“Why is there an entire section devoted to the bathroom?” you might be asking yourself. Because let’s get real: When it comes to actually doing most of the things discussed in this book, you’ll be doing them in the bathroom. Your bathroom is like self-care ground zero. Unless you’re taking a bath in your kitchen sink or washing your face outside with the hose, your self-care routine means spending time in the bathroom.
It’s something you should want to do, but if your bathroom itself isn’t a place you want to be, you’re much less likely to take time for self-care. You already have enough reasons to not take care of yourself, but switching your thinking might mean switching up how you feel about your environment.
The easiest way to do this is to give your bathroom a self-care-focused makeover. That doesn’t mean taking a sledgehammer to the walls like you’re someone on HGTV. It means looking at your bathroom in a new way. Instead of thinking of it as a place you go when you need to or a place you want to get in and out of as quickly as possible, start thinking of the bathroom as a refuge. You might laugh when you see people on House Hunters say they want their bathroom to have a “spa atmosphere,” but they’re on to something. In the world of self-care, the bathroom should always be a place you want to be.
It doesn’t matter how big your bathroom is or how many people you share it with; any bathroom can become a self-care palace as long as you set it up the right way. Follow these steps and you’ll never want to leave.
No matter how the rest of your house looks, a bathroom should always be simple. Too much stuff makes any room feel smaller and bathrooms are usually the smallest room in the house anyway. Keep colors simple (like white or a light neutral) and don’t overdecorate it. Lighter colors will make it feel brighter and more open.
Whether you have a lot of products around or a few, keep them organized and out of the way. Use a shower caddy or shelving unit in the shower to keep products off the floor or the sides of the tub. Switch out a standalone mirror for a medicine cabinet to keep products accessible and out of sight. Consider open shelves for additional storage, which are easy to clean and don’t block airflow.
Just like you don’t want to depend on overhead lighting in other parts of your house, the same goes for your bathroom. Consider getting a lighted mirror if you’re worried that the light above is making you look bad in the mirror. If you have space, install sconces or alternate lighting sources so you have options. And a dimmer is your best friend, particularly if you’ve made baths part of your self-care routine and don’t always want glaring light when you’re relaxing.
As you’re organizing the shelves in your bathroom, keep the products you use most often accessible. This goes for your self-care supplies too. If you’re taking lots of baths, for instance, keep your oils, salts, and other supplies in the bathroom in a specific place. The last thing you want to do when you’re getting ready to relax is run around all the other rooms in your house.
Many varieties of plants, particularly those that come from tropical climates, thrive in bathrooms because of the high humidity. Keep a potted plant on a shelf or windowsill to help liven up the space and increase the quality of the air.
If you have a stall shower with no bathtub, you can still make your bathroom into a self-care enclave. Look for a shower stool, which you can sit on while the water is running and still get aromatherapy and relaxation benefits like you would from a bath.
Sometimes you can only do so much to improve the actual space of your bathroom. In those cases, upgrading some products and making minor tweaks can still give you the same effect.
Like sheets, upgrading your towels is a small change with a big payoff. Look for plush, soft towels in solid colors in matching sets. Bigger is usually better, but a beach towel is not the same as a bathroom towel.
Assuming you have hand soap in your bathroom (if you don’t, go get some right now), getting a fancy version is a relatively small upgrade that will make you feel incredible. Instead of one with a clinical, soapy fragrance, a hand soap that has natural ingredients and essential oils will make your hands smell great, and the scent will linger in the air once you’re done washing.
Don’t forget that bathrooms serve a function beyond self-care. Instead of keeping a can of air freshener on the back of the toilet, or worse, like a matchbook, get an essential oil diffuser that will consistently fill the air with a good scent. It will make less-than-pleasant smells dissipate faster and keep everything feeling clean.
In many bathrooms, the shower curtain is the unavoidable focal point. Choose a shower curtain that complements the colors of the walls (always go for lighter colors) and that you can change out or wash easily. Cloth curtains are an inexpensive way to make your bathroom look much nicer, and you can change out clear liners whenever they get dirty (which they do).
If taking baths is part of your self-care practice, you’re probably going to have supplies. A bathtub caddy can help keep everything in one place, like the salts or oils you put in the water, the soap you use to clean off, and even your book if you need something to do while you’re soaking. Keeping everything in a caddy also means you don’t need to get out of the water in the middle of your relaxation time.
Whether you’re soaking in a bath or just rushing through your morning shower, having a speaker in the bathroom can turn the experience from boring to actually fun. Look for a waterproof Bluetooth speaker so you don’t run the risk of getting water near an electrical cord, and use it to listen to whatever you want while you’re self-caring.