Bathroom decorating ideas

Bathrooms are one of the most used and abused rooms in your home, yet they are also a serene and relaxing retreat to escape for a few moments each day. With that in mind, it is crucial for your bathroom to be functional, beautiful and enjoyable.

However, if you’re like most homeowners, updating your bathroom may seem like a daunting, intimidating and expensive project. Fortunately, celebrity designer Vern Yip, from TLC's Trading Spaces, offers a variety of quick and inexpensive solutions to make updating your bathroom a simple day or weekend project this summer.

Determine your Design Style

To make your bathroom your own, first determine how you want your bathroom to work and how you want to feel while you are in your space. Secondly, decide if you are someone who likes to frequently change your decorations to follow seasons or trends, or if you prefer a classic style that involves little or no updating.

Personalize with Paint

Painting is an easy and inexpensive way to make a dramatic and instant impact on a room. When choosing a paint color, find one that is going to inspire you, make you happy and create a desired mood. Dark dramatic colors are great for those who are not up for frequent changes. However, neutrals, available in light, medium and dark tones, are the most accepting of colors, which is ideal for those who want to continually add the latest color trends or seasonal decorations.

Finish Your Look with Coordinating Finishes

One of the easiest ways to create a professionally designed look in your bathroom is to coordinate the metal finishes. Start by updating the faucet with a new, sleek style in a hot new finish, such as antique nickel, oil rubbed bronze, brushed nickel or stainless steel. According to Vern, coordinating the finish throughout a room is a great way to pull it together. Be sure not to stop with the faucet - change your drawer pulls, knobs, towel bars, faucets, showerheads, accessories and even your framed artwork. Not everything needs to be exactly the same finish, but be sure the tonal colors are relatively the same hue.

Add Accessories and Personality

Accessories are a great way to pull together a bathroom design as well as showcase your personality and individuality. Adding complementary or contrasting color towels, bathmats and shower curtains can brighten up your bathroom and create a finished and cohesive look. In addition, accessories such as toothbrush and cup holders, towel bars and soap dishes available in coordinating finishes to match your faucets can add not only style, but additional storage solutions to avoid clutter.

Lighten Up

Light is an important element in the bathroom, yet one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make. Most bathrooms are equipped with fluorescent lighting fixtures, which give off an unattractive blue tint to people and surroundings. Change out the fluorescent lighting and swap with halogen, which is the closest to natural sunlight. An additional way to add light is to add a mirror, since it’s like adding a window to a room. Even if you do have a window, position a mirror opposite the window. The natural light will reflect off the mirror and flood the room with bright white light in addition to expanding the visual plane to give the illusion of expanded space.

For more style solutions from Vern Yip and Moen Incorporated, visit summerofstyle.com, where in addition to a wealth of design tips and trends, you’ll have the opportunity to enter a prize drawing. Sign up for At Home: Simple Style Solutions, a free eMagazine and you are eligible for a weekly giveaway of Vern Yip prize packages or enter the Moen Show Us Your Style contest, where by submitting the before and after photos of your kitchen or bathroom, you could win a Grand prize of $5000 and an in-home consultation with Vern. Courtesy of ARA Content