The Home Shop Blog

If you are thinking of putting your house on the market, it could make a big difference if you take a few weeks to improve it first. It is easy to make a home look more inviting without breaking your budget.

Real estate agents are advising that in today’s realty market, home owners do not get their money back on big reno jobs. Therefore a small reno job is all that is recommended to make your home more attractive to prospective buyers.

Almost all of us can paint the walls, doors and windows in our home. Not only is it an easy job but it is also a cheap job, and it makes a huge amount of difference in a home. The last two years have seen a big change in home decor; color schemes are almost non-existent.

To modernize your home, paint it all in white, pale beige, cream or silver gray. The favorite color scheme is white all over the house with either silver gray or beige trim. This may sound austere to you, but it does suggest a recent decorating job to the prospective buyer.

A bathroom reno can be a quick fix for your home. Do not be tempted to leave the bathroom ceiling unpainted. It may look pristine now, but once the walls are completed, the white of the ceiling will look shabby. Keep a fan running and do it all in one go.

If you are replacing flooring in the bathroom, then choose the bamboo colored wood floor tiles. Choose the same tone in your bathroom storage baskets, to carry the look through. Another sensible option in a bathroom is cork tiling; cork is mildew resistant.

Keeping the humidity out of the bathroom is an important necessity. If you have an ugly fan in your walls or window, think of changing your lighting to include a small attached fan.

The latest trend is to aim for the ’spa-feeling’ in a bathroom, and many interior designers recommend dimmer lights in your bathroom to achieve this. Do you have room for a carefully placed table with magazines, candles and a wine glass?

If you decide not to paint white walls, but you wish to choose a beige or gray tone, buy a small pot of the paint and come home and run a tester. Do this by painting a large square on the wall, say two feet by two feet, and leave it to dry. (Drying makes a big difference to the color.)

The type of lighting you have will also make a big difference, so look at your two by two foot painted sample and decide if you really like the shade. Check it in the morning light, in the evening light and in artificial light.

So far your bathroom renovation has cost very little. If you want to splash out a little, then buy new taps. There are some very unusual designs out there which will give your bathroom the luxury touch.

Once you have painted everything white, it is difficult to resist throwing brightly colored towels and matching bath mats all around. However, to keep your bathroom up to date, keep ‘colors’ out and try natural shades for bath rugs and towels. The neutral colors can look very classy, and in a bathroom it also looks especially clean.

If you have a beige or gray floor, then you could add a silver gray shower curtain and towels and go for white bathroom rugs. The days of the burgundy and pink bathroom are out. The new bathroom will not be a bland white-out, it will be a vision of delicate lightness – and right up to the minute!

To complete the mood, light some scented candles and have some ethereal sounding music playing softly in your new spa.



By: Branden Schroeder

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Bath accessories can make a big change in any bathroom. Simply replacing old bath accessories with new ones can often make it look as though the entire bath has been redecorated.

Black and white bath accessories are an example of those that bring the greatest change to a bathroom. A study in just black and white, from floor to ceiling, is one way of using these two colors. Or try a study in black and white bath accessories with one other color as a backdrop.

Black and white bath accessories with red walls can produce a very dramatic look, no matter how large or small your bath is. Choose a warm red wall paper for a cozy, comforting look. Or use a deep, warm red paint on your walls. Then accent the red with black and white bath accessories.

Asian red is a good choice with black and white bath accessories. Picture a Chinese restaurant with imperial red walls and carpeting, pristine white tablecloths, and black lacquer furniture. You can use your black and white bath accessories to achieve the same look in your bath. Paint the walls with imperial red and use a similar or darker red on the floor, either in tiles or carpeting. Black toilet seat, tub, and vanity will look solid. Add white towels and smaller accessories. A shower curtain of white with palm or bamboo trees in black silhouette could add pattern without color. A black fern leaf design is also an option.

The Asian theme could be carried further with Croscill’s black and white bath accessories. Each has a black calligraphy letter on white, with words such as peace, prosperity, harmony, and happiness.

Black and White Bath Accessories to Use

Before you begin accessorizing your bath, you may want to find pictures of baths done in black and white. Look for photos in bathroom design galleries online. Visit your local home supply store to see samples of what can be done. Take time to think through your whole project, and decide which bath accessories you will want in black, which in white.

Black and white bath accessories will lend themselves to a sleek, modern look or a quaint, colonial look. Which do you want?

Do you have black and white ceramic tile in the older 4×4″ size? Do you have white wainscoting on the bottom portion of the walls? You may want to accessorize with colonial, antique items.

Do you have large, marble tiles on the floor and up the wall? Are cabinets set into the wall for a sleek look? You may want to accessorize with modern, contemporary items.

The following are a few suggestions to help you get started.

1. Vanity: Many call the vanity the focal point of the bathroom. Yours could be a sleek, modern black vanity, with a black or white vessel sink on top. Or you might go the other direction, using an antique white pedestal sink.



2. Shower and window curtains: White curtains with a black design are dramatic and add character to a bathroom. Black silhouettes of tree, leaf, or flower design are good, as are geometric black designs. Choose a design for your black and white bath accessories that carries your contemporary, antique, or other style.

3. Bath mats and rugs: Break up the color of your floor with black bath mats and rugs. Remember, when doing so, that some toiletries, such as toothpaste, may contain chlorine. A drop on a black may bleach.

4. Towels: Fluffy white towels are nice with a black or white monogram at one end. You might also combine black towels and white towels, so that each towel rack will carry the black and white theme.



5. Containers and Dispensers: Black and white bath accessories should include smaller items, too, such as wastebaskets, lotion dispensers, soap dish, toothbrush holder, and tissue box cover. You may want them in black only, white only, or a combination of the two.

Helpful Tip

Planning is essential if you want your black and white bath accessories to look good. Find a design that has everything you will need. If you choose contemporary, sleek black wire wastebasket and towel holders, you will not want to use white antique “china” containers and dispensers on your vanity.

Disclaimer: The author does not work for any company that sells bath accessories. Nor will she receive any commission if the reader purchases as a result of her mention of a retailer who sells bath accessories.



By: Anna Hart

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