How to make this toilet more attractive?

December 10, 2006 4:29 PM

How do I beautify my scary industrial-looking toilet?

In my apartment the toilet doesn't have a tank but instead just has the metal tube/handle combo we all know and love from elementary schools and prisons. Any suggestions as to how to make it look a little more homey?

For reference a pic can be seen here.

posted by bdk3clash to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

This may be the dumbest idea ever - but could you use one of those radiator cover things? Sort of fashion something out of that? That is the extent of my idea. Pretty lame. I know.
posted by Sassyfras at 4:40 PM on December 10, 2006

Wow! Interesting. It will look better if Salma Hayek is sitting on it.

Otherwise, the only thing that comes to mind is to add shelves behind and above. You can buy ready-made cabinets specially made for this, but get a nice one. There are plastic and chrome ones that look very trashy.

Or, custom build a cabinet/shelf unit yourself, or have a handy friend do it. If you build one, and it rests on the floor, make sure that whatever is at and below bowl level is not porous, and is easy to clean.
posted by The Deej at 4:41 PM on December 10, 2006

I would get a nice looking bathroom etagere (bonus is extra storage space). You can find them inexpensively at any Target or similar store.
posted by tastybrains at 4:47 PM on December 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

THE BE-DAZZLER!

Well, maybe not the bedazzler, but how about gluing stuff on?

Spraypainting it like a barberpole/ cady cane.

The custom-made cover sounds like the best idea. (other than the Be-Dazzler!)
posted by exlotuseater at 5:52 PM on December 10, 2006

I think you should add a ton of similar (but redundant) silver pipes, making a really complicated plumbing sculpture out of it.
posted by armoured-ant at 6:00 PM on December 10, 2006

I wouldn't build anything quasi-permanent around the area where you think a tank should be. Just because there isn't a tank doesn't mean you won't have plumbing problems, and that a plumber won't need access to the water line and valve mechanism. You could possibly use this description of U.S. Patent 7096521 as inspiration for constructing your own temporary beverage stand and art display, while taking care not to infringe.
posted by paulsc at 6:02 PM on December 10, 2006

I second tastybrains' bathroom etagere suggestion. I would add that you could put use drapery to conceal the open space where the tank would be. You'd need to leave a section open to use the handle, though.
posted by jedicus at 6:09 PM on December 10, 2006

I think it looks cool just the way it is, to tell you the truth.

Move the plunger and the toilet brush. That way it looks less like a janitor's closet and more like a bathroom.
posted by iconomy at 6:15 PM on December 10, 2006

Put a hanging shelf on the wall right over it with some pictures and knick nacks. Then hang a draped cloth from the shelf over the pipe assembly. This will totally hide and civilize, but keep it easy to flush.
posted by LarryC at 6:48 PM on December 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

I think you should find an old armchair and cut out the seat, leaving the arms and the back (cutting away part of the back for the pipes). heh.
posted by stray at 6:49 PM on December 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

Replace the toilet seat with one that has a wood finish. You can get them for under $20 at Home Depot. It'll take away from the institutional look.
posted by furtive at 7:04 PM on December 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

All great ideas, but I agree with iconomy. I would leave it just the way it is, and hide the plunger and scrub brush. I think I see white tiles on your wall. They look nice. Why not play up the chrome and the white and leave it spare, clean, and industrial-like with a couple chrome accessories (soap dish, shower hooks, etc.) and white towels. As much as I like that pretty etagere it may showcase the pipes more than you would like.

In my opinion bathrooms should be very spare. This is not the place for non-functional accessories or a lot of doodads. If you want to beautify the room for your own comfort that is one thing. If you are concerned that company may scoff at your plumbing--no worries there. If it's clean, it's presentable.
posted by LoriFLA at 7:52 PM on December 10, 2006

I think you need a small mountain climber scaling the main pipe, and a person swinging on a tire swing from the part that sticks out.
posted by textilephile at 8:26 PM on December 10, 2006

I'd like to take this moment to announce my nomination of stray for Best Crappy Idea of the Year. Seriously, if my girlfriend would allow it, I would do that. Brilliant!
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:37 PM on December 10, 2006

Hang a nice picture behind and above, maybe as wide as the seat. If the tiles go all the way up, maybe you can figure out a way to mount it to the ceiling, or use suction cups to attach a light picture to the wall. You should get a nicely-framed picture to really dress up the space.

If you can put shelves in, though, they will make your life much, much better in the bathroom. You can do both shelves and a picture, BTW.
posted by amtho at 10:19 PM on December 10, 2006

Conceal the valve/pipe with an oval mirror 13"x21"mounted with clamps on the pipe.
posted by hortense at 10:57 PM on December 10, 2006

Let me just say - you are lucky. We had that set-up in our last apartment and it was the best toilet I've ever known. Sniff, sniff.
posted by agregoli at 11:30 AM on December 11, 2006