Bathroom Remodeling:

Remodeling the bathroom from time to time:

The following are some examples how bathroom face lifts are done. If a bathroom is suffering from beauty crisis, it can be given a cosmetic lift with today's best styles and colors. Here two dated baths get dramatic face lifts with paint, fabric, and great accessories.

Fresh Face Makeover

Fanciful colors revive a bathroom into a playful retreat.

New custom-built birch doors and drawer fronts make a difference. The recessed panels offer a clean, simple look, and hot pink paint provides imperative punch that's easy to change.

If custom cabinetry fronts are out of budget, we can look for standard-size doors and drawers at home centers, or make our own with plywood and decorative moldings. On the walls, old wallpaper is replaced by a soothing sage green hue.

Round Reflection:

A modest round mirror framed in white replaces the sharp-edge square one to soften the room's boxy lines.

We can make our own shower curtain using

a variety of pattern fabrics and colors.

Shower power:

Fabric strips in a medley of colors are sewn together to create a stylish shower curtain. Pink toile adds unexpected appeal and complements the vanity. To make the curtain, 74-inch-long linen strips are cut in various widths. The sides are sewn together using 1/2-inch seam allowances. This is continued piecing until the curtain measures 74 inches wide. Buttonholes are sewn along the top edge in increments. The curtain is hung from shower curtain clips slipped through the buttonholes.

Shiny wares:

Chrome doorknobs, drawer pulls, towel hooks, curtain rings, and a curtain rod enhance the other new accessories and help bring out the gray tiles in the new floor.

This towel hook is accented with a butterfly design

transferred to the wall and then colored with craft paint.

Smart Artworks:

Smart arts can be done with the inventive technique as has been done to paint this butterfly. For this first a suitable picture of our own liking is to be selected and photocopied to the desired size. The back of the photocopy is coloured using a graphite pencil. The graphite side is placed on the wall where we want the picture to appear. The picture is transferred to the wall by tracing it from the front side with a pencil and filled in with color using artist's brushes and crafts paints.

Shelf Sheath:

A sheer cotton batiste slipcover softens the trendy metal shelves, which provide ample storage for the small space. Not as slick as typical sheer fabric, cotton batiste is easy to work with and comes in various patterns, such as this clover design. The front panel rolls up and ties with silk ribbon for easy access to bathroom essentials.

To make the cover, the height and width of the sides, front, back, and top of the bathroom shelves should be measured; then to add 1 inch to each measurement, and 5 additional inches to each side width since the cover wraps around the front. The fabric should be cut according to these measurements. With right sides together and using 1/2-inch seam allowances, each side should be sewn to the back piece, and then the top piece on.

Cotton batiste slipcover can be

made according to own wish.

Then the raw edges of the sides and front piece (except the top edge) 1/2 inch are pressed and another additional 1/2 inch should also be pressed and hems should be sewn. With right sides together and sandwiching lengths of ribbon between, the raw edge of front is sewn to raw edge of top. The corresponding lengths of ribbon are sewn into raw edge.

By following this simple way the shelf sheath can be made that looks tremendous in its overall effect.

Stacking and Storing:

Painted wooden boxes make stylish storage bins. Solids or freehand patterns such as yellow plaid and green clover boxes that is bright coloured boxes can be used to store different objects. Latex acrylic paint sealed with clear polyurethane yields the best results.

Thus different sizes of brightly coloured boxes give a bright effect and warmth inside any drab and monotonous bathroom.

Lavender Fresh Finish

Lavender paint provides a soft,

simple backdrop that enfolds the

room in soothing color.

A light lavender paint gives a quick update. Lively apple green provides a fun finish for the tub nook and accentuates the arched top.

So that wall colors pop and everything looks clean, a fresh coat of white paint tops all the wood trim and cabinetry.

Use of Floral Shower Curtain

A shower curtain made from a queen-size sheet dresses up the tub nook. For color contrast, a punchy tangerine-tone gingham functions as a wide bottom border. To hold the curtain rings, grommets are spaced evenly along the top edge.

The curtain has total floral prints on it; this adds freshness to the bathroom.

Use of Roman shades

A Roman shade sewn from the same sheet used to make the shower curtain lends eye-catching color at the window. To make the Roman shade, the kits or sewing patterns are quite important.

Shades with fabrics

that match your shower curtain.

Cabinet Makeover

Replacing plain cabinet fronts with ribbed glass updates the look for much less than the cost of new glass-front doors. Glass can be cut according to the desired size. The ribbed glass let us see color, such as in towels and colorful toiletries, but obscures clutter.

Mat Magic

This cushy bath mat offers a soft touch that is wonderful to feel. S It can be done from a standard pillow sham having the same pattern as the shower curtain sheets. This mat can be embellished with strips of leftover tangerine gingham. After that stuffed with thin batting and pressed under the raw edges of gingham, adding a length of grosgrain ribbon to each side; and are sewn to the sham's edges.

Knob Appeal

Changing knobs on a cabinet helps create a new identity. Green background paint and a painted daisy accent make these inexpensive wood knobs pretty. The flowers are hand painted, but just like small stencils or stamps.

