Make It Nice: Bathrooms, Backyards, And DIY Ambitions

Welcome back to Make It Nice, Defector’s best interior design advice column. Today we have a bathroom color dilemma, a backyard makeover, and someone wondering if they’re DIYing too close to the sun. GB asks: > I own an older townhouse type of condo in the southeast. So, heat and humidity are a foundational concern for the topic I'm going to get into. I've lived here about 3 years, and the room that has always driven me craziest is the bathroom. There is one full bathroom, and it looks like it was renovated relatively recently and not particularly well. I hate the shower and the sink and wish I had the budget, the time, the guts, or some combination to rip the entire thing out and do a full reno, but I do not believe I do. > > Without the right mix to feel like I could completely renovate it, I decided a sort of DIY redesign and repairs could be good enough to keep me from hating it so much. I've already started on some wall repairs, but can't quite commit to it while the main ideas are still unsettled. > > I tend to like more neutral colors as a base and then use art and accessories to throw more bold color in. I like color, but I am not bold enough to usually make it the big thing via the walls. But here I feel differently because of the huge amount of white, and my aversion to the gray that's already on the walls here. I already have a good amount of blue and green around the house. So, I wanted this to be something different, maybe brighter, that will go with green and blue and white without feeling overwhelming. I first started thinking of a light pinkish orange, some sort of shade that might be generally considered peach. > > In short, I have no idea what color to go with! I hate red, and will ignore that, but other than that, I'm completely open to ideas. This room has no windows and no natural light, which obviously affects the look and feel. Then, I kind of want some ideas to finish it after the paint. I have a new shower curtain rod to hang, but other than that, nothing much else has been completely decided. I plan to leave the floating shelves where they are, but could change the location or what's resting on them without much issue. I want to replace the mirror, but also can't really decide on that; the current one is 24 inches high by 30 inches wide. The vanity itself is 30.5 inches wide and I'm not against painting it, although that hasn't been in my initial plans. The lighting fixture I would kind of like to replace, but again, can't really find one I like, and it might be more of a future idea. And finally, the wall opposite the sink is kind of boring, open space. I would like to put some art on it to give it more life and personality, but have never really researched what varieties of art or materials can stand up to the heat, humidity, and moisture of a southern shower in a small space.