Home & Garden Blog » Bathroom

Easy Ways To Bring Color To A Bathroom

brock — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:20:58 +0000

We don’t like to admit it, but we spend a lot of time in our bathrooms. Especially after spicy taco night at your favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, unless you are able to spend a ton of money, the fixtures, bathtub, etc. are all white.

It’s hard to paint or wall paper a bathroom because of all the moisture created from bathing and showering, but when you get a rumbly in your tumbly and need to visit the facility, you want to be comfortable. Pale white walls and fixtures just add to the anxiety.

Luckily for you, there are ways to introduce a little color into the bathroom that won’t break the bank.

There are numerous bathroom rugs available in various colors and styles at most department stores. They can be the kind that fit around the toilet, or a more traditional rectangular rug depending on how much room you have in the bathroom.

You can also add matching or complementary bath towels. Most bathrooms have a towel rack which only gets used a few times a day. Why not take advantage of the space by turning it into a useful decoration. Bathrooms are notoriously small and bath towels don’t take up much space.

The walls are horrendous. If you were lucky to get an older house, then you could be staring at a pea green that would give Linda Blair a childhood flashback. The moisture from the shower makes it difficult to keep up wall paper and paint tends to bubble and crack after a while, or get moldy. Place a few tasteful paintings on the walls to bring in some cover and help cover up those walls. Please be tasteful, no pictures of teddy bears on toilets or anything else like that.

Many bathrooms have at least one window. It may be frosted so lookie loos won’t see your business, but you can place some drapes or curtains to bring in some fun colors. The only thing to remember about cloth, such as carpets and drapes, is that it must be washed regularly. If your drapes get wet from condensation, then they can develop mold.

You can always hang some shelves and add some colorful knick knacks, or use the existing shelving — such as the sink — to place some vases. One place I would avoid is the toilet tank. When you’re in the midst of a plumbing emergency, the last thing you want to have to do is take a bunch of items off the tank so you can get the top off.

Save Some Money: Check Your Toilet Water

brock — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:11:53 +0000

Gas is nearing $4 per gallon, it takes a fortune to heat and cool your home and every grocery you buy seems to be going up a few cents every week. We need to save money any way we can. Have you thought about your toilet?

Yes, the porcelain throne can be costing you money every month, especially if it is constantly running. You know, jiggle the handle kind of running. Water may not cost you hundreds of dollars, but it isn’t free, either, and if you can save $10 a month, then that’s $10 worth of beef or an hour more with the kids instead of working.

The toilet is actually a pretty simple system. A plug at the bottom of the tank keeps the water from flowing into the toilet bowl, and the plug is connected to a chain. That chain is connected to the flush handle. When you do your business and flush the toilet, the plug is lifted and water goes down into the siphon jet and the bowl.

Once the water is out of the tank, the plug covers the hole and the water begins to fill the tank. Near the top of the tank is the ball float. When the float falls because of the water exiting the tank, the tank begins to fill with water. The float rises with the water and once it hit’s a certain level, the float signals the water shutoff.

That’s a long-winded approach to tell you something simple you can do to save a few dollars each month. If you think that your toilet uses too much water, then you can lower the amount of water that goes into the tank and thus the bowl.

Open the back of the tank and you will see the ball float, which is attached to a long metal arm. Grab the arm and bend it inward toward the bottom of the tank and flush the toilet. When the water refills the tank, it will only go as far as the ball float, which is now situated deeper in the bowl.

Congratulations, you just saved yourself a few bucks a month.

