ideas for tiny apartment bathrooms with no windows?

Funny - I did all of that. And it worked wonders. My landlord was so impressed. Good List!

In one very small bathroom, i wallpapered the ceiling. Leaving the walls a solid color, let the room feel open, but adding a design to the ceiling was like an unexpected surprise. plus nice to look at when i took a bath. If your landlord won't go for wallpaper, you could paint a design or stencil one. I also put down vinyl peel and stick squares on the floor to cover up the yucky sheet vinyl. most landlords will go for this.

That's my table! Never thought of putting it in the bathroom. Sounds like time for a "rearrange"!

oh and for jesse lu...i had another tiny bathroom with a tub but no shower, so i hung paper lanterns over the tub for more lighting. easy, cheap and very soothing.

maybe it's just me (i have a toddler), but the thought of a glass table and sharp metal base in a wet bathroom screams danger.

wallpaper in bathrooms are a good idea if you have good ventilation, otherwise it is a mold magnet.

clean, clean, clean is the way to go--visually and scent-wise.

In our last apartment, one of the best ideas we did was replace the overhead light (there were 3 vanity lights above the sink too) with a red bulb so that when you got up in the middle of the night, you didn't kill your night vision and totally wake up.

We also replaced the tiny, cheap medicine cabinet with a larger, nicer one from ikea. No landlord is going to complain if you upgrade. I also highly recommend re-grouting. I wish I'd known years ago what a huge difference it makes.

luckily my rental bathroom is all white and in pretty good condition - which makes it easy to decorate and make 'nice.'

- the lower half of my rental bathroom is white tiles the upper half is wall...i wallpapered the upper half in a fun print. LOVE IT. and best of all it only took less than 1 roll so i "splurged" on a roll that actually cost more than $10.

- i lined my medicine cabinet with beautiful wrapping paper I bought on sale - now it's like a little surprise every time i open it.

- know those small candle holders that have the candle built into the glass holder? once the candle was too short to light i simply removed the wax and was left with a little glass holder. i put my makeup brushes in one, and little stuff (nail clip, nail file, bobby pins..etc) in another and placed it in my medicine cabinet. it's the perfect height - not too big! MUCH cuter than leaving them in their plastic packaging.

Like others have said - a good clean every week so it's nice and 'shiny' and feels/looks/smells clean goes a long way.

oh how I wish the tenents in our rental houses actually did ANY of these things (including clean). Our renters are tough on the house.
cleaning & new showerheads can make SUCH a big difference

Any suggestions to cover up a floor made of orangy-brown and black tiles?

I'll have to try getting a pretty shower curtain and maybe either painting or wallpapering. White is getting kind of dull.

Seriously, how many cut toes and scraps can you see with that gaudy little table?

"...the thought of a glass table and sharp metal base in a wet bathroom screams danger."

Children never learn the consequences of their actions and a wariness of the dangers of the world we all live in if everything within reach is rubber-coated and "Kid-safe".

A couple skinned knees and stubbed toes never killed anyone.

how easy is it to change a showerhead? we live in medium-sized building managed by a large company. they don't want ANYTHING changed, but we plan on being here for a few years and i think it would be nice to make it homier. is it relatively easy to change a showerhead out and then back? and if i don't have access to the main water shut off, is it going to be a problem?

Changing a shower head is pretty easy and you don't really need to shut the main water off. We've done it a couple of times, almost all shower heads are just screw on... so just follow the instructions about threading tape... I think almost anyone can do it!

"...and if i don't have access to the main water shut off, is it going to be a problem?"

Only if you don't shut the water off in your tub/shower first...

while i agree wth bepsf that we can't live in rubber rooms when we have children --and nor should we-- a glass table and wet floor is not a terribly good combination with or without children.

Why does everything have to start with a good cleaning? ; )

Where can I buy that table?

I splurged on a gorgeous shower curtain from Pottery Barn that makes me smile every time I walk into my bathroom. Otherwise:

* CLEAN, CLEAN CLEAN!
* Candle by the toilet, creates ambience (and helps odors)
* Put toiletries in baskets and things like q-tips and cotton balls into fun/pretty containers.
* If you don't have a window, put a nice picture or photo up on the wall.

Our old apartment had a huge master bath (for a college apt), and the whole place was brand new. We weren't allowed to paint, and being still in school, extra cash went to furniture- not hardware & lighting. The place was always spotless since a)the place was new and b)I'm a huge cleaning freak.

However, we had really nice accessories from our wedding gifts & I bought a little acacia (I think) plant stand I spotted in Ikea. I set the stand next to the garden tub and it was GREAT!!! It held some fancy bubble bath & a cute little bath sheep- but it was functional too- I'd study and read in the tub, so it provided a place to set books & pens. It had no hard edges and easily folded up and out of the way if need be. :) Very 'spa' like...

