Quick Bathroom Upgrades

After a year in our upgraded upstairs bathroom and a couple weeks with the second bathroom done, there are a couple items we added that are really budget-friendly that really made our bathrooms go from basic to a little luxurious.  Among my love of vintage and vintage-inspired items, and a weird affinity for a Glacier Bay Dual Flush toilet, there were a few things that we loved adding so much to the upstairs bath that we felt compelled to repeat them downstairs.  The best part: each come in at under $130! 

Tushy Bidet and "Poop Stool"

Starting with the toilet upgrades, we ordered Tushy bidet attachments during one of their sales, getting two of their basic 3.0 models.  Even though we didn't spring for the fancy heaters or temperature-control options, it has been a great investment for us!  It's helped greatly reduce the amount of toilet paper in use around here, and just feels good to use.  I know more than a few bidet-havers -myself included!- who really prefer to use home bathrooms even more for this one feature.  The only widely accepted data I can find is that it takes approximately 37 gallons of water to produce 1 roll of toilet paper.  The same amount of use with a bidet uses closer to 1/8 gallon!  It's not enough to see an increase in the water bill.  Since the majority of toilet paper is produced from virgin trees, we're slowing deforestation with this switch too.  
We still use some toilet paper, but we use the recycled stuff from Who Gives a Crap.  I like it a lot! 

But this isn't about reducing water waste and deforestation... it's about the things the little bathroom upgrades that made our bathrooms feel so much fancier without breaking the bank!  Along with our bidets, we ordered the Tushy ottomans for both bathrooms as well.  A lot of the toilet stools we've seen are fairly wide and take up a lot of visual and foot space around the toilet. With four kids and two small bathrooms, I needed something slim that wouldn't take up much floor space but still do the job.  I got the standard height, and it's been really nice for all of us.  The kids have a stool they can get on and off the toilet with, and I find it really comfortable on my feet.  Plus, water doesn't pass through a kinked hose.  Poop doesn't either!  So, I can confirm it works as designed.

Showerhead with Wand Arm

The shower head with adjustable wand arm was a big game changer in the shower.  We have this model from Glacier Bay that now starts at $116. I initially didn't get it for the ease of my use; we really invested in it for the ease of washing the kids and the dog, but really wound up loving it. It's helpful for washing all manner of things, and I love that when it's on the arm, the kids can use it like a regular showerhead at their height.  Their use has been the biggest benefit, but I also really like the different settings for flow type. 

For us, one of the important parts was having the wand arm with flexible hose as close to the bottom of the tub and shower as possible.  While there are a lot that don't have the adjustable arm (this Moen Magnetix one is really nice!), the arm brought the wand down low enough that it changes the functionality. That is really the key feature for using it to clean dogs and toddlers.  Bringing the wand to them really makes it a comfortable experience for everyone, and the sound of the showerhead makes it a little more predictable for the little kids.  

Towel Warmer

The last thing that really brought our bathroom from basic-functional to little luxuries is our towel warmers.  I ordered these on Wayfair, and while there were some hiccups in fulfillment (that worked out in my favor!), I'm really happy with these.  To match our bathrooms, I ordered in silver, and they really match brushed nickel.  I love that I have an easy place to store multiple towels.  In a house with six people, we all need a space that holds what we need, and this really does that well.  When we decided not to added heat in the floors, I wanted to find something else that would give us the cozy exit from the bath.  This does that perfectly!  I also love the indicator lights, with curious kids, the red "on" light and the blue lights for the two hour and four hour timers help me make sure this is on when we need it and off when we don't really easily.  The big kids now know to use the timer feature so they don't have to remember to turn it off.  

With both of these renos, we really had to focus on getting things done, and doing so within the timeframe and budget available.  But I'm really glad to have been able to add these to our bathrooms.  Even with completely different styles in the two spaces, these little touches -and even technology- make the whole house feel like it's working for us beyond the basics.