Have you ever had that feeling, when someone pops over for a flying visit and they're just about to head out of the door when they ask, “You don't mind if I just use your loo, do you?” Then your heart drops and you realise you haven't cleaned the bathroom, or even tidied it up and they are going to see it in all it's 'day at home with kids' glory. I have this all the time, I never learn and sometimes wonder if 'actually no you can't use it' may be a justifiable response? When you start to feel like that though, you know it's seriously time to think about having a bit of a bathroom blitz, a much needed update and style overhaul to make it a room to be proud of.
Here's a few ways to get started on a bathroom blitz of your own, from minor to major changes that will make all the difference.
Blitz the kid's clutter
If you have a family, then you will know that keeping all of the kid's toys that they like to play with in the bath out of sight is almost impossible. This is a big issue for me, especially as they love to get their bath toys out ALL through the day, disgard clothing everywhere and sprinkle toilet paper like little Andrex puppies. I'm all for not having it look like a show home, but do need solutions to keep the kids bits out of view and temptation throughout the day.
Whilst we have to embrace the fact that it's a family bathroom, so there will be kids bath accessories, we need to find a cheap and convenient way of tidying and storing them. If you're lacking space for extra storage, you might be able to install some simple shelves, keeping the kids bathroom toys in crates or boxes. Use painted wood or woven material so you can't see what is in them from the outside, making the room look less cluttered, and toys far less likely to be strewn around during the day. Add a simple washing basket (with a lid) too so there's no excuses for dirty washing to be left on the floor at bath time, or every time they go to the loo if your kids are like mine, nudists I swear.
Blitz the products
I am terrible for leaving all my products out on dislpay. We have shelves packed with various hair and bath products which could easily be cleared out or stored elsewhere. This isn't a great use of space in the bathroom and that stressful clutter does us no favours, collecting dust like crazy too.
Again, if you have room it can be a great idea to install some storage in the bathroom area to store shampoos, conditioners and you know, those 15 bottles of bubble bath!
While doing this, it's also a good idea to slim down your collection of products as most of us only use our old favourites, making the rest redundant. Remember when you see those gorgeous bathrooms in home magazine spreads they very rarely have a half used bottle of conditioner leaking out onto their pristine marbled side or lots of bottles resting round the bath. Blitz those product bottles for a better aesthetic, use what you like and buy when you need it.
Blitz the space
Next, for a bathroom that doesn't make you cringe when visitors pop over it's vital that you create as much space as possible. This is where those big makeovers come in! Installing some more modern fixtures you can create lots more space, with products designed particularly with space saving in mind.
Look online for manufacturers and retailers that offer this sort of product. For example, the brand Drench have a great range of short projection toilets that have all the functionality of their larger cousins but take up far less room. Also, you can save space by using sink and vanity combined units, mounting storage up high off the floor, having a space saver bath tub or even just a shower cubicle. Adding these kinds of fixtures (if your budget will allow), will give you a far more modern and spacious design.
Blitz The Maintenance
Lastly, to prevent any visitor induced cringe, ensure that you make your new bathroom as low maintenance as possible. The easier it is to keep clean and tidy, the more clean and tidy you will keep it. It's that simple! Low maintenance sounds good right?
For a lower maintenance bathroom, simply doing things like picking bathroom mirrors that don’t get fogged up, tiles that don't show every speck of dirt and dust, and work surfaces that are easily wiped down after a spill can make life far easier. As much as we want our homes to look nice to visitors, (even those pesky ones that show up unannounced), we don't want to spend all day cleaning - there are far more exciting things we could do with our day!