What should I put on this boring wall in my bathroom?
October 7, 2024 10:35 AM
We have a downstairs half-bath with an empty wall that I want to add something to. What would you do with this?
I thought maybe art on canvas but wasn't sure what size(s) would look decent. I prefer art images to like, 3D decorations like fans or whatnot. The toilet is very close to the back wall so I don't want anything that stands out too far depth -wise from the wall for folks who stand to pee.
It's a very boring cream color that we're not going to paint. And we're renters and can't do any significant renovation, so I'm just looking for 'what should I put on this wall'.
The wall is 66" wide and 81" tall inclusive of the base molding.
What would you do with this? Looking for more general advice like 'two canvases 16x20 stacked above one another, centered to the wall' but if you want to look for specifics, I've mostly been looking at modern botanical imagery in shades of sage, almost-black, cream - this is a set I was considering.
Images of back wall and right wall, and example of art size on wall
I thought maybe art on canvas but wasn't sure what size(s) would look decent. I prefer art images to like, 3D decorations like fans or whatnot. The toilet is very close to the back wall so I don't want anything that stands out too far depth -wise from the wall for folks who stand to pee.
It's a very boring cream color that we're not going to paint. And we're renters and can't do any significant renovation, so I'm just looking for 'what should I put on this wall'.
The wall is 66" wide and 81" tall inclusive of the base molding.
What would you do with this? Looking for more general advice like 'two canvases 16x20 stacked above one another, centered to the wall' but if you want to look for specifics, I've mostly been looking at modern botanical imagery in shades of sage, almost-black, cream - this is a set I was considering.
Images of back wall and right wall, and example of art size on wall
If I had more wall space in my bathroom I'd put up a print of Bathsheba at her Bath.
posted by phunniemee at 10:44 AM on October 7
posted by phunniemee at 10:44 AM on October 7
Also, both my mom and my grandma had antique printer's boxes filled with tiny antique objects up on their bathroom walls. This is best in a half bath/powder room because you don't want anything to get damaged by a steamy shower. But a word of caution, if you have any tumult in your life (kids slamming doors, dogs running around, etc) do be aware that shit will be falling out of the box constantly.
posted by phunniemee at 10:47 AM on October 7
posted by phunniemee at 10:47 AM on October 7
To me, this is a job for art tile (e.g.). (You can hang it like a poster.)
posted by praemunire at 10:58 AM on October 7
posted by praemunire at 10:58 AM on October 7
I'd go much bigger or like, three of those sets (so total of 9 pieces of that size. You'll want to see something from different vantages and staring at something simple may get boring quickly.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:20 AM on October 7
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:20 AM on October 7
Because people are going to be so close to the wall when using the toilet, I suggest keeping the scale of your art somewhat small. But have a few things on the wall so it takes up a good amount of the space. Some things lower, to appreciate while sitting, and some things higher, for the standing among us. You could do something like a diamond arrangement, three rows with the top and bottom centered and then two images in the center row spaced evenly apart. Or you could do a more dynamic gallery wall, without symmetry. I think it’s nice to have a few different dimensions of art groups together, instead of everything being in the same sized frame or on the same sized canvas, but bathrooms are good places to emphasize calm and order, so you might prefer something more like the trio you linked.
For bathrooms I like to have art about water because it pleases that theme obsessed part of my brain. Right now in my powder room is a wood block print of a giant pacific octopus living underneath a pier in Seattle. But in other bathrooms throughout my life I’ve had prints of waterfalls and macro photos of moss, an illustration of a whirlpool, cute turtles and fish on ceramic tiles, a painting of a cat watching a goldfish pond intently, artsy sketches of naked bathing people, a small flock of painted wooden ducks, and etchings of aqueducts.
posted by Mizu at 11:22 AM on October 7
For bathrooms I like to have art about water because it pleases that theme obsessed part of my brain. Right now in my powder room is a wood block print of a giant pacific octopus living underneath a pier in Seattle. But in other bathrooms throughout my life I’ve had prints of waterfalls and macro photos of moss, an illustration of a whirlpool, cute turtles and fish on ceramic tiles, a painting of a cat watching a goldfish pond intently, artsy sketches of naked bathing people, a small flock of painted wooden ducks, and etchings of aqueducts.
