When my husband and I moved into our 100 year old apartment building, we were excited about the charactor and charm of the place, but no so thrilled with the outdated style and decor.
The biggest eyesore in the whole apartment was the bathroom, with it’s hunter green striped wall paper adorned with ducks, and the hunter green and white checkered tile that made up the floor. Also, adding to the challenge of freshening up the obsolete decor was the tub/shower; a ceramic tub that is half attached to the wall. This was definitly a unique detail, but obviously created a shower curtain problem. The previous owners’ solution was to fashion a curtain rod that looks sort-of like an “L” out of plumbing pipes and just use two solid hunter green curtain to keep the water in. This seemed like a good solution, until you draw the curtains close and realize the length of the curtains left a gap that water could easily escape through.
Being on a tight budget, my husband and I decided that taring down the wall-paper, painting the walls, and changing the shower curtains would solve most of the cosmetic problems. Changing the tile was too major and permanent for a rental, so we just had to work with the color that was already there.
Finding a shower curtain was the first priority, since it would set the tone for the rest of the design. But the challenge was finding an extra-long shower curtain that wouldn’t hide the charm of the ceramic tub. We ended up finding a contemporary one, with large dots of orange and army green, that we use as a liner and curtain. We bought two to cover the whole tub, and is vinyl so it can be cleaned easily. The perk of extra-long shower curtains is that they add drama by elongating the space between the floor and the rod. Also, if you use an extra-long liner, it helps ensure water is staying the tub, on not on the floor.
From there, we painted the walls green, laid down some neutral bath rugs and a couple of white candles to add some fragrance. It doesn’t take much to spruce up a stale old bathroom. With a couple of cosmetic changes, my husband and I transformed our “eyesore” bathroom into one of our favorite rooms in the house!