Home Depot Coupons: Up to 60% Off Bath and Plumbing Products

ernani — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows the difference between a clean functional bathroom and a dirty one that desperately needs plumbing attention. For the clean bathrooms, you’ll notice that it is very clean and odorless. The toilets, showers, sinks and faucets are all working properly. On the other hand, there are those bathrooms out there that are the exact opposite, and you can distinguish the differences instantly the moment you walk in. Renovating or fixing a bathroom is also not very cheap, as most of us would either put it off for awhile or in serious cases, call a professional. However, there are certainly options to save money and one of the best ones is to do it yourself. All you need is the right bath and plumbing products. Shop online at HomeDepot.com and get up to 60% off on bath and plumbing products. Use this Home Depot coupon and save on toilets, showers, tubs, faucets, sinks and other bath accessories. Avoid hesitating and shop now, as this offer expires on March 30, 2011, and it’s only while supplies last. Before you know it, your bathroom will look brand new, and the only thing you'll is how beautiful your bathroom looks! Related posts:

Down the Drain: Keeping Your Small Items Safe

brock — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:04:51 +0000

If you have ever had to retrieve a wedding ring from inside a drain pipe, then you understand how exhausting it can be. I can only imagine how many Roto Rooter men have been called to get important items that accidentally fell into drains.

It’s never on purpose. You take off your earring, wedding band or other small item in front of the bathroom mirror and either it falls in or you accidentally knock it into the sink. You hear the “plink” when it hits and catch a glimpse of it just as it falls into the drain of doom.

If you are lucky, then the water wasn’t running and whatever fell into drain is sitting or stuck in the U-bend. That’s a simple operation. Just unhook the U-bend and grab it, problem solved. If it isn’t in the U-bend, then life just got a whole lot more complicated. It is now somewhere in your plumbing system and can be near the sink, stuck in a pipe or down in the basement floating its way to oblivion, also known as the sewer drain.

You now have to ask yourself a question. Is what fell down the drain worth the trouble of ransacking your plumbing system. A $20,000 wedding ring, yes. Grandma’s diamond earring, OK. Contact lens, don’t think so.

First of all, while I am a great proponent of do-it-yourself projects, this is not one of them. Plumbers have specialized equipment just for this kind of thing. They can send a camera down the drain and find exactly where it is. They also have a tool that can grab it in the pipe as well. You don’t.

Also, if something needs to be dug up, then they will take care of it. It will cost you possibly a few thousand if the work is extensive, but it outweighs losing a super expensive piece of jewelry or something with significant sentimental value.

There are two small things you can do to keep your valuables from being eaten by the drain monster: 1) Don’t take things off by a sink. Buy a vanity or other small table with a mirror, so you can keep it away from the drain. 2) Put on a drain cover. Drain covers are inexpensive, and the holes are small enough that rings and things won’t fall through. A small diamond earring may still take the plunge, but most objects won’t go down the drain.

It’s nice to read stories about the woman who lost her wedding ring down the drain and 20 years later it washes up on the shore somewhere. It’s got a good “awww” factor, but I think she would have been happier if she hadn’t lost it in the first place.

Renovation Pitfalls: Decorating Your Bathroom

brock — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:55 +0000

I have always found the bathroom to be one of the most difficult rooms to decorate because of the unique atmosphere, and I am not just talking after taco night.

The bathroom is hit with a high amount of humidity on a daily basis. We use hot water to take our showers, some people have laundry facilities in the bathroom, and my little kids love their bath time. The steam covers the walls with little droplets, and more than a little water gets sloshed out of my children’s bath and onto the floor and walls.

You need to take this into account when decorating a bathroom. You can’t put up some random paint or wallpaper and expect everything to go according to plan. Here are some of the biggest pitfalls with bathroom decorating.

Water: When you have small children, bath time is more than just their time to play. It’s also quiet time for Mommy and Daddy. They splash water all over the floor and around the tub. If you have any fabric or paper decorations, then they will get soaked. I once had a fabric covered Kleenex box… well, not any more.

Untreated wood or wood that has been cut may begin to rot because of the barrage of water. I once made the mistake of cutting a vent hole into a sink cabinet. A few months of daily splashing later, and the wood began to soften and rot where the water hit the untreated part of the wood. I ended up getting a new cabinet.

Humidity: Hanging wallpaper in areas of high humidity is a difficult job. The problem isn’t putting up the wallpaper. It’s putting it up again and again because of the peeling from humidity. Standard wallpaper that you would put up in a living room isn’t meant for humidity. The glue that holds it to the wall can heat up and soon, panels start peeling. Make sure the wallpaper you buy is rated for use in the bathroom.

