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The Room of the Bath.

I have stumbled upon a decor dilemma of sorts, and I need some good old fashioned bloggy advice. Because, let's face it, sometimes I need you guys to make my decisions for me. That's what I get for being indecisive. I'm the type of girl who will take an hour to decide where to eat because I hate being the one to make the final decision. Well, besides when it's just me and Husby. Then I'll gladly voice where and what sounds good. Ha!

So. Back to the topic at hand.

The Guest Bath.

Our guest bathroom is a small space with a toilet, sink and bath/shower combo. It is right next door to the nursery and across the hall from Levi's room. It's also at the front of the house, so it's always the bathroom that people use. Currently, it is decorated in pretty blues and browns - a nice soothing spot for guests to do their business, if I do say so myself.

The room is a great guest bathroom, but mainly, it's Levi's bathroom. It's where he bathes, goes potty, washes his hands, etc. It houses his rubber duckies, his squirt-toys a plenty, his step stool and his toilet seat. When you walk into the room, you know without a doubt that a little boy hangs out in there the most.

And this is where my problem lies.

Do I want to keep it a pretty guest bath that transitions smoothly into the flow of the rest of my house?

Or

Do I want to transform it into a cute (yet classy) children's bathroom that transitions smoothly into the flow of Weebie's room and the nursery?

I simply can't decide!

Help me! Voice your opinions! What do you have at your house? If you have a "children's bathroom", do your kiddos enjoy it? Do they even care? Do you feel weird tinkling in a kids restroom at other people's houses? Would you rather tinkle in a pretty bathroom? Am I over thinking this? I need answers here, people!

Please and thank you.




I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. While we enjoy entertaining and I ove guest spaces, our home is decorated to our taste, not that of our guests. When my daughter's bathroom was the one also used by guests, I still let her pick her theme. She's always had good taste, even as a child, thankfully.

    We do have some spaces that are more geared towards guests, and it truly drives me crazy, because it feels like wasted space.

    Right now, we have a guest bedroom that is beautiful and does get used, but only once a month, say, as opposed to daily/weekly.

    We also have a combo family room/dining room. We always eat in our roomy eat-in kitchen, so the dining area just sits there. The most action it sees is the weekly dusting LOL.

    So yeah, all of that to say, I'd decorate for a little boy! :-)

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  2. I would also make it all about the kids, in an elegant way, of course!
    Congrats on the baby. Long time reader (since before Levi was born!)
    -Jen

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  3. Hi, I have to agree with your other comments regarding the bathroom. Your children are little for such a short time and by the time they are teenagers they aren't going to want a cute child themed bathroom. But, oh how fun it is to take a bath and get ready in your own bathroom. I say classy kid themed bathroom is just fun and your guest are going to walk in and LOVE it too!!!

    Congratulations on the new baby, so excited for you and your sweet family and can't wait to read all about the adventure of your new family of 4.

    Blessings,

    Elizabeth

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  4. I babysit for two little boys (3 and 6) and the main guest bathroom is what they call "brothers bathroom." It is not the kids bathroom per se but has lots of children's touches. If there are going to be kids toothbrushes and a little training potty, then you might as well own it. But, you don't need to jump off the deep end in terms of colors and fabrics. I am certain you are up to the task to blend the themes so that you, your kids and guests can all functionally enjoy and appreciate the space.

    Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be lovely! :)

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  5. Personally, I don't mind tinkling in any bathroom as long as it's clean.

    I think since it will already be full of bath toys, a potty, and other kid-paraphernalia, you may as well just go with it.

    Maybe you could do something like an antique circus that is good for both adults and kids to use.

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  6. When you gotta go...you gotta go! Clean matters more to me than the theme any day. Decorate for your family because your guests are there to see you and they won't mind a duckie or two when they tinkle! You have beautiful taste, so I'm sure any design you dream up will be amazing and I'd be happy to tinkle there!

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  7. I agree that cleanliness is next to godliness...so if it's clean, that's all that matters!!! I also agree that you can go overboard with the kid theme...but my main objective in life is comfort for my family. It's little Weebie's house and bathroom too, so his little input would be precious.