posted by Mizu at 11:22 AM on October 7
If wallpaper is ok, that's what I'd go with, something bold: https://www.hyggeandwest.com/en-ca/collections/wallpaper-for-small-spaces
posted by Laura in Canada at 11:50 AM on October 7
posted by Laura in Canada at 11:50 AM on October 7
My bathroom is decorated in Dollar Tree stickers since I rent and the walls are small. It looks amazing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:55 AM on October 7
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:55 AM on October 7
I'd go large (no, large) with a wall decal, probably something tropical like this one (Amazon link just as an example).
posted by demi-octopus at 12:39 PM on October 7
posted by demi-octopus at 12:39 PM on October 7
In a similar bathroom, also as a renter, I got a whole bunch of vintage photographs of Burt Reynolds and framed them in simple frames without much depth, then attached them to the wall with command strips (so they were flush to the walls). Floor to ceiling, all Burt, every square inch. Some of the photos were genuine vintage, some were reprints, some where stolen from the internet.
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:58 PM on October 7
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:58 PM on October 7
(Does that include the Burt Reynolds photo? Dying to know!)
posted by praemunire at 1:04 PM on October 7
posted by praemunire at 1:04 PM on October 7
My parents decorated our downstairs bathroom with a few old board game boards. It's flat, looks good, and everyone who visits gets a kick out of them.
posted by lianove3 at 1:23 PM on October 7
posted by lianove3 at 1:23 PM on October 7
Something like this art poster: Woman in her bath, by Degas
If you put up a poster with removable poster putty it won't leave holes in the wall. You can get a nice big poster inexpensively so that you can change it for something else in a year or so, if it gets damaged by being in a bathroom, or if you get bored with it.
I'd put up a large rectangular poster, landscape orientation, centered on the wall.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:51 PM on October 7
If you put up a poster with removable poster putty it won't leave holes in the wall. You can get a nice big poster inexpensively so that you can change it for something else in a year or so, if it gets damaged by being in a bathroom, or if you get bored with it.
I'd put up a large rectangular poster, landscape orientation, centered on the wall.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:51 PM on October 7
Talavera pottery animals for the wall! Starfish and fish, butterflies and lizards, sharks and alligators?
posted by Drosera at 3:21 PM on October 7
posted by Drosera at 3:21 PM on October 7
Since you are renters, I'd probably get a big map and put it up there - but my bias is I enjoy zoning out at maps.
posted by coffeecat at 5:05 PM on October 7
posted by coffeecat at 5:05 PM on October 7
I once visited a home that had a bathroom gallery wall using a ton of identical 4x6 inch wood frames from Ikea, with an evolving crowd of all the family's Jewish heroes (writer, actors, politicians, musicians, some family members sprinkled in, etc). They just printed the images in black and white on a home printer, put them in these $3 frames, and hung them, each with a nail and a dab of sticky putty to keep them level. Velcro command strips would work, too. There were tons of the images, and the black and white colour scheme made it very cohesive. It looked great.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:32 PM on October 7
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:32 PM on October 7
Who uses this bathroom primarily? Would they be down for an interactive experience?
Removable peel and stick whiteboard material exists and you could put erasable markers on a string or command hook and let people go to town on it. And/or there could be weekly or monthly or event-specific (if guests come over for an occasion) prompts that you populate.
Kind of like a guest book but iterative!
posted by seemoorglass at 7:23 PM on October 7
Removable peel and stick whiteboard material exists and you could put erasable markers on a string or command hook and let people go to town on it. And/or there could be weekly or monthly or event-specific (if guests come over for an occasion) prompts that you populate.
Kind of like a guest book but iterative!
posted by seemoorglass at 7:23 PM on October 7
Thanks for the ideas so far. The bathroom is not used very often - really only when we have guests. It's downstairs by the kitchen/living room, but otherwise my partner and I each (luxuriously) have our own full baths upstairs by the primary bedroom. So it's not something anyone will really be looking at super often, I just wanted something a little nicer looking for when we have people over :)
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:53 AM on October 8
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:53 AM on October 8
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posted by jeoc at 10:40 AM on October 7