It’s also not a good idea to use a cheaply made water-based latex paint for the bathroom. The humidity can break down the paint, and soon you have pieces chipping off and peeling left and right.

Mold: The most disgusting and potentially most dangerous problem about decorating in the bathroom is the spread of mold. Mold loves warm, damp places, and there is no better place in the home for mold growth than the bathroom. It can start growing up your walls, around the crevices of your tile and on rotting wood. You can help solve the problem by using paint that discourages mold growth and by occasionally cleaning the bathroom with a water-bleach mixture. The bleach kills the mold, but be careful. Inhaling the bleach fumes can cause severe respiratory problems.

The bathroom can be a beautiful place, but make sure that you take the proper precautions, or else you could end up with a watery mess.

Composting Toilet: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

brock — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:24:30 +0000

I am always doing research on ways to make my home a little greener, because I like to be a steward of the environment. (That, and most green things have lots of push buttons and are really cool.) While tooling around one of the many outdoor and home websites, I came across the most green yet disturbing contraption: a composting toilet.

While primarily considered for use with camping, pool houses and other outdoor areas, there are some designed for home use. They use almost no water, and all the poo — yes, that is the scientific term — and urine are stored and turned into compost that you can use on your garden and lawn.

That’s right. This means that you can even throw your old vegetable refuse down the toilet. Many of you are probably thinking that a composting toilet is just a glorified outhouse. You sit on the toilet, make a poo and then it just falls down a deep dark hole. That’s not true. A composting toilet is actually a complex system designed to advance bacterial decomposition.

The poo and urine is sent to a storage area, where positive suction keeps the smell from entering the home. Bacteria begins to decompose the organic material, and the toilet system keeps things at the right temperature, churned up, and injects fresh air for the bacteria.

When the compost pile gets full, you simply go to the waste chamber and take out the compost to fertilize your lawn or garden, or even sell to local greenhouses and landscaping businesses.

If you are building a new home, then putting in a composting toilet will be about 25 to 50 percent less than the cost of creating and installing a complete septic system. If you already have a septic system installed, then it could be a hefty price tag to convert your home to the composting toilet, but the savings are large scale.

You save money on water charges and sewer usage, and you never have to buy compost for your lawn again. Outdora.com has a article outlining the breakdown of environmental advantages and financial savings for a composting toilet.

Would you be willing to save your poo to fertilize your yard and help save Mother Earth?

Build a Better Bathroom

brendan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:05:30 +0000

When done right, bathrooms can be awesome… Really, really awesome. So today we’re going to figure out what you should do to make your bathroom as cool as possible. Mix and match these tips as you see fit.

Idea 1: Buy a better shower head. Few things are as awesome as singing in the rain. Especially when that’s warm rain, and you can change the rain from drizzle to ma-ma-ma-massage. You can go for the rain shower heads, or an eco-friendly low-flow high-pressure shower head. Being good to the earth has never felt so good.

Idea 2: Put in Magazine Racks. I’m pretty sure that man has been reading in the bathroom for as long as there has been indoor plumbing. Get a place to put those magazines. (Note that I said magazine rack and not book rack. If you’re in the bathroom long enough to read a book, consider seeing a doctor.)

Idea 3: Get a comfy bath mat! I don’t know about you, but what I step on when I get out of the shower is incredibly important. A fluffy bath rug is a great way to start off your day.

Idea 4: Put in better lighting. Overhead lighting is often too harsh. To make your bathroom feel more like home and less like a locker room, go for a table lamp. (Floor lamps and sconces are options too, though I think they aren’t quite as warm. Table lamps basically beat all the other options.)

Idea 5: Install a waterproof TV. For those of you who won’t be satisfied with merely reading comics in the bathroom, consider getting a waterproof television. I won’t and can’t argue that this is practical; it’s not. Â But if you idea of ultimate relaxation is sitting in the tub and watching Scrubs, then maybe, just maybe, you can justify the expense.