    As a guest - as long as I don't have to touch anything weird, like the potty seat! I'm good :-)

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  8. We just recently made the decision to transform our guest bathroom into "the boys'" bathroom because we were feeling the exact same thing you're describing. I'm like you~ totally indecisive! But we finally decided we wouldn't go overboard on kids stuff that they'll outgrow really fast or might seem crazy/over-the-top to guests and we did it on a budget, so nothing too drastic. I'm not the best photographer, but you can take a look here: http://selphpartyof3.blogspot.com/2011/08/boys-bathroom.html
    I know whatever you decide will turn out great!!

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  9. I would do something fun and whimsical but not specifically "kiddie." But that's coming from a woman who dreads the day her son wants his room decorated with cartoon characters and/or superheroes. ;)

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  10. My original comment was going to be to keep it adult, BUT the previous comments changed my mind. =) You can keep a kids' bathroom fun and kiddy without being garish, right? I don't think people really care where they go as long as they're not stepping on a toy as they sit down. ;) So make it Levi's (and new babe's!) bathroom. But don't forget adult soap and a candle!

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  11. I'm not a big fan of kids bathrooms, but I know you could make it cute without being over the top. I think the main thing I don't like about kids' bathrooms is the overuse of a theme. I have seen some really cute kids bathrooms on pinterest using fun colors, polka dots, and stripes.
    Your bathroom now is beautiful, but I can see how it isn't very Levi friendly.

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  12. I would rather tinkle in a pretty bathroom. I don't have kids, but I doubt they really appreciate decor like adults do! I would decorate for the adults, but of course allow Levi his little boy toys. :)

    That's my 2 cents! ;)

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  13. I must say, I love the antique circus decor idea! As much as Levi loves animals, he would probably love it as well, and it would be classy. I never had the problem you're facing. When my kids were little, the guests used the master bath most of the time.

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  14. I say go with the children's bathroom theme for sure! I've seen some really classy bathrooms that were decorated for the kids. It would probably mean the world to Levi to have his own bathroom theme, and anyone who goes into the bathroom will say "Awwww it's Levi's bathroom!" It is, after all, HIS bathroom. :)

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  15. Kids, Kids, Kids! Grown ups will tinkle anywhere. Make it fun for the little ones.

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  16. The "kid's bathroom" in my parents house was never decorated for kids and frankly we did not care at all.

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  17. I vote for the more kid-friendly bathroom! It's your house, afterall - make the most of it and plan the rooms around their everyday funtion, not their once-in-a-while function. You were a pro when creating a chic nursery that fit in with the rest of your house - I'm sure you can come up with something spectacular for the bathroom as well! Can't wait to read what your final decision is :)

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  18. My opinion is it's my house, not the kids house. I have my bathroom that my kid uses the most in a neutral decor. Kids tastes change from day to day and I bet my kid doesn't even care what the bathroom looks like. Also like you said in post I do feel funny going to the bathroom in the "kid bathroom" at other people's houses. But it's all up to you. If I had a bathroom that was used just by kids, like a jack and jill style one between their bedrooms that guests did use regularly I would probably do a kids bathroom.

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  19. kids bathroom! obviously it will be classy. But that way Levi's stuff will match and not look like it's intruding or ruining your guest bath. I say go with it! Embrace this phase of life!

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  20. We did our second bathroom in a kid theme. I debated doing a pretty bathroom or making it Moose's bathroom. Moose won out! So now it's decorated in frogs and rubber duckies, and is just adorable! Like my husband said, if people don't like it they can hit the bricks! ;)

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  21. We have a similar situation and ours is decorated for the kids!
    www.rebeccabany.com

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  22. I'm sorry to disagree with the masses here, but I think decorating a primary bathroom in the house in a kids theme is pretty ridiculous. Never in my life have I met a kid that wished they had their own personally decorated bathroom. Bedroom? Yes. Bathroom- no way.

    I think there are classy ways of adding levi's personal touches that he will enjoy without having the kid stuff take over the bathroom. You could use a clear plastic shower curtain w/ fish on it as your shower curtain liner and an opaque shower curtain for the public to see. A cute personalized step stool or set of bath towels or kids hand soap is also very appropriate. Your guests know that a kid lives in your house, so subtle hints of "kid" are okay.

    I recently bought a house and I can tell you that a kid-decorated bathroom would be a huge turn off to a potential homebuyer, especially one without kids. And you never know when God is going to throw you for a loop and you suddenly need to sell quickly, and don't have time to change it all back.

