Have you checked with the landlord to see what you are allowed to do?

Sure I could ask him to pay the repair, but I would like to have some ideas of what we could do to improve this in a quick and inexpensive way for now. And in the future do something more "deep" and "serious" with the payment done by the landlord.

But what I want is design ideas, thank you!

Maybe Command hooks could be used to hang things to cover the damaged areas? They would stick very well to smooth tile & come off w/ no damage.

Things like artwork or lightweight shelving might work.

You can browse everything online these days - Target & Walmart have buy online/pick up in store options w/ no shipping charges.

I would put a tall storage tower to the right of the toilet -- Ikea makes some good ones. Then hang art over the toilet.

As for the sink area, honestly, with a newborn in the house, why are you even worrying about it? Can you see yourself? Just get some extra coffee. ;) I agree with extra command hooks on both sides to get stuff off the counter, and if there aren't drawers or other storage underneath, get some shelves that you can put under to hold more of this stuff (as well as the new tower). There's a limit to what you can achieve in a rental, and adding closed storage is the best way to go.

Hi Michael, the apartments monthly rent probably reflects the condition so it's not real likely the landlord is going to do a modern bathroom for you. If he/she remodeled more parts of the apartment the monthly rent would maybe be out of your range. The rent could be a minimum of $400 a month more. In other words...you can't rent the lesser priced place and then want a new remodeled place after you move in but for the lower rate. I would think about some of the cheap easy fixes above. There are some great ideas. I would ask for non-decorative things that are broken to be fixed. Things like a non working faucet, a toilet that doesn't flush or a clogged tub drain since before you moved in.

What made you pick this apartment?

Hi Michael. Just this morning I saw an ad on my Facebook for adhesive peel and stick wall tiles. I checked out their site on Amazon.com and they have many, many different designs that might help to freshen up your bathroom. On Amazon, look them up at "Smart Tiles Vintage Bilbao 3D GEL-O Adhesive Tiles".

If it were my bathroom, I'd want to spruce it up, too. I can't tell if you have a shower curtain, but if it's one you really like, take your color cues from the colors in that. And then run with it.

If you can get some peel and stick tiles, and that works for you, I'd use Carol's suggestion of using Command hooks to hang artwork of some kind to help brighten it up even more. You're on a budget with a new baby (BIG congrats!). Been there myself. You can find good artwork for very reasonable prices at consignment and secondhand shops. Or you can put some together yourself. I've framed 5x7" art card in frames and they look great. If you don't like the frame color, go to a place like Hobby Lobby or Michaels, buy a small ($2) bottle of acrylic paint and paint it a color that works for you. I've done that, too. Larger prints can be printed off the internet. Just make sure you print them in a size that fits an average store-bought frame (5x7", 8x10", etc.). I've even cut down and framed old calendar pics. They work great, as the colors are very professional.

As Acm suggested, a tall bookcase or cabinet to the right of your toilet might be nice. You could store folded towels on it, and their colors would help tie everything in. Right now, everyone has these canvas bins on sale, being it's back-to-school time. You could pick up a couple of those to fit on your shelves. They are now coming in a myriad of colors, and I'm sure that you can easily find some that would work with the colors you're accessorizing your bathroom in. You can use those bins to store toiletries, etc. in out of sight.

I see that there's a crack in the tile directly above your sink. If your landlord doesn't have any whatever to fill the crack in, use white toothpaste, but not the gel kind. It will dry hard and white and lasts for a long time. I've used that idea myself to fill in nail holes in rentals back in my single days. It works!

Command Hooks now has come out with a heavy duty hook that holds heavier things. You might look for a shallow shelf that you can hang using those, on one side or the other of your sink. And don't forget, you can paint almost anything, including an ugly, old, used shelf that's the wrong color for your bathroom. A can of spray paint is fast and easy for bigger pieces, if you have a place outdoor to spray.

And, check out the Dollar Store, Dollar General and any of those places near you. You can find a great selection of plastic storage bins to hold and organize things in the cabinet under your sink. Just make sure you take a pic with your cell phone and the measurements before you leave. Many bins will stack, for added storage. You might even find framed art or a calendar to use for art there, too. In fact, if you have one of these stores anywhere near you, I'd check them out first. You might be very surprised at the bargains you can get there these days. I just bought some great plastic storage bins to help organize my fridge at the one near me.

I hope that some of these suggestions will help you. Please stop back if you have any more questions. You will usually get some good, practical answers to your decorating needs with us.

You might be able to find a standard size, small, square corner tile in an almond color at your local home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) to fill in that missing one above the mirror. No, it won't match, but it'll look better than what's there (or not there). Pick up a small container of pre-mixed grout in almond and fill in the cracks on the other tiles. Voila! Looks better and it's cheap!

