Yellowed paint, scuzzy grout, lighting fixture picked out by your landlord—it's hard to be anything but discouraged when looking at your rental apartment's bathroom and envisioning a way to decorate it. (More like save it?) But with a handful of thoughtful, impermanent upgrades—and some definitely necessary deep cleaning—the room will be looking so nice you might finally let someone other than your cat see it. Time to throw that dinner party you've been planning for years! None of the upgrades have to break the bank or take forever to implement, either; you can probably pull off a soup-to-nuts overhaul this weekend if you put your mind to it. Or just peruse the following list of renter-friendly bathroom upgrades and pick a few that sound doable—just one or two would be majorly transformative.
You've probably passed right by this section in Bed Bath & Beyond and never even realized it existed. Because most toilet seats are not worth more than a passing glance. But if the store near you has one of those fancy-looking wooden ones in the shape you need, snatch it up! You won't believe how luxe it makes your bathroom look.
First, of course, have at any yellowing or browning grout with a baking soda paste and a toothbrush—but the coloring is beyond repair consider painting right over it with tile grout paint. You can even find it in handy roller brushes and pens that make bright white (or grey, or black) application a cinch.
Perfectly white grout makes a world of difference—even if you're Sheryl Crow.
Roger Davies
Begone, cloudy glass glass shades on a strangely curvy nickel fixture! Enter: Whatever sconce you like (aim for a classic, minimal design so that it works in any bathroom you'd ever like to mount it in). And of course store the old one so you can put it back up when you move out.
It's the little things that make an everyday bathroom feel like a luxurious one—not least of which is a showerhead that makes you feel like you're staying at a fancy hotel. (And if the one you like doesn't match your faucet and toilet paper holder, try spray-painting it—with toothpicks in the holes so they don't clog up.)
Using paint or temporary wallpaper, cover the walls of your bathroom to work with the old timey or really basic tile you've already got—so if the tiles are butter yellow, make sure the walls are crisp white (or a wallpaper with a tinge of yellow in it that complements)... anything but sickly yellow matching walls.
Yellow tile in Thom Browne's NYC bathroom are countered with crisp black and white accents.
Rather than worrying over the print or pattern on your bath curtain, look for a good color in a fabric with some heft to it—like waffle!—checking low-cost retailers like Wayfair and CB2 first. Alt: Take a Turkish towel to a tailor and see if they'll sew some hook holes into it for you.
Rag rugs are your friend! They bring in a lot more color and personality than traditional bath mats and can go right in the wash as needed. And if you're aiming for super-luxe, lay down a sheepskin throw (try black) when guests arrive.
Switch plates (here's some inspo), a not-horrifying product caddy (try Amazon!), a decent toilet paper stand (we like the freestanding ones; just spackle and paint over the spot where the in-wall one went)—these are the features that often cause an otherwise inoffensive space to look cruddy, and they're easily swapped out.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/fresh-bathroom-decorating-ideas-for-rental-apartments