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Make your bathroom inviting
What you need to know:
As the bathroom is a great place to unwind, it should be spruced up, writes Brenda Banura
Ideally, a bathroom has a toilet and bathtub or shower but some people have each in different rooms. Whatever the case, the bathroom is the last place to cross most home owners’ minds when it comes to decorating.
Even with a sparkling living room, a guest’s visit to the bathroom/toilet only to find that the tiles have drying up soap foam, a wet floor, a stench of urine and toilet paper rolling away will make or break their impression of you. Since this is one place you are bound to visit as you start you day, attention should be paid to it because its overall mood and energy may set your day’s pace and mood.
Ann Mirembe, an interior designer and owner of Annie’s Metal Workshop in Katwe says, “In Uganda, when it comes to bathroom décor, what comes to most people’s minds are flower petals but there are other unique ways of decorating a bathroom.” She adds that with a little creativity, you can use the different items needed in the bathroom to decorate it.
Liquid soap/sowering gel bottles
“These are good items to use when decorating the bathroom. What you need to do is get bottles in different colours and shapes and they will add beauty and elegance to the bathroom,” Ms Mirembe says.
The bottles can be placed on window sills, on top of the shelves where you keep medicine and toiletries, and even on top of the water tank lid or toilet cistern. And if you look harder, you can find liquid soap or gel that keeps the bathroom scented for hours after use.
Uchumi Supermarket has a wide range of liquid soap, hand wash and showering gel to choose from and you can also go to Nakumatt Supermarket. The prices range from Shs3,800 to Shs7,000 and Shs2,000 to Shs11,000 respectively.
Scented candles
When a bathroom has a nice scent, it is more inviting. You may want to stay there longer because you want to enjoy the scent. If you are a guest, this is bound to leave an impression.
However, be careful with candles since they cause fires. You can get scented candles from décor shops at Gazaland and at Nakumatt Supermarket. They cost between Shs4,900 and Shs62,000 depending on the scent and size.
Area rugs
These can also enhance the ambiance in the bathroom. And the colour you choose matters. Rugs are sold around the taxi park and cost Shs5,000 and above. At Biplous along Kampala Road, they cost between Shs50,000 and Shs100,000.
Wall hangings
Ms Mirembe says you can also hang pictures or paintings on the wall as a form of decorating. “This can be a photo of your family or any other painting. But it is best for it to be framed so that it doesn’t get spoilt if water splashes on it. Keep away from cloth hangings,” she advises.
Racks or baskets
You can have one of these to help in the organisation of the bathroom and also to make the place look nice. Extra toilet paper, air freshener, soap and detergent can be placed in such storage facilities.
They say it is only when in the toilet that a person can do more than two things at the same time. So go ahead and place some magazines in the rack because one may do a qiuck read.
Sea shells and stones
When you go to the beach, pick some shells and white stones (like the type usually placed in buckets with plants) and use them in the bathroom. You can place these on the window seal and put soap dishes on top of them.
Colour scheme
When decorating your bathroom, you can go for a colour scheme where you choose one or two colours to use.
If you want to use one colour, for instance orange, use orange towels, orange baskets/racks and soap dish. And the shades of orange can vary from dark to light.
But if you are going to use two (or more) colours, you can find items with both colours or buy some in one colour and others in the another. For instance, orange matches with brown or cream but all three can be used together. Blue matches with white or cream. You can also go for white and black.
Ms Mirembe explains that bright colours make the room look lively. The bathroom will brighten you up when using it in the morning. She cautions that you should avoid monotony. So keep changing the colour themes once in a while.
“To achieve this, buy each item in three different colours, for instance, have a cream towel, rug and set of curtains. Also, have these items in blue, white, red, orange or any other colour of your choice.”
There is no law that bathrooms have to be white. You can have a different colour of the bathroom and the other accessories like the sink, bathtub and toilet seats don’t have to be white either. You can find sinks, bathtubs and toilet seats in lime green, blue and baby pink at Vishal Overseas, located on Entebbe Road next to Centenary Bank - main branch where a sink and toilet seat goes for Shs400,000.
To get an inviting bathroom, the small things shouldn’t be ignored, for instance, if there is a missing handle or the cistern is off, they should be replaced.
If for some reason urine keeps on smelling even when you flash or water leaks, have these fixed as well. It may be a lot of work but it is worth it.