Peel and stick tiles mentioned by LynNM. The is just a couple of the varieties they have available.

11.26"x9.63" Hexago Peel and Stick 3D Gel-O Wall Tiles Mosaik, Set of 10 · More Info

9"x9" Vintage Bilbao Peel and Stick 3D Gel-O Wall Tiles Mosaik, Set of 10 · More Info

Thank you everyone for your advices!! Have great ideas.. Now it is a question of having time and the taste to find something that looks well (if someone has some suggestion base on the images).. Ps :I live in Madeira Island Portugal so we dont some of the stores you mentioned :)

Apologies, did not realize your location. These are Command products I referred to - ebay has them:

http://www.command.com/

Oh my gosh, Michael, I had no idea that you are so far away from the USA and the stores I recommended! I hope that between us all, you can find ideas that you can use. And, again, congratulations on your new baby!

Michael, what are the names of some home improvement or inexpensive stores convenient to you? The bathroom is a bit old fashioned but it does have character. I think a direction is to make it charming and add storage/shelves or other. If you don't fight the in place character it can all look very nice.

Do you have room for a free standing cabinet next to the toilet? You could do something very unique with something cheap, used and a bit of paint.

You could lose any security deposit if you permanently alter any part of the home in a way not to the landlord's liking -- such as adding nails or screws or gluing tiles to the existing tiles.

You'll need to do some measuring. What is the floor to ceiling height and what is the width of the indented space with the toilet? How much headroom do you need to leave above the toilet?

You could use shelving boards to create a floor to ceiling cabinet to the right of the toilet, then use a single wide vertically placed shelving board on the left against the wall to support the cabinet that will be hung between that vertical shelving board and the floor to ceiling shelving you built for the right side of the toilet. Attach the top of the cabinets to the ceiling joists so it will not topple over.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d1/aa/2d/d1aa2de59e16ac8c61d881079de17797--large-bathrooms-bathroom-small.jpg

You could cover the entire wall with a mirror hung from a horizontal board affixed to the ceiling joists.

You could add a single box shelf from the ceiling -- sized so you can reach items on the shelf while standing on the floor --

http://hfzgedu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/New-Modern-Wall-Shelves-63-On-with-Modern-Wall-Shelves.jpg

and then hang a mirror the full width of the indent from that shelf -- or hang a piece of painted plywood onto which you affix a mirror, with or without a shelf below it.

Alternately, you could use the same basic idea above the sink as above the toilet, standing two very narrow shelving units (less than 4" deep) on each side of your vanity, with heights of spaces between shelves tall enough to accommodate shampoo bottles, etc., and add a single wide deep box shelf above those two side cabinets

http://hfzgedu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/New-Modern-Wall-Shelves-63-On-with-Modern-Wall-Shelves.jpg

with that box shelf to be attached to the ceiling joists. You could then hang your mirror from that top box shelf.

If you built the full unit you intend to put above the vanity with a single piece of plywood as a back, you could hang the mirror against the plywood rather than from the top shelf. Adding a shelf below your new mirror (above the faucets) would be optional..

Anyone on a budget should check out Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores. You may well be able to adapt and repurpose some (kitchen or other) cabinets for your needs ...

... and you may even find some other furnishings for your home to suit your budget as well. With tvs now thin, larger cabinets for them are being donated regularly and, by adding a new back and/or some new shelves, they can make really good storage cabinets.

Investing in some shelving board or stock or used kitchen cabinetry for these nooks, affixed to ceiling joists with screws, would be worthwhile even for a renter because you can take the shelving with you when you move.

Hi,

stickers and those commando I can order online. For artwork like paintings we have several stores like for example conforama:

http://www.conforama.pt/decoracao/quadros

https://www.aki.pt/decoracao/decoracao-mural/arte-mural.aspx

Yes, the idea is to add some character and "disguise" the damages :)

Thanks for the help, my little girl is our world we are very happy :) And as my wife is 100% focused on her and tired from breastfeeding and waking up in the night, I would like to surprise her with a better looking bathroom, even though I am not sure what can work well here with this setting and colors.

I uploaded some more photos so it is easier to understand the whole bathroom.

Ps: Above the mirror near the ceiling there are 2 nails in the tiles, that can be used to hang something(paintings?)

Hi Michael, I looked online and you have an IKEA, a Aki home improvent store and L & L Moveis as well as Conforama. I think L & L has a selection of old tile. Maybe worth a look for a match? It also looks as though they have a lot of 2nd hand things, like storage type cabinets...and Art.

How are you going to hang art in the bathroom? A ceiling trak with a cable assembly mount?