Changing knobs adds a subtle
accent.

Adding mirrors in a bathroom:

Mirrors expand and brighten the room.

A mirror consists of clear glass that is first coated with a layer of silver -- the most vulnerable part of a mirror. Next, in place of a thicker, more expensive layer of silver, a layer of copper is applied. Finally, a layer of paint protectant seals the mirror. The edges are often sealed again prior to installation to prevent moisture from seeping between the glass and the backing.

Tips for an efficient bathroom:

The following are some good ideas which can be used for remodeling and decorating monotonous and drab bathrooms:

1. It is better to take a neutral stance:

A large window and simple valance make this bath seem bigger.

• Because pale and cool colors reflect light, soft whites, pastels, and neutrals can make a bath feel bigger. Woodwork, trim, and doors will "disappear" if they are painted the same hue as the walls. The effect is enhanced if cabinets and counters are the same color as the walls.
• For variety, a light color of paint can be used for the walls and a lighter tint for the ceiling. This combination will make surfaces recede from view and make the room seem larger.
  
• To keep a neutral scheme from appearing bland, bolder colors can be introduced through accessories, linens, collectibles, artwork, and even furniture. Some interest can be added with a variety of textures, such as woven baskets, soft fabric, and smooth wooden pieces.

2. The eye should lead upward:

• The ceiling can be made to look taller with some visual tricks. Wood moldings, wallpaper borders, and tile designs placed where the walls and ceiling meet will provide a splash of color and help naturally draw the eye upward.
• A vertical stripe on the walls will make them seem taller. Otherwise, wallpaper with small airy prints can be used; large or busy patterns will diminish the scale of the space.

3. The windows should be treated simply:

• No matter what their size or style, windows help enlarge the feel of a room if they're allowed to transmit light. If possible, it is better to leave them unadorned or trimmed lightly with lace or with a valance. Mini blinds or shades, which can be drawn to the top of the window and virtually out of sight, are another sleek solution.

• Treating half the window can also be another option. A sheer fabric held in place with tension rods or shutters over the bottom portion of the window will readily admit light but still maintain privacy.

4. A reflective look should be given:

• Mirrors stretch space by reproducing it. Mirroring the long wall of a narrow bath, for example, can change the room's proportions and make it seem wider. The mirror should be placed in such a way so that they reflect the bath's assets -- whether that's a wall hanging, a panoramic view, or the widest room angle mirror. Two mirrors positioned opposite each other create the illusion of a never-ending room.

• Glass doesn't reproduce space, but it doesn't obstruct it, either. Thus, in a small bath, a clear-glass shower door may prove to be a better space stretcher than a dark, patterned shower curtain.

5. Clutter should be kept in its place:

• In a small bath, space is too precious to be taken up by clutter. The bath counter top should only have those things which are really liked ones or need to have handy, and the rest should be stored.

• The closets and cupboards should be replaced with wire racks, bins, and shelves. By putting the objects in order, we can make feel the most of the space which is there.

6. If possible it is better to let the sun shine in:

Skylights, light colors, an open shower, and a recessed base cabinet help this small bath seem larger.

• First we can look for window and glass designs that welcome sunlight yet protect the privacy. Skylights, for example, open up any room to the sun. So do clerestory windows, which are installed high on the wall, almost at ceiling level.

• Glass block, too, has long been a popular window treatment for the bath because certain patterns distort images enough to guarantee privacy. It also makes a dramatic, light-transmitting wall between a bedroom and bath. Other room-brightening options include frosted glass, etched glass, and stained-glass panels.

7. Streamline

• For a sleek, clean look, it is better to keep storage flush with walls. Narrow built-in shelving, such as between wall studs, can easily corral collectibles -- from picture frames to perfume bottles. Deeper built-ins -- shelves, drawers, and cabinets tucked into a niche or nook -- are ideal for linens, and don't use floor space like bulky freestanding shelf units.

8. The floor should be left to show:

• Maintaining an unbroken sweep of floor is a good way to stretch visual space. Yet, bulky components such as the bathtub can make this a difficult task.

• It is better to fool the eye with cabinetry that "floats." Wall-mounted vanities or those with recessed bases add extra inches of space to the room that translate into visible square footage.

9. Fixtures should be scaled down:

• Space-stealing fixtures can be easily replaced or removed. A pedestal sink or a scaled-down vanity, for example, is a good stand-in for a bulky vanity. There are also some fixtures, such as small basins and slim-and-trim pedestal sinks, designed especially for small baths and powder rooms.

• In case of a major remodeling, a typical tub can be replaced with a soaking tub -- it's deep but small in circumference. In some cases the bath tub can be replaced with a shower stall if we want to gain more room.

10. Unclogging a traffic jam:

• Perhaps the reason the bath feels as though it's shrinking is because too many people are sharing it. If this is the case, then addition of a small grooming station can be considered. This can be consisting of a vanity, sink, and mirror placed in a bedroom. Much less costly than adding a bath, this solution is especially economical if the bedroom is adjacent to the bath, the laundry, or the kitchen, and if plumbing pipes run through the shared wall.