Tile Paint, Beadboard and More: Shop Bathroom Décor Ideas That Aren’t Tile

Avocado green or medicinal pink bathrooms date a house fast. But sometimes replacing tile isn’t in the budget. If you’re planning to move or don’t want to invest in renovating your outdated bathroom, tile paint is an easy DIY solution for bathroom wall designs. It allows you to discreetly cover colored tile with a coat of paint.

This isn’t your average paint formula either. It’s a high gloss specially designed to mimic the look of porcelain and minimize the appearance of brush strokes. Keep in mind that this project requires more prep work to properly prepare the tile. Don’t skimp on that part, it makes a big difference in its success. Use tile paint according to its manufacturer’s instructions and take all the necessary safety precautions. With a cure time of roughly two days, it’s a dramatic difference for a fraction of the cost of retiling.

Have you ever heard the phrase — this house has a lot of character? Many times, character is code for unique details like moulding. In the last several years box moulding surged in popularity when it comes to decorations for bathroom walls, and for good reason. It completely transforms the look of a wall using minimal materials. Try this idea to give your bathroom a dose of high-end interior style.

The trickiest part of this DIY is cutting the ends of the moulding at a 45-degree angle, otherwise known as miter cuts. To make it easier, use a miter saw. It allows you to cut your moulding at your desired angle. If you don’t want to invest in the power tools to do the job, Lowe’s sells preassembled moulding kits that allow you to adhere the pieces to the wall without needing to cut anything. How cool is that?

Here’s an option that offers the uniformity of tile but for a more affordable price. Beadboard are sheets of wood cut to look like wooden slats. You buy the sheets and cut them to fit the size of your room. You can even buy pre-primed sheets which saves you a step. If you're nervous about cutting the beadboard yourself, a red vest associate can help you in store.

Many designs use beadboard a third or halfway up a wall, depending on the look you want, and the top of the boards are finished with a piece of moulding on top. Since beadboard is lightweight, it’s not hard to hang. Use a finish nailer to affix the boards to the wall. It’s so much easier to patch those small holes before you finish with paint. In a bathroom, finish your beadboard with a semi-gloss paint. It’s so much easier to wipe clean — critical in a hardworking space like this.

There are no rules that say that you must tile a bathroom wall. Skip it and use paint on the whole wall instead. Or if you’re feeling creative, try wallpaper. This works especially well in a small bathroom or powder where every inch counts, sometimes tile can make a small space feel even smaller.

There are plenty of paints that are specially formulated for use in a bathroom. They’re worth the specialty purchase because they contain ingredients that help prevent mildew. Choose a paint in a satin or semi-gloss finish. Not only is it easier to clean, but it also holds up better against moisture. If your bathroom doesn’t get a ton of sunlight, consider a lighter paint color to bring brightness to the space. A dark, dramatic paint color like a navy, black or forest green looks beautiful in a small half bath or a large main bathroom with plenty of sunlight.

One of the boldest new bathroom ideas is plaster. It adds movement and texture to your walls while embracing a wabi-sabi sensibility that makes any DIY project less stressful. If texture is what you’re after, follow the plaster instructions and apply it to the wall in the recommended thickness with a trowel.

Most plasters, especially in moisture-rich rooms like bathrooms, require a finish to seal the surface from moisture. In some cases, that ends up being primer and paint, but there are a few different sealant and plaster options if you want a different look, for example Tadelakt, which is a waterproof lime-based plaster. Pay attention to how the room is used to decide. If you’re plastering a half bath with no shower, moisture is less of an issue than in a full bathroom.