brighten up a small apartment bathroom with $10

Apartments have the weirdest bathrooms. Especially, old houses converted into flats. Although our last apartment was in a tower, it still had it's fair share of design flaws. There was a grate in the ceiling (apparently for venting) but the bathroom had no fan or window and therefore, no airflow. As you can imagine, we had major mould issues. After a particularly hot shower, the condensation would actually drip down the walls leaving little slug lines. It was gross.

Guys, our new apartment has a fan. It's so luxurious! Oddly enough, it also has a window in the shower and a half-wall made of those see-through blocks, which I think are from the eighties. Do you know what ones I mean? The door is a sliding barn door, which I admit would be pretty cool, if it didn't leave a four inch gap on one side and had a working lock.

There's a point to all this, I promise! Keep reading...

The fact that I'm pointing out all of my bathroom quirks might make you think I don't like it, but I do! I really do. Despite the fact that it's tiny, there is a ton of storage and it has the perfect little nook for our plastic storage drawers which hold towels and toiletries and ten thousand bottles of shampoo. A wall-mounted sink also means no countertop clutter, since everything is hidden away in the mirrored cabinet. If I'm given a counter, I will clutter it, so this is a blessing. Thank you, apartment bathroom gods. 

Onto the upgrade! All you have to do for this one is shop. Zero handiwork and/or tools needed. 

Along with all of their weird features, apartment bathrooms can be a little blah. Our current beige bathroom desperately needed a little colour, so I bought a purple orchid, put it in a handmade clay dish and set it on the toilet tank. It's amazing how much of a difference it made. The blooms really pop against the white fixtures and shower curtain. This one was only ten bucks (!!) at Superstore, but I know they have them at Sobeys too.

 

I swear these flowers were made for people who can't keep a plant alive. I have somehow managed to kill every plant or flower given to me, so I can say this with certainty! This pretty lady is still kicking one month later. Not only is it still alive, but it's actually thriving. New blooms just keep popping up. I've also taken to excitedly announcing each new bloom to D. He's somewhat less enthusiastic about it than I am.

How to NOT kill a mini orchid: Stick it by a sunny window. Water it once a week with a tablespoon of cold water.

Never though I'd be dishing out plant advice, but here I am. One mini purple orchid makes a dingy apartment bathroom seem a bit brighter!  

Spring is here!
xx Janelle

PS - I'm sorry this post has my toilet in it. Just focus on the flower!
PPS - I have a long-awaited series of green cleaning posts coming up very soon. Made specially for lazygirls, like me!