You can be in love with your partner and … not so in love with their habits. When you share a bathroom, your partner’s little quirks that you once found adorable can quickly become extreme irritants. Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
This Valentine’s Day, let us give you the gift of peaceful cohabitation. With the right tools and upgrades, your bathroom can become a couple’s bathroom, a functional space for you both. Enjoy tranquil mornings together and leave your frustrations behind! Let’s look through the Design Consultant vault to see the most common complaints we hear from couples, along with the solutions that make sharing a bathroom just a little bit easier.
“Their stuff is everywhere!”
The transition from having your own bathroom to sharing one with a partner can be difficult. One minute you’re master of your domain, with all your toiletries and accoutrements right where you like them. The next, your products have been shuffled around, and there are strange tubes and bottles everywhere. The solution? Up your storage game! Modern vanities offer plenty of drawers, shelves, and dividers for storing grooming products, cleaning supplies, and more. While you’re choosing the best storage solution for your bathroom, try these temporary fixes:
- Adhere a stick-on metal strip to the inside of the medicine cabinet door for small, easy-to-lose items, such as bobby pins, tweezers, and nail clippers.
- Use every inch of cabinet space with a spinning turntable so the products in the back of your cabinet are just as accessible as the ones in front.
- Roll up washcloths and store them in an upright file sorter. This looks aesthetically pleasing and keeps them from falling on the floor.
- Clear a messy countertop by installing a floating shelf to hold your products instead.
“The bathroom’s always a mess!”
Keeping the bathroom clean is a constant battle, not to mention the battles that ensue over who’s responsible for doing the cleaning (or for making the mess). Make cleaning easier – and faster – by getting rid of products that seem to collect the most mold and mildew, like shower curtains and glass sliding doors, and upgrade to low-maintenance products that don’t require weekly scrubbing and scraping to stay clean. Walk-in showers are not only trendy, but they can also create more room in the shower and make your bathroom appear larger at the same time. Products such as non-porous wall surrounds and custom shower bases resist mold and mildew, which means you can resist arguing over cleaning duties! Another great tip for cutting down on messes? Opt for a vanity with two sinks. Double sinks are a must for couple’s bathrooms; no more brushing whiskers out of the way, wiping up gobs of hair product, or scrubbing your partner’s dried toothpaste out of the sink when you’re in a rush! Give these quick-clean tips a shot to make sharing a bathroom a bit cleaner:
- Try one of these inconspicuous countertop vacuums to clean up makeup, hair, nail clippings, or other messes in just a few seconds.
- Keep a sponge and natural cleaner in your shower so you can give the walls and tub a quick scrub while you deep-condition your hair.
- Squeegee glass doors and walls post-shower to keep mildew at bay.
- Keep your bathroom ventilated while you shower by opening a window or turning on your bathroom fan.
- Sick of getting out of the shower to foggy mirrors? Try this hack using shaving cream and dish soap, and your mirrors will look crystal-clear even after your steamiest soak.
“There’s no room!”
Banging elbows when you brush your teeth, trying to see over each other to get a look in the mirror… small bathrooms certainly don’t do anything to strengthen your relationship. And those spacious bathroom design photos on Pinterest don’t help either (especially when your bathroom is the size of the jetted tub in those pictures!). You might not be able to knock down walls and increase your square footage, but you can make sharing a bathroom easier with the space you do have. Convert a tub/shower combo to a glass-walled shower, or if you have a tub and separate shower, consider replacing both with a modern, walk-in shower. A wall-mounted sink is another great space saver, as are recessed shelves built into the wall. Inward swinging door cramping your style? Switch it out for an outward swinging model, or go ultra-compact with a pocket door that slides into the wall. Until you’re ready to upgrade, take a new look around to save space:
- Look up! Consider swapping the mirror above your sink for a medicine cabinet that can hold hair products, toothbrushes, and other clutter.
- Look down! Do you have a free-standing toilet-paper holder? A basket of towels? A magazine rack? Opt for wall-mounted versions of these products to free up valuable floor space.
- Look behind! The back of a bathroom door is a missed opportunity for storage. Consider installing some towel hooks or an over-the-door cabinet to meet your storage needs.
“Everything is broken!”
Sometimes, despite your best efforts to make the bathroom you have work, there are underlying issues that have gone from inconvenient to downright infuriating. Leaky faucets, a toilet that won’t stop running, chipped and peeling paint … it’s enough to drive anyone mad. When things get this bad, most couples decide to remodel. If that sounds like a major hassle, it doesn’t have to be. Re-bath’s remodeling process takes you from start to stunning in about a week! In fact, making some changes now can help you avoid bigger problems down the road. Before you get started:
- Determine whether you need functionality updates, a tub/shower conversion, or a complete bathroom remodel.
- Settle on a budget. Ask yourself, is the time right to splurge on the luxury bathroom of your dreams? Or is it more important to fix what’s broken and upgrade in a few years?
- Look ahead: Are there little ones in your future? Or are you heading into empty-nest territory? It’s wise to think about what safety and accessibility solutions you might require in the not-too-distant future.
“I want more style/functionality!”
Asking a couple what the most important quality of a bathroom remodel is usually results in two different answers. Inevitably, one half of the couple is most concerned with functionality, while the other is more focused on design. We believe you shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other. A sleek walk-in shower can incorporate a seamless bench seat for functionality and safety without missing a design beat. With slip-resistant flooring, you can go ahead and ditch those dated rugs and rubber mats without fear of slips. A bathroom vanity can be a stylish focal point of the room and provide plenty of storage. With a Re-Bath update or remodel, you get the functionality you need without sacrificing beautiful bathroom design. Schedule a free, in-home design consultation to find out how!
Whether you need a complete remodel, a simple tub or shower update, or aging and accessibility upgrades that make your bathroom a safer, more comfortable space, Re-Bath has you covered. Learn more about our hassle-free, four-step process and browse our design gallery to start planning a bathroom designed with both of you in mind, today!