    So that's my 2 cents :)

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  23. I dealt with this same dilemma and finally decided to decorate to meet my child's needs and not my guests. So we went with the Dr. Seuss pottery barn theme. I didn't go over the top, but I did do it. And I don't regret it.

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  24. Our guest bedroom has an en suite bath, so I typically direct our guests there, but, our kids' bathroom opens to the hallway, so it's sometimes easier to access than the guest bedroom's bathroom (wow that was an unnecessarily long sentence!). Anyway. I decorated the kids' bathroom with colors I wanted (seafoam and chocolate brown) and my MIL showed up on my doorstep one day with the most adorable towels from Target with a simple whale stitched on the front--in seafoam and chocolate brown. It matched perfectly! So, we have a whale here and there, but, for the most part, the bathroom is the simple seafoam and chocolate brown. No wild shower curtain or anything. But, I really don't think it's something worth spending money on until the kids know if they have a preference or not ... but that's just me! I say leave it until the kiddos are older and can help you decide. Unless you just want another project, in which case, decorate away!

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  25. Could you split the difference and do antique nursery rhyme prints, fun but not super-bold colors, etc? That way it's something fun for him and probably even your guests, too!

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  26. With It being your main guest bath I'd say tow the line between the two. Kids out grow theme's so quickly. Try for fun towels and soap disppensers and consider behind the curtain a kid area. As far as paint, pictures and fixtures go ahead and make it crowd friendly.

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  27. I would say go for the kids bathroom, but nothing too over the top so when they are a little older, it won't be hard to "undo" it cause of the hard work you put into it!

    www.talesofayounghousewife.blogspot.com

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  28. I agree to go with how you would like it to be for your son. I believe our homes should be reflections of the people that live there and how we really live!

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  29. It is your kids' bathroom first and foremost. Make it fun for them. All the guests need is a clean place to use the bathroom.

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  30. I really love an elegant guest bath and think it makes guests feel at home using the restroom since they aren't "invading" someone's personal space. I would do a "kid" bathroom if I had three bathrooms. You should probably go with what makes YOU happy!

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  31. We put an addition on our house in...hmm, sixth grade? Yes, because my super old, creepy neighbor man wandered into our yard (as was his want) and asked if I was getting married and going to live there with my husband (FYI, I was not).

    Anyhoo, since the addition had a master bath (NOT for my imaginary husband and me), my parents let my brother and I decorate the main bath. We chose red towels and accents and picked a shower curtain covered in different colored smiley faces. People really liked it and commented on it often.

    So, I figure if it'll make them smile while they tinkle, let the kiddos show their colors! :D

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  32. We have a Jack & Jill bathroom that Grayson uses and that guests use. I wanted to do something in between! It is a fun and cheerful bathroom (turquoise walls with a striped lime green shower curtain) but it doesn't have a kid theme. I wanted something that he would get sick of...like fish, cars, rubber ducks, etc. Plus, I just like an excuse to paint a room a fun color-ha! :)

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  33. In my son's first bathroom (our home from age 2-5) I went with a general theme. He was way into being a rodeo cowboy at the time! The shower curtain was a solid cream color - mainly because the bathroom wasn't huge and I didn't want to darken it. The hooks were brushed nickel Texas stars as were the drawer and cabinet pulls. I used cream towels but accented with a deep red and navy (think Texas flag). And then I found some galvanized tin picture frames and put in different bath pictures of him - infant, toddler, bubble bath beard, etc. I also used tin buckets to hold toothbrushes and paste and combs. So all in all it wasn't too "over the top", but it was still his style and he LOVED having pictures of himself in there!

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  34. I think you could make it child-friendly, as well as guest-friendly by making it colorful, but not overly childish. Instead of having a jungle or farm theme, for example, you could decorate in lime greens and aqua blue. Maybe keep a small tote under the sink that houses Levi's bath toys/other toys that you can stash away when guests are over. That way, when guests are over, they are seeing bright and fun colors and not feel like a cartoon exploded in the bathroom. :)

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  35. i vote "cute but classy" cause Levi will be using it more than guests probably. something that can grow with the kiddos.

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  36. I vote a mix of both. Guest bath with some cutesy stuff around for the kids....I know...I'm wicker decisive too....maybe I shouldn't have even commented lol

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