Roller and tray filled with light blue paint resting on top of toilet bowl.

When you think about making upgrades to your bathroom, painting may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but maybe it should be. Changing the paint in your bathroom is a great way to update its look for a lower cost than a full bathroom renovation. However, before you grab a roller and a can of paint, you should know that painting a bathroom isn’t exactly the same as painting most other rooms.

In this article, we’ll walk you through what to consider when painting a bathroom, give you helpful bathroom painting ideas, and tell you about some of the services offered by our Neighborly family of home service providers.

Considerations for Painting a Bathroom

While painting a bedroom or living room is straightforward, the same can’t be said of painting a bathroom. Filled with corners, crevices, and all sorts of obstacles that make painting difficult, bathroom painting takes more care and precision than almost any other room.

To make matters more complicated, bathrooms constantly have water flowing. So whatever paint you use needs to be capable of standing up to splashes, steam, and high temperatures.

Thankfully, paint manufacturers know about these issues and have created special types of paint that can stand up to the challenges a bathroom presents.

When you’re painting a bathroom, here are three recommendations to keep in mind:

Choose bathroom-appropriate paint.

If there’s one thing that’s true of every bathroom, it’s that they get wet. Unfortunately, not all paints hold up well in the presence of moisture. There are special brands of paint, sometimes labeled bathroom paint, that help seal your walls against moisture penetration, stains, and mold growth.

If you can’t find bathroom paint, you can still buy another types of paint. What’s important is that you buy a high-quality brand of paint that doesn’t scuff, stain, or absorb moisture easily. Another good rule of thumb is to look for glossy paints as they repel moisture more effectively than flat or matte paints.

Remove obstructions before painting.

While you need to remove obstructions no matter what room you’re painting, a bathroom presents special challenges. Most notably, you’ll want to remove the toilet, or at least the toilet tank. This isn’t to protect the toilet from getting painted (we’ll cover that in our next tip) but to make it possible to paint behind the toilet.

While this task can be completed on your own, you may want to call a plumber to prevent sewer gases from entering your home and reduce the chance of damage to your existing toilet. If you’re not satisfied with your current model, this is a great time to install a new toilet or start a bathroom remodel.

In addition to removing a toilet, you may want to remove your mirror, provided you have one. Some people choose to paint around the mirror, but painting behind it leads to a more finished look.

Clean all painting surfaces thoroughly.

You should always clean your walls before painting, no matter what room you’re repainting. This is especially true in the bathroom. Bathroom walls tend to accumulate more buildup due to moisture in the air, and this includes soap scum, which can make it difficult to paint properly.

Unlike other rooms, which usually require little more than dusting, you should prepare your bathroom walls by using serious cleaning products. Cleaning with a solution of water and trisodium phosphate (TSP) works well for removing soap scum and other buildup and won’t damage your paint.

Bathroom Painting Ideas

When you choose to paint your bathroom, you might be tempted to go with a color that’s simple and plain. After all, a bathroom is a small, utilitarian space, so why go the extra mile when it comes to décor?

While that line of thought makes sense, it’s actually the opposite of what you should be thinking. Since it’s a utilitarian space, bathroom décor can easily get ignored, which makes it all the more impactful when a bathroom really sparkles.

Here are some bathroom paint ideas that can make spending time in your bathroom a little more enjoyable:

  • Be bold: Bathrooms are the realm of eggshell white and bland blues. Spruce up your bathroom with a bold splash of color. Don’t be afraid to take that pale blue to a more electric hue, deep jewel tones, or to break into less traditional neon colors.
  • Pick more than one: Consider using more than one color of paint for your bathroom. Paint one wall green and another blue. Experiment with skirting colors, install shiplap and paint that a different color than your wall. Multiple colors, when well deployed, keep the space more visually interesting.
  • Don’t forget the accents: Your walls aren’t the only things that need a fresh coat of paint. Consider changing up the color of your cabinets or doors. Even something as simple as a dark gray or black can imbue the space with a luxurious feel. For the particularly adventurous, you can paint the narrow edge of your door (the space that is often hidden by the doorframe when it’s closed) to create an unexpected pop.

Call Neighborly for Bathroom Painting Services

Painting your home takes a lot of work, and that’s doubly true for bathrooms. If you don’t want to paint your bathroom yourself, or you just want to guarantee that everything gets done right, call Neighborly. Our family of home service providers includes Five Star Painting, painting experts with top-rated customer experience. Call today at (855) 217-8437 to see how we can help turn your bathroom into the star of the show!