There's an art to bathroom art: anything goes, except potty humor

Many sins person been committed successful bathrooms — astatine slightest erstwhile it comes to decor. Cluttered with crude “dad humor” cartoons, sappy inspirational partition hangings and peeling question posters, these intimate spaces are often artless. But they don’t person to be.

Don’t discarded the accidental to adorn your washroom. “Every country needs a focal point, an artful spot wherever your eyes tin land,” says Los Angeles-based decorator Jeff Andrews, who designed his superior bath astir a vintage abstract lipid coating by Aubrey Penny. “I emotion putting creation successful unexpected places — and the bath is nary different.”

In fact, with its cold, hard surfaces and less-than-photogenic features, the bath is arguably much successful request of decor than different parts of a home. A captivating coating tin assistance a tiny WC consciousness little claustrophobic and distract from the room’s basal function.

Just enactment distant from “bathroom art,” warns New Jersey-based designer, Beth Diana Smith. Although it mightiness look logical to bent prints that say, “welcome to the bathroom” oregon “toilet insubstantial here,” resist. “Ugh, don’t bash that,” Smith says. “Treat the creation the mode you would successful the remainder of your home.” Here’s how.

Anything goes

Think broadly erstwhile it comes to bath art. If framed question photos oregon ceramic partition hangings are aesthetically pleasing oregon stylish, they tin relation arsenic decor. “Strange but not invaluable items,” similar postcards oregon a poster, are just game, says Washington, D.C.-based decorator Annie Elliott. “I bash not mean a Monet poster from a long-ago creation exhibition, but 1 from a overmuch cooler event, similar a movie festival oregon your aboriginal adulthood. Something you can’t marque yourself get escaped of.” Elliott had been readying to donate a framed artifact people she’d owned for years. But past her girl intervened. She was attached to the portion and ended up propping it against the partition successful the halfway of her bath vanity. “It looks great,” says Elliott.

A splash of pinkish creation catches one’s oculus successful this tiny bluish bath designed by Sarah Storms.

(Aimee Ryan)

Be silly

The satellite is your oyster erstwhile it comes to bath art. Although you privation to debar cheesy oregon cringey pieces, see injecting immoderate humor. “Don’t instrumentality yourself excessively seriously,” says New Jersey-based decorator Sarah Storms, who hung a small, ornately framed coating of a pinkish swan successful a tiny bath with bluish wallpaper. “I wanted a popular of contrast, and the pinkish and bluish look beauteous together,” she says. In a likewise tiny pulverization room, Elliott situated a coating of a canine successful a concern suit against a backdrop of playful, French Revolution-inspired wallpaper. Since the coating hangs straight crossed from the mirror, the effect is arsenic if the pup is observing itself. A duck figurine connected the descend adds to the whimsical feel.

Or instrumentality a cue from Atlanta-based decorator Jessica Davis and showcase your kids’ artwork. In their bathroom, Davis hung paintings her children had made successful the benignant of the artists Piet Mondrian and Yayoi Kusama. The pieces’ geometric shapes and superior colors echo the subway tile connected the walls.

Of course, amusive tin besides plaything sinister. When an artsy lawsuit asked for a “cool, edgy, funky” consciousness for his Beverly Hills bathroom, Andrews chose dark, somber lipid paintings. One is of a afloat face, portion others picture portions, specified arsenic an receptor oregon chemoreceptor and mouth. Together, the radical (or their parts) look to look creepily astatine guests. Their juxtaposition with a live-edge-topped woody backsplash conjures a unsmooth and convulsive effect reminiscent of a slasher movie set.

Designer Jeff Andrews added lipid paintings for a lawsuit seeking a “cool, edgy, funky” consciousness successful their bathroom.

(Grey Crawford)

Embrace elegance

Maybe you’d alternatively veer high-end oregon traditional. Elliott notes that a Picasso coating hangs successful the anteroom to a salient governmental family’s Washington, D.C. bathroom. “Wouldn’t that beryllium nice, to glimpse a Picasso connected your mode to the bathroom? You tin bent your Van Gogh determination if you spot your guests,” she says.

That connection doesn’t request to beryllium tongue-in-cheek. Just similar immoderate room, a bath tin person a assemblage feel, says Andrews. In his client’s glam Beverly Hills refuge, helium hung a reddish ink sketch of abstract formal forms. Since the country is each white, the portion pops. “It’s the 1 small portion of jewelry that catches your oculus and takes distant from the cleanliness of each the white,” helium says.

Rifle Paper Co. dessert plates adhd opposition to the achromatic and achromatic wallpaper successful this bath designed by Sarah Storms.

(Aimee Ryan)

For a lower-budget alternative, effort a strategy from Storms. Over a client’s toilet, she hung a acceptable of 3 Rifle Paper Co. dessert plates featuring images of antithetic cities.

Mind the moisture

Splashed h2o oregon condensation tin harm art. So, “if you person a ace steamy bath with condensation dripping down the mirror, debar including thing valuable,” Elliott says. Instead, take creation you’re consenting to “let dice a long, dilatory death.”

But if your bath is well-ventilated and not showered oregon bathed successful often, you person much options. In her superior bathroom, Elliott hung 2 engravings of birds, protected nether glass. Despite 20 years of vulnerability to steam, the pieces person held up well, she says.

Advanced placement

Here are immoderate tips for mastering the creation of bath art:

Art doesn’t person to lucifer the walls: Smith often chooses creation successful a colour strategy complementary to the walls. “I don’t effort to colour lucifer creation to thing circumstantial successful a bathroom. I privation the creation to consciousness chiseled and not blend in,” she says.

You tin and should bent creation connected wallpaper: “If you don’t bent creation oregon a framed reflector connected wallpaper, the country won’t look finished,” says Elliott. But there’s 1 exception, according to Storms: murals, since they’re meant to beryllium seen successful full. She recommends choosing a wallpaper signifier with a tiny repeat, truthful hanging creation won’t obscure cardinal portions.

Prop it up: Lean a framed people against the partition successful the halfway of a wide vanity oregon connected a support supra the toilet. As portion of a vanity vignette, Elliott tin envision tiny photos of grandparents successful metallic frames interspersed with perfume and cologne bottles.

A large, bold coating pulls successful the achromatic of the tub successful this Jeff Andrews-designed bathroom.

(Christopher Stark)

Consider a tiny assemblage wall: Either opt for a clump of 3 to 5 images oregon screen the full wall, says Elliott. For an affordable approach, bargain 4-by-4-inch lipid paintings from Etsy and support either the frames oregon the creation consistent, says Storms. Think each black-and-white photos successful antithetic frames oregon a assortment of botanical prints successful the aforesaid frames.

But don’t overdo it: “Sometimes little is much with creation layering successful a bathroom,” says Storms. If you lone person abstraction for 1 large portion implicit the towel barroom oregon toilet, spell for 1 large piece. Make it somewhat larger truthful you make a moment. Don’t effort and cram excessively overmuch in.”