Please help me find a new bath mat
November 17, 2010 8:56 AM Subscribe
This should be easy but for some reason it’s difficult. I need a new bathmat and toilet seat cover for my bathroom. I bought my current set from Zellers three years ago and they’re already wrecked, so I’m looking to buy something that will stand up better this time.
Criteria:
My bathroom is done in spring green and ivory (you can see pictures here), so the bathmat and toilet seat cover should probably be spring green as well. I’d like them to match each other, ideally. I don’t want rubber backing on them as that disintegrates so quickly. I want them to be decent quality and machine washable. They must either be available in Toronto or potentially ship here. Most bath mats have rubber backing, and when I find one that doesn't have it and also comes in the right shade of green, there's no toilet seat cover available to go with it.
Places I have looked: Zellers, Sears, Canadian Tire, Home Sense, Beddington’s and a number of little independent places in malls that sell linens and the like.
Criteria:
My bathroom is done in spring green and ivory (you can see pictures here), so the bathmat and toilet seat cover should probably be spring green as well. I’d like them to match each other, ideally. I don’t want rubber backing on them as that disintegrates so quickly. I want them to be decent quality and machine washable. They must either be available in Toronto or potentially ship here. Most bath mats have rubber backing, and when I find one that doesn't have it and also comes in the right shade of green, there's no toilet seat cover available to go with it.
Places I have looked: Zellers, Sears, Canadian Tire, Home Sense, Beddington’s and a number of little independent places in malls that sell linens and the like.
How crafty are ya? Because my first thought was to take your current cover or mat to Home Depot or Lowe's, buy a yard of low-pile carpet in a matching color and use a box cutter, a glue gun and some twill tape to craft the suckers yourself. I think it might be fun, AND you'd get exactly the color you want, in a material DESIGNED to stand up to way more wear than your average bathmat.
posted by julthumbscrew at 9:04 AM on November 17, 2010
posted by julthumbscrew at 9:04 AM on November 17, 2010
I don't know, I think three years is a pretty good lifespan on something like a bathmat.
FWIW, I got a plain woven bathmat at a Pier One-esque store and it lasted me for a few years and meets several of your qualifiers: no plastic backing and machine washable.
posted by splitinfinitive at 9:05 AM on November 17, 2010
FWIW, I got a plain woven bathmat at a Pier One-esque store and it lasted me for a few years and meets several of your qualifiers: no plastic backing and machine washable.
posted by splitinfinitive at 9:05 AM on November 17, 2010
Response by poster: That's a good suggestion, julthumscrew. I am actually quite crafty and had thought of knitting or rug-hooking a bath mat, or sewing one out of fabric, but I hadn't thought of buying actual carpet to cut up. It would wear better than the other options for sure. It's an option to explore, definitely.
posted by orange swan at 9:11 AM on November 17, 2010
posted by orange swan at 9:11 AM on November 17, 2010
Is there some reason you wouldn't just get an oak or white wooden toilet seat, and forget the cover? Then you don't have to match the bathmat to a toilet seat cover. I think part of the reason the matching set is hard(er) to find these days is that toilet seat covers are not as popular as they used to be - I think they're going the way of the loo roll cosy.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:12 AM on November 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 9:12 AM on November 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
is there a reason why you need a toilet seat cover? i always get a little skeeved out by them. would help you out in terms of not having to match to a bathmat.
posted by violetk at 9:27 AM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by violetk at 9:27 AM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: The toilet looks kind of bare and unfinished without a seat cover to me — it has your very basic white plastic cover. I could perhaps look into getting a better toilet seat cover that would look sufficient uncovered.
posted by orange swan at 9:30 AM on November 17, 2010
posted by orange swan at 9:30 AM on November 17, 2010
Toilet seats and covers usually come as a set. Changing them is a breeze - usually just a case of loosening a couple of plastic nuts, which are often wing-nuts and don't even need a wrench/spanner.
Or why not use your super craft skills to apply some sort of nifty decoupage or something to the boring white plastic?
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 9:34 AM on November 17, 2010
Or why not use your super craft skills to apply some sort of nifty decoupage or something to the boring white plastic?
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 9:34 AM on November 17, 2010
A solid wooden toilet seat is a very nice thing. Where we live they are marginally harder to find but I am always glad I put in the effort to do so. You can get plain ones, grooved ones (if you want something that looks more finished) or even limed ones if you want to match your cabinet.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:47 AM on November 17, 2010
posted by DarlingBri at 9:47 AM on November 17, 2010
I like the Thomas O'Brien bath rugs that Target carries. They're thick and comfy and washable. The site doesn't seem to reveal what they're made of but I think they must be cotton. They feel natural, anyway.
It doesn't look like they have a match for your green, but a complementary color could work well. Maybe that Deep Chocolate? (We don't have any matching colors in our house. We just look for colors that go well together.)
posted by booth at 11:16 AM on November 17, 2010
It doesn't look like they have a match for your green, but a complementary color could work well. Maybe that Deep Chocolate? (We don't have any matching colors in our house. We just look for colors that go well together.)
posted by booth at 11:16 AM on November 17, 2010
Bed Bath and Beyond is where I got my mat and cover. They're not a set, but they are both white to match my towels. The cover is cotton and made of a large scale, heavy duty terry cloth (uncut loops) The mat is also cotton, woven with chunky strips of fabric and yarn. Neither item has any rubber in them.
They have stores in Ontario (I don't know if any of those stores would work for as none are in Toronto proper).
posted by deborah at 9:13 PM on November 17, 2010
They have stores in Ontario (I don't know if any of those stores would work for as none are in Toronto proper).
posted by deborah at 9:13 PM on November 17, 2010
Response by poster: I had checked Bed Bath and Beyond online. They had some products that looked good but the closest store to me is in Mississauga, which is kind of hard for me to get to. However, they do deliver.
posted by orange swan at 9:30 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by orange swan at 9:30 PM on November 17, 2010
I got an excellent washable, bleachable double sided, non rubber Nautica bath mat from the mississauga BBB a couple months ago and am very pleased with it. No matching toilet cover cause, well, ick. Skip this very old fashion and gross item and just upgrade your toilet seat if necessary.
posted by saradarlin at 10:27 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by saradarlin at 10:27 PM on November 17, 2010
Oh, they had an ivory that would match. Not sure about a matching green.
posted by saradarlin at 10:28 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by saradarlin at 10:28 PM on November 17, 2010
Response by poster: I ended up buying a plain pine toilet seat from canadian Tire and a good quality bath mat from Beddington's (I think it was this one, in "meadow"), not because I consider toilet seat covers "gross" at all, but because it seemed like my initial plan wouldn't work. Thanks all.
posted by orange swan at 8:20 AM on November 26, 2010
posted by orange swan at 8:20 AM on November 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by shiny blue object at 9:03 AM on November 17, 2010