@dcirene: Agreed. Especially after that AT article from a little while back about the dangers of non-tempered glass furniture.

"Where can I buy that table?"

eBay, Flea Markets, Craigslist, Estate Sales, 1stDibs...

This is a great post, and I thin I can implement some of the ideas, but I have a problem I have no idea what to do with... wondering if anyone has suggestions for a rental with a small bathroom with a pink sink counter? The sink itself is white but the surrounding counter is a speckled pink (YUCK) and the cabinet underneath is a light cream color. Anyway to cover up the pink?

I have a mirror and lighting situation similar to the photo in this past AT post:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/good-questions/good-questions-color-to-fix-this-room-070766

Any thoughts on how to:

1. cover-up or change the hideous dressing room brass lighting (it's the only brass in the room)

2. do something with the unframed mirror that stretches ALL the way across wall to the shower/tub stall (and over the toilet)?

The room is beige, with white toilet, sink, tub and tiles. We're not allowed to paint.

special toilet paper?

Come on thats ridiculous.

Something you use to wipe your rear end is not going to improve your over all decor. Shesh!

herglasslegs - "Special" might not mean the same thing I think it does, but my mom taught me a long time ago that you are NEVER too poor for good, thick, soft toilet paper.

I don't have kids and I don't design my spaces for kids - it's my own clumsy late-night or possibly even alcohol-enhanced ass I'm concerned about as I look at that table. Surely there's something glamourous with a sinuous shape that is made of, I don't know, some material that wouldn't KILL ME if I slid on a wet floor and fell on it.

bepsf - I'd be more worried about aging grandparents falling and impaling themselves on that table than I would be about kids -- that SO doesn't look like a bathroom kids ever get to use.

But either way, sharp edges and glass in a slippery bathroom are unnerving.

My bathroom ceiling is very, very low. I'm only 5'3'' and I can touch it without fully stretching my arm. The big problem with it is the light is the kind with the string to click on and off. There is no fixture, so there's just a bare bulb in the middle of my bathroom that people who are average height or taller can run into. Is there any way to make it prettier without going lower?

hey hilolp: PBarn sells a clip on shade. http://www.potterybarn.com/products/star-ceiling-clip-shade/ It's $40 bucks but you can take it with you when you move! Always a plus when you're renting. You could also probably make a cool one... I'm not visually crafty (I typically need directions) so I don't know how exactly but probably using a few hangars and something not too flammable, haha.

ohhhh i feel your pain Tiamat_the_red: Is it tile, not a stick on? If it's real, grouted tile I have a solution! First, make sure your tile is a terrible color, but structurally sound, and that you have 3 days of another bathroom to use. Talk to you landlord about using "tough as tile." it saved my life.

when i moved into my current apt, i spent year one with my bathroom walls all being different color tile. one black, one white, one speckled off white and the other was a really grimy "didn't-matter-how-much-CLR-I-used-still-filmy-black-turned-grey." suffice it to say, i hated it. i thought about writing my landlord a lengthy letter (lengthy should be my middle name as you'll see with this post...) but realized he was going to say no and then probably check and make sure i didn't do it. sooo I figured i would beg forgiveness rather than ask permission. luckily for me, my gamble paid off and he actually paid me back after the fact for the brushes and epoxy I purchased. I decided to paint the tile white with "tough as tile." see link: http://www.amazon.com/Homax-720773-Brush-One-Part-26-Ounce/dp/B000U9K85S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256709717&sr=8-1 It worked especially well on the floor. it made the used to be white grout (but now grey after the last ::cough:: male tenants) look awesome. just be sure to do one extra coat over your dark tile (they obviously didn't test on black tile) but follow the time directions to the T. here's my labor of love of a bathroom... before & after pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/eileenastarrett/BathroomBeforeAfter?feat=directlink

yo yo yo FlorenceAnn: So I did go to the library and get a book on electrical stuff to switch out the horrible brass light fixture in my bathroom but you could use some tin foil and cover all non-brass parts and spray paint it a metallic silver-ish. You can get metallic spray paint at your local hardware store. Be sure to fill in the socket with something (foil works best because it molds well and stays in place... obviously turn off the fixture). i hated the position (to the right but not the left) so i had to get a new fixture.

i hope that helps!!
eas

I actually like the idea of changing your faucets, as this can be an inexpensive way to class up even an ugly bathroom sink. Changing the bathroom faucet is especially useful if you are grossed out by the crust on the faucet of your rental or if yours drips (which just wastes water and causes yellowing in the sink). I happen to prefer a modern look, but you can choose anything to match your bathroom.

