6 Install ready-made tab-top curtains in a gorgeous fabric, combined with sheers if privacy is an issue. Some companies offer co-ordinated sets that include shower and window curtains and other bath accessories. Or, for a streamlined look, consider shutters or roman blinds.
7 Designers often choose neutral colours or white for bathroom fixtures and other permanent elements, since all it takes is new towels and other linens to give you a whole new look. Natural shades -- warm grey, chocolate brown, wicker -- are “in” at the moment, but super-brights such as chrome yellow, tangerine and fire engine red are equally fabulous in a neutral setting.
8 The popularity of the hotel look has inspired product designers to come up with all kinds of attractive and intelligent options for maximizing and organizing storage. Lisa Brdar, of Harvest Kitchen & Bath in Toronto, says one of the store's hottest sellers is their luggage rack, a tubular nickel shelving unit with hooks on the bottom rail for towels or a bathrobe. The store also offers a range of acrylic or wicker trays and baskets for organizing countertop essentials, including one that's shaped to fit perfectly on the back of the toilet.
9 Nothing sabotages the look of a bathroom -- or any room in your home, in fact -- than inadequate lighting. In many cases, you don't need an electrician to replace an old lighting fixture with a pretty new one, though if you're planning to change its location or add fixtures, you should call in a professional. Other options: replace incandescent bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescents, or add a dimmer switch to give you bright light for makeup, softer light for a relaxing bath.
10 Bathrooms need not be all business; treat yourself to new accessories, functional or not. A trio of starfish (real or fake) can march along a chair rail; a basket of sea sponges adds some texture on the edge of a bath. Use attractive glass or metal canisters to store Q-Tips, cotton balls and other everyday items within reach; or display a fabulously designed toothbrush holder, soap dish and water glass on the counter. Finish with a framed print or two (either sealed to protect against moisture, or inexpensive enough to discard as soon as damage shows.)
Read more in Kitchen & Bath and Bathroom
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