By Linda Jennings

When it comes to home decor one of the most neglected rooms of our homes is the bathroom. And yet the bathroom is one of the most visited rooms of our homes when we have company.

Unfortunately, what decorating we do seems in many cases to be an afterthought. Sadly it is often a hodgepodge of items and colors that do not reflect our design style. Or maybe at one time the bathroom was decorated and has been left to sit in the design style or color scheme of years gone by.

Some of us have left our bathrooms the way they were when our kids were small and our children are now grown and possibly gone from home. Or maybe we've left them the way they were when we moved into our home and that may have been as much as ten, twenty, or maybe even longer. Do you still have plaster fish, or mermaids, or some other animal on your walls that have been there forever?

Often if we are fortunate to have two bathrooms, we spend money to upgrade and decorate the master bath, but sorely neglect the bath left to guests and the rest of the family. We don't really think about the impact our bathrooms have on our families and friends.

Is your bathroom a pleasant place to visit or do family and guests dread going in and hurry to get out as quickly as possible? We've all had those experiences where we went to the bathroom and wondered if the family had forgotten they had this room. I've been in bathrooms where in an attempt to appear clean everything is white, the walls, the ceiling, the vanity, the toilet, the floor, the tub you name it, it's white. You know what I'm talking about don't you?

If you are not willing or are afraid to paint your bathroom, then use color in the accessorizing of your bath. For some great ideas for your bathroom visit www.bearlycreative.com Change your lighting, get a new rug for the floor, buy some new towels and washcloths, and get a new shower curtain. Change out your towel bars, or maybe you need to add some towel bars. Soap dishes that are old and maybe cracked or broken, and yet there they sit still being used need to be updated. Possibly you no longer need that soap dish if you use a liquid soap and it is one less item to be crowded onto your sink.

One other area to address, don't forget about storage. We all know that often there is little to no storage in our bathrooms and we have a cluttered mess on the vanity and anywhere we can find to poke, cram, or somehow add one more item, we do it. Often you can add shelving or a small storage cabinet that will do wonders to relieve the problems of not having enough storage. Stacking baskets that are organized with like items makes it easier to locate the things we need in a timely manner.

For some reason many of us hold on to things and objects that we should throw away, but for some reason we continue to keep them, even though they may be broken or no longer usable. This can be said of old electric razors, curling irons, hair dryers or any number of items in our bathroom. Sometimes we need to go through and toss, old shampoo, old lotions, old creams, any thing that we no longer use and more than likely will never use again. You may be surprised at how much more space you can acquire by doing this sometimes hard but very necessary task.

Put fresh flowers in your bathroom, it is a pleasant surprise for all who enter and it tells those who do use that bathroom that you care and were thinking of them. Add a decorative mirror opposite your vanity lighting if possible to make your bathroom feel much larger. Another way to change the d'cor is to add some candles and other decorative elements to your bathroom. There are many options and ideas to explore at www.bearlycreative.com for not only your bathroom but every room of your house.