I've done two things that have really spruced up my rental. First of all, I purchased a great new bathroom mirror to add character to the bathroom. I can always put the other mirror back when I move out and take mine with me. Secondly, I purchased a great over-the-toilet storage unit. It's really cute, adding to the look of the bathroom, and incredibly practical to store toilet paper, towels and more. Hope these ideas help!

My bathroom tiles are the most nausating pink imaginable, and the shower 'cabinet' (looks like a tardis), toilet basin and sink all match... I think it's hopeless! I have put some nice ceramics in there though to hold my toothbrush etc.

Plants (real or silk) lift the energy in bathrooms, especially if they have an upward-growing habit. The only real color in the photo above comes from the tulips on the sink -- but they make all the difference!!

love most of the comments, as I landlord let me make a few suggestions.... New shower head is great, but be sure it is "low flow" city regulations & all. Foe ugly counters, try a nice pre glued shelf paper.

Good luck.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to clean radiator in a bathroom? not just the radiator itself, but around it, I can't seem to get it clean! it's been driving me nuts since i moved in to this apartment last year.

I'm sorry, but have to share that when I read the smell bullet, I saw: "Whether it's a dump or hanging tea bags . . ." It completely cracked me up. I'm a child.

Sian: Hah I know how you feel. Years ago a group of friend and I rented this massive house. It was 3000
square feet or so with 4 full bathrooms. It had originally been a small rambler and the owner just kept doing additions in a crazy non sense way. It was something only a mother could love. The rent was amazing though so we took it.

My bathroom was one of the ugliest things I had ever seen. Wall to wall pepto bismol pink. It also had over shower storage that made the entire thing look like some kind of late 70's airplane bathroom. Even had the tacky seashell toilet seat cover. Nothing was paintable. The entire thing was a nightmare. It eventually grew on me... like a mold.

Definitely change the faucet, it's cheap and easy. Switching out that $10 faceted plastic-knobbed piece of crap for a $30 faucet will improve your quality of life like you can't believe. Same thing for towel bars and the toilet handle. All you have to do is go up one price point (buy the second cheapest towel bar at $13 instead of the absolute cheapest $8 towel bar your landlord bought). Doing those things in a rental makes it look like a "real" bathroom.

FlorenceAnn,

You can put empty frames up on the wall mirror to frame out smaller-looking "mirrors". If you use silicone glue or removable mounting tape, they will be removable when it is time to leave. There are some photos on Apt Therapy somewhere... Ah, here it is: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/inspiration-giving-added-dimension-to-your-bathroom-sink-020079

You could also treat the mirror as a wall and mount artwork the same way, say in the areas not over the sink.

It isn't too hard to change out a light fixture, but you may not want to (and I think in some states like MA it isn't permitted). If you do, that would obviously be an easy solution.

If the light fixture is a simple and flat-planed as the one you linked to, you could carefully put contact paper over the brass bits. Either keep the contact paper color, or paint the contact paper. (The cheap solution).

Or, for something really nice, you could build or buy a wood and paper-look shoji long light that would fit over the existing fixture. If that fits your style. something like this? http://www.cherrytreedesign.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=31&osCsid=3f5c37bd7ac07829f042b496238985c2
You could also go with something chrome and glass-like for a more modern look.

You could also try this stuff- removable spray paint- to cover the brass, although I have no experience with it...
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/carart.html

I have a great little Vornado fan I use to circulate air in my fan-less bathroom. It folds in on itself, is unobtrusive and inexpensive. Lots of bang for the buck here.

http://www.vornado.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ISC_Category=Flippi V6

This is a great article... I've done a number of these things. Whomever asked about changing out the showerhead? Make sure you get some teflon tape to wrap around the pipe and you're good to go. I'm not even remotely handy and my dad talked me through it on the phone :)

Fabulous towels can make a world of difference when you can't do anything else, color-wise. I got fluffy lavender towels from Restoration hardware, bought a white over the toilet etagerie at Target, put some dried lavender in a vase, changed the light bulbs, and it's a whole new room.

I *need* my bathroom to be a relaxing space or my morning shower just isn't the same.

Also, I know everyone is so over wall decals, but i think they're a godsend to renters. You just have to get the right ones. Here's how I used them in my bathroom:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/starjewel/2936899783/in/set-72157594206118839/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/starjewel/2936899809/in/set-72157594206118839/

Even more typically needed than regrouting, I find, is recaulking. Plus it's a lot easier. Rip out all the old caulk around the tub/shower base, spray bleach or mildew killer in the gap, wait and scrub then rinse and let dry, then apply new caulk. Ahh. Clean and pretty.

As a landlord, I would not want my tenants to undertake a regrouting project. Mildewy grout and caulking can signify a serious moisture problem behind the walls. If this was happening in one of my apartments, I would want the tenant to let me know, so we could get to the root of the problem and do it right the first time.