Question: is the bidet in service? Does it work? Is it used?

If there is a way to do storage perhaps some sort of under sink curtains from Ikea. It will freshen the place up.

I agree to get an under sink curtain. You could either use velcro tape under the sink edge or add a tension curtain rod for the under sink opening.

For that one cracked tile above the mirror, it looks like it's along the grout line, so fill the grout and crack lines:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN8yr4HIeYc or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XQshc098Jw

Get some above toilet and/or bidet storage shelf, like this:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10318178/

or maybe this would fit in the corner next to the bidet:

http://www.ikea.com/pt/en/catalog/products/80274519/

Get a different shower curtain

bath mat

and try to get as much stuff off the vanity counter as possible, or maybe consolidate things in one or two containers.

Hi,

thank you all for your opinions. I was thinking about something like this:

1. Above the bidet a storage shelf like this:

https://www.aki.pt/arrumacao/arrumacao-utilitaria/estantes/estantes-ventiladas/Estante4PrateleirasPinho170x70x30-P38991.aspx

https://www.aki.pt/arrumacao/arrumacao-utilitaria/estantes/estantes-metal-kit/Estante4Prateleiras-P15663.aspx

I prefer the wood one (first)

For the mirror area if possible try to do something like this with wood to cover the entire (or almost) all the background.

On top if the background is not all covered put a board like this:

or something like this:

http://www.conforama.pt/tela-atardecer-381239

Ps: Would try to make the woods color (frame and shelves) be almost the same...

For the curtain I dont know what I could choose:

https://www.aki.pt/casas-de-banho-e-cozinhas/acessorios-de-duche/cortina-de-duche.aspx?VerTodos=1

http://www2.hm.com/pt_pt/home/comprar-por-produto/cortinas-de-duche.html

https://pt.alojadogatopreto.com/pt-pt/cortinas-e-antiderrapantes/

https://pt.alojadogatopreto.com/pt-pt/30565358

Or I can buy in another online shop...

If I choose the "wood" theme I could even buy something like this:

https://www.zarahome.com/pt/banho/acess%C3%B3rios-de-banho/conjunto-de-banho-de-madeira-c1089037p300328522.html

Above the toilet I could hang one or two paintings like this:

https://www.aki.pt/decoracao/decoracao-mural/arte-mural.aspx?VerTodos=1

http://www.conforama.pt/decoracao/quadros?orderby=4

What do you think?

Or for framing the mirror I also found these stickers:

https://www.google.pt/search?safe=off&biw=360&bih=280&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=OLacWa_2D8m6UvjxrqAH&q=pastilha+resinada+moldura+de+espelho+&oq=pastilha+resinada+moldura+de+espelho

Okay, you are trying to make this pink and green (not teal or purple) bathroom modern.

You could try putting a spin on it but you have to use the colors that are there. If you don't you are only going to make it look more dated. The painting can have other colors but it also needs the right pinkish and greenish in the mix.

I haven't looked but you should also look at framed w/glass vintage movie posters.

Art

Simple art

Sink area

Question:

Do you think open storage is the answer as far as hiding clutter and keeping the bathroom neat?

To frame the mirror I also thought of other options:

- mirror that fills everything

- plastic, wood, pvc, glass frame

Regarding the open storage I know it is not the Best, but it is the cheapest and I was thinking of putting Things inside the wicker baskets that are under the sink (I have 3).

And one shelve for folded towels...

Or I could cover with another curtain? (velcro?)

Help!!!! :p

You can do an image search for 'under sink curtains' for lots of ideas. Looks like the curtain rod type shown above would not suit the curved shape of that sink, but velcro is certainly a common option & would go a long way in helping hide clutter. As I said above, 3M's Command products hold well & easy to remove, in my experience. They make little hooks that could be used w/ grommeted curtains or cafe curtain clips instead of hook & loop tape(a.k.a. Velcro).

I'm thinking for a clean look, use a solid color that blends in w/ the surroundings, rather than a patterned &/or colorful design...?

Honesty, hiding clutter is 1 of the biggest things that can really improve the look & feel of a space. Of course it's best if the system chosen is also convenient/instinctive to use or it will probably devolve back to messiness in no time.

IKEA does offer lots of storage solutions for bathrooms & don't rule out items meant for other areas/rooms that might work well too. For instance, there might be some things sold for kitchens or offices that could work equally well in a bathroom.

Carol said...

Honesty, hiding clutter is 1 of the biggest things that can really improve the look & feel of a space. Of course it's best if the system chosen is also convenient/instinctive to use or it will probably devolve back to messiness in no time.

Me: I couldn't agree more!