Idea 6: Get awesome accessories. There are so many little things that can make your life better. Towel warmers. When you get out of the shower, having a warm towel can be the MOST AMAZING FEELING EVER. Candles can totally make your bathroom feel homey, even when they are not on. Flowers and /or potted plants can add a lot too. See my previous post for ideas on how to make your bathroom feel antique / country chic. Install mirrors to make your space feel brighter, lighter, and bigger.

So what do you think? Do you have any tips to make a bathroom more livable & homey? Let me know. Happy decorating!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/karenhorton

Special Deals on Home and Garden Products for Cyber Monday

colleen — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:21:09 +0000

I woke up this morning itching to get on the computer and shop the mysterious cyber sales–just as I was hoping for, all of the name brand companies and large department stores were having their fantastic, mysterious cyber sales. Nothing is more fruitful for your holiday shopping than the JCPenney Cyber Monday website, with a host of savings on everything from women’s sleepwear apparel to the home. And while we’ll be here until midnight shopping the sales for our favorite friends and family, don’t forget to visit the home section and buy yourself a little present–maybe some new towels? Or a comforter? Maybe even a new LCD television screen? Don’t feel bad about self-gifting, not with prices like these!

Here are some of the top special Cyber Monday deals from JCPenney.com, these prices cannot be beat!:

Catherine Vanity Table : $99.00, marked down from $199.00

Cindy Crawford Brushed Metal Bath Accessories: $10.99-47.99, marked down from $24.99-79.99

Happy Shopping! Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of Cyber Monday. There’s nothing better, and it doesn’t last long.

Seasonal Highlights: Bathrobes

colleen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:07:40 +0000

This may seem to fit more in the fashion section, but I would argue that the bathrobe is a household-use object, not a clothing choice. And what better garment to wear on those brisk fall mornings where the shower seems like a terrifying prospect? Or maybe late at night with that warm cup of tea, sitting by the fire (if you’re in the warmer climates, unlike me, and don’t need to turn up the heat past 8 p.m. already, then consider purchasing a bathrobe as an investment in the future). You want to look for function, quality and comfort. Style and comfort of bathrobe are basically unnecessary, and i recommend not matching your bathrobe to your bath towels, which will make you look like Barbie every time you get out of the shower.

Here are some seasonal highlights in bathrobes:

Egyptian Cotton Robes : $39.49

Bamboo Bathrobe : $38.39

Bedhead Robe : $148.0

Shop for more bathrobes at Smarter.com.

Special Sales: College Shopping 2.0

colleen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:30:59 +0000

Walmart’s newest dedication to using social networking tools and Web 2.0 interfaces may be rooted in capitalism and greedy corporations, but there are some great user benefits that save the college-bound a few hundred in shipping, packaging, or unnecessary double and triple trips back and forth to the local department store. Walmart.com’s new College 09 site has a wonderful selection of thrifty and stylish supplies for the young and the educated, including some “Value Bundles” that should be checked out for their super thrifty status. Featured on their top selling value bundles are:

Kalorik Sunny Morning Basic Kitchen Appliance Set, Tangerine and White: $85.00 Coming with a toaster, a blender, a coffee maker and a kettle, this is a cute set that will brighten any freshman’s smile when they wake up for that first 8 a.m. class.

Another great steal is the Girl’s Twin Bedding and Towel Set at $45.00, with a bright lively pattern for the comforter and sham and 6-piece towel set for all your bathroom needs.

Now what about the boys? While the girls have their bright orange kettles and striped comforters keeping them colorful and hydrated during finals, what will the boys use?

I won’t lie, I’ll suggest the Mainstays Tall Corner TV Stand and Viore 26” Class LCD HDTV Bundle for $349.00 out of experience and necessity. 26″ HDTV with digital tuner and the stand makes this a complete package, and perfect for the Xbox hookup. No joke, these things are a necessity! Video games are a growing market, the boys are doing “research” into a prospective career field. No lie!!

Find at Smarter.com: Shop for more kitchen appliances and tv stands.
Discounts on towels and twin bedding.