Color crazy DIY-er shares a renter-friendly hack that transformed her downstairs bathroom

An unusual toilet roll holder and a clever DIY tool took this bathroom from dull to totally unique

Orange bathroom
(Image credit: Jane Ni Dhulchaointi)

Small closet bathrooms aren’t the most exciting, but, the CEO and inventor of Sugru, a mould-able glue, found an ingenious way of adding individuality to her downstairs toilet.

When looking for downstairs toilet ideas and a project to keep her busy during the first lock down Jane Ni Dhulchaointi, @janeonbike came up with a plan to transfer her washroom into a global desert scape with Sugru and a piece of driftwood. 

Sugru driftwood bathroom hack 

Before

Orange bathroom

(Image credit: Jane Ni Dhulchaointi)

First she painted the boring white tiles using a ‘very non-essential’ orange. This was complemented with a warm sandy-toned gold paint shade on the walls above.

When painting had finished the space was transformed into a mecca of color. But Jane felt it lacked a certain something to give it character. This is where the old piece of wood comes in…

'The toilet roll (holder) was inherited with the house and was very ugly. When I took it off, of course, holes were left on the tiles.' Jane says.

Instead of installing a new regular toilet roll holder, Jane found a perfect piece of driftwood that looked as though it could have been picked up from an actual baking desert.

Orange bathroom

(Image credit: Jane Ni Dhulchaointi)

Using her invention, Sugru – a moldable glue that most people use to mend – Jane stuck an interesting driftwood branch to the painted tile to cover the holes, acting as a quirky and rustic loo roll holder.

When mounting anything with Sugru Jane explains. 'For best results you should always use the ‘smear first ‘ technique. Smear a small amount of Sugru on your two surfaces (this bonds like crazy). Then build up pyramids of Sugru to those first smears. Press together and support for 24 hours with decorator’s tape.

Once dry, set and secure, the glue should hold up to 2kg/4.4lbs in weight. That’s the same as a large two-litre soda bottle or a laptop.

After

Orange bathroom

(Image credit: Jane Ni Dhulchaointi)

The cost-effective, floating feature adds texture and interest to the small bathroom layout and is so easy to achieve.

To complete the global-themed water closet, shallow shelves painted the same color as the walls are used to display a collection of ‘worldly’ inspired artwork, storage baskets, and travel books.

Sugru has recently developed a reputation as a wonder product for renters looking to add character or fixtures to their bathrooms. You can buy packs of Sugru on Amazon

It can be used to attach hooks or light fixtures to tiles, these can then be removed at the end of the tenancy, by slicing of the glue with a knife and scraping off any residue.

Are you tempted to try this renter-friendly hack?