For under your sink. I think I'd get another set of plastic drawers rather than the baskets. Seems like it'd be easier to get to things rather than having to pull out baskets. I'd also put the toilet supplies under the sink and have the clothes hamper out in the open as it's much less offensive looking than the toilet brush and cleaning supplies.

Hi,

So each White tile is 15x15 cm and the flower Tiles are 7.5cm height...

I went to a store today and I saw some artwork:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xkh16sigenyizti/AADJywerp5kpJqbFHZcPa5Ika?dl=0

The 3 pictures frame artwork could chover the part damaged above the mirror as it is 90×30cm or could use 3 of the 28*28cm ones..

I also saw some stickers:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/890c0xrvjz39w78/AABzu7Y1qD0KcFniAJ0xmXnra?dl=0

For the stickers use one other Walls?

Any ideas?

Or I even thought for around the mirror of printing something like a advertising board with a image, for example of a landscape:

https://www.google.pt/search?q=Pink+and+Green+landscape&safe=off&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi27d-Etu7VAhUD2hoKHUyVA-MQ_AUICSgB

I wouldn't cover the mirror. I'd get 15cm square peel and stick tiles and put them on the tiles all around the mirror.

Hi,

For the mirror part I was not thinking of covering the mirror, only if I had another bigger mirror that filled the whole background space : 1m x 1,4m

I was thinking of framing the mirror:

- wood

- glass, pvc and put a sticker print? Which color or pattern? Any idea.

Or just fill in the cracks?

Under the sink would take out the baskets and buy something like this :

My dirty clothes bin and a bit of my Mat on the bottom left:

As the floor Mat, the clothes bin is Brown and I have 4 wicker baskets plus 2 smaller ones. The idea would be to have a shelve rack like this one that is in the kitchen or one in wood above the bidet and put Things in the baskets :

ps: ignore other objects, I could put 2 big baskets In each shelves, only one, etc

What do you think?

I saw these shower curtains too today :

For the under sink curtain should I use the same color as the shower one?

Please help :)

As far as framing the mirror, it depends on how much work you want to put in to it. Any of your choices would work so I'd pick the easiest. I wouldn't cover the flowers, just the white tiles surrounding the flowers. The only one that might not satisfy you is filling in the cracks because it wouldn't be changing the look. You could even consider contact paper to cover the tiles around the mirror. I think the drawers under the sink will make access to toiletries easier. Yes to the shelving over the bidet with the brown baskets. I think the sea foam green of the curtain on the left ties into the green in your tile better than the bright green. If you could find a curtain with that sea foam color and white, you could use the plain seafoam curtain under the sink to coordinate. My thought is to embrace the colors in the accent tiles to have a cohesive look.

Hi, great thanks again

For framing the mirror not sure of what color or pattern could use? Any suggestion?

For the shelves now the doubt is if use wood or metalic White?

Sure I agree that that Green is better, but still will try to find a more similar Green (olive Green?)

Online on aliexpress I found these 2 curtains with drawings, what do you think?

This one in HM:

http://m2.hm.com/m/pt_pt/productpage.0495319001.genericdevice.html

Also liked those suggestioned by @justerrilynn

Ps : no love for the artwork or stickers I found?

Ps 2: found these but expensive and dont sell to Portugal: https://society6.com/shower-curtains/peonies

Curtain: I just realized that your tile is olive green, not sea foam. If the H&M curtain has olive green in it,that one would work. I found a couple on Amazon. Just make sure that any of them has at least some olive green.

For the shelving: If you're handy and want to built a wooden frame around the mirror to cover the cracked tile, I'd get a wooden shelving unit and stain the mirror frame the same color. Maybe you could try the white unit you have in the kitchen to see if you like it in the bathroom and if you like it, nix the idea of a wooden frame. Then you could get a wooden shelving unit for the kitchen to give it more of the look of furniture. I would get some sort of white shelving for the bathroom if there's not going to be any other dark wooden pieces in there.

The stickers would definitely work to surround the mirror and just cover the tiles surrounding the decorative tiles. You could go with pink, green, or maybe even black. OR, if you did a brown wood color, you might then use a brown wooden shelving unit tthat match the stickers.

Hi,

I am thinking of adding a light above the mirror in the space for it. I found this cheap and simple one:

https://www.aki.pt/mobile/iluminacao/focos/series-focos/reguas-duas-luzes/Regua2X50WGU10CromadoBasic-P49035.aspx

For framing the mirror would buy same type of wood (pine) and glue/stick on Tiles:

https://www.aki.pt/mobile/madeiras-e-construcao/ripas-barrotes-e-molduras/ripas-e-barrotes/madeira-aplainada/MadeiraAplainada-P14192.aspx

Not sure if need to apply some type of product to protect the wood..

Ps: still looking for curtains