# What to do when you rent and your bathroom sucks



## Nix (Jan 7, 2011)

Hi all. I am currently renting and as the title says; my bathroom sucks. Its an older home. The walls are all tiled except for the last two feet before the ceiling and the tiles have an old country style pattern to them. They are natural tones of brown and beige. The bathtub is newer, but the vanity is old. Its just the pressed board kind and the tenants before me had a kid who drew all over the sides of it. There is a really big ugly old mirror/medicine cabinet. Its three pieces; the two sides open and come out about 4" at the sides, then taper into the larger piece. 

The bathroom is small. Its about 5'2" by 6'. There is barely any room to move in there, and the door actually cant open the whole way without hitting the toilet. I HATE this bathroom. I wish I could post pictures to show you what it looks like. Does anyone have any ideas on how to spruce it up? I don't want to spend a lot of money since its not my house, and I cant really replace any of the larger items like the mirror and the sink (landlord said no).  I also cant take down the tile and repaint. 

Any tips would be great. 

Thanks!!


----------



## Daryl in Nanoose (Jan 9, 2011)

If kids have drew all over the cabinet and it won't wash off maybe he would let you repaint it, put some colorfull towels and face cloths to take your eye away from the rest and maybe some of those bath mats that go in front of the toilet, seat cover, tank. The idea is to take you eye away from the stuff you don't like. All I can think of right now.


----------



## TheDoorGuy (Jan 12, 2011)

You could probably take the door off the hinges and replace it with
an accordion door.  There are some very affordable ones at HD...Under
$30 for the basic model. Just a few small screws hold it in place so your
landlord might not mind that.  It wouldn't change appearance of bathroom
much but would give you a bit more room to maneuver.

Other than that....Take a magazine or book in there with you!


----------



## frozenstar (Jan 26, 2011)

Get a new apartment will be the best


----------



## Plumbing And Lighting (Jan 26, 2011)

Sounds like a new paint job would definitely help, and if you're not allowed to replace the larger fixtures like the sink or vanity, how about replacing some of the smaller fixtures like the faucets, towel bars, etc? Sometimes little updates like these can go a long way.


----------



## RD55 (Jul 25, 2011)

If you can't replace any of the large items, their isn't much you can do. Try adding brighter colors to the bathroom, and a new shower curtain. New shower curtains can always spruce up a bathroom


----------



## TxBuilder (Jul 25, 2011)

I would add a lot of color- mats, shower curtain, window treatments, etc. Get some matching toothbrush holders, soap dish, dispenser, etc. It could be a whole new place for less than 100$. Wall art maybe? Can you put up shelves?


----------



## Alyssa (Jul 26, 2011)

By as many great accessorizes as you can. Stores like TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond or if you want to go higher end a website like Quality Bath...They all have great stuff that can really brighten up your bathroom and give it a totally different appearance.


----------



## Snav (Aug 18, 2011)

I'm in late on this - but I figured I'd add ono the thread anyway for future viewers.

I was able to get our previous landlord of a rental to concede a drop in rent in exchange for us doing our own work. . . improved the value of his home and nothing we did was excessively expensive or over the top.

So - some people are flexible and welcoming of tinkering tenants so long as they approve of things first.


----------



## BridgeMan (Aug 18, 2011)

If you rent and the bathroom sucks (does the rent suck, too?), maybe it's really time to start looking for a new place.

Any landlord who wouldn't want his property to be improved by a tenant is being unrealistic, as well as not particularly smart.


----------



## marelin (Sep 8, 2011)

BridgeMan said:


> If you rent and the bathroom sucks (does the rent suck, too?), maybe it's really time to start looking for a new place.
> 
> Any landlord who wouldn't want his property to be improved by a tenant is being unrealistic, as well as not particularly smart.



   I used to let tenants do improvements.  But most do way more damage with poor workmanship than you can even believe.

   I've let tenants take out new expensive carpet to put in pergo floors, only to find that you can stand a penny in the spaces left between the planks, and I have to take it out before I can rent the place again.

   Paint sounds harmless - right?  Not so!  A really bad paint job takes a lot of work to do over right.  Cleaning slopped over paint off aluminum window frames is a pain.  I've had tenants put up a wall paper border and then paint over it, making it almost impossilbe to remove, and with a line that shows.

   I am currently letting tenants redo a place built in the 1930's, but only after I worked with them for a week, so I know that they are very competant.  I'm providing the materials and they are providing the labor.  So far it's cost me about $1,000, but they are doing a fantastic job.


----------



## Snav (Sep 11, 2011)

marelin said:


> I used to let tenants do improvements.  But most do way more damage with poor workmanship than you can even believe.
> 
> I've let tenants take out new expensive carpet to put in pergo floors, only to find that you can stand a penny in the spaces left between the planks, and I have to take it out before I can rent the place again.
> 
> ...



Just like bad home-owner home improvement jobs - I can see the potential issues. Even stuff that happens that you don't know about.

It's good that you've just changed your approach with these new tenants rather than just flat out saying no - that way everyone still gets something good out of it. Nice approach.


----------



## shainakhan (Dec 26, 2011)

You can hang a good poster or painting that can distract the eyeballs from the boring elements you mentioned. Using bathroom curtains that are water proof will let you hide the entire walls!


----------



## SnellExperts (Dec 26, 2011)

frozenstar said:


> Get a new apartment will be the best



Gonna have to agree with this, or better yet, buy your own place. It really doesn't cost that much more, but at least your payments are going to something that you can hopefully call your own one day.


----------



## hensensky (Jun 19, 2012)

Sounds like you don't really have a lot of options. I like the idea of getting a new apartment!


----------

