Quick, Inexpensive, and Kid-Friendly Bathroom Themes: Decorate with Jungle Monkeys!

You can quickly and inexpensively update your bathroom décor with a little bit of paint and some accessories. The hard part is coming up with a bathroom theme that both you and your kids will enjoy seeing day after day. This article will give you some ideas on how to redecorate your bathroom cheaply using a jungle monkey theme.

Step One: Set Your Budget

Your budget will really drive your re-decorating project. In this article, I re-decorated our guest bathroom using the jungle monkey theme for about $100. I'll give some suggestions on how to accomplish the monkey theme for even less money and a few suggestions in case you have a bit more money to spend.

Step Two: Find Your Design Foundation for the Monkey Theme

The foundation of a new monkey themed bathroom really starts with the shower curtain. If you choose a curtain with pre-printed monkeys, the colors in that curtain will set the tone for the entire project. If you decide to go with a neutral shower curtain and draw monkeys on the curtain or leave it plain, then you'll have more choices with your paint selections.

In my case, I choose a pre-printed monkey shower curtain. I found two that I really liked. The first monkey curtain was at Target and had blue tones to it. The second monkey curtain was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and had more neutral, earthy tones to it. I selected that curtain because I really wanted to create a jungle scene complete with leafy green trees. Both curtains retailed for about $20. I used a coupon to bring the price even lower.

Step Three: Buy Paint and Supplies

Once you have selected the general direction of your monkey themed bathroom, you'll need to buy paint. Measure your bathroom to ensure that you purchase enough paint. In my case, I had an average sized bathroom that I knew I wanted 1 dark chocolate wall and 3 cream walls. I also needed to purchase enough colored paints for my jungle mural. If you want to imitate my jungle theme, here is my paint supply list:

1 quart dark chocolate paint

1 quart dark cream paint

1 quart (or samples if you can get them) of light green and dark green

Craft sizes of yellow, orange, black, and white

Paint brushes including at least 1 craft fine-tipped paint brush for outlining

Since this paint is for a kid's monkey bathroom, I choose a semi-gloss finish for all paint selections.

TIP: If you have more money to spend, consider changing the flooring of your monkey themed bathroom. You can purchase some easy-to-install, no-glue, waterproof laminate flooring that looks like bamboo. This will really complement your overall monkey theme.

Step Four: Buy Monkey Themed Accessories

The monkey themed accessories are all optional for your project, but will really enhance the overall appearance of your room. I purchased a monkey themed toothbrush holder, soap dispenser, Kleenex holder, and several towels. You can purchase more accessories such as wastebaskets, tumblers, or update all your towels. Decide how much you want to spend.

TIP: You can purchase plain colored accessories and paint the monkey faces or jungle trees on the accessories to save some money.

Step Five: Paint Your Room!

This step is the fun part. Decide how you want to paint the room. How many monkeys do you want and where do you want them? How many jungle trees? How many other animals, flowers, or birds? Paint the walls solid first and allow to dry at least overnight. You may need to apply several coats to get the richest look.

When painting the monkeys and other jungle objects, I found it was easier to first create a pattern using paper. I then lightly traced the pattern onto the wall using pencil. Once drawn, I painted each object. I found that I had to paint 3 or 4 coats to get the richest look on the monkeys and jungle trees. The entire project took about 1 week to complete.

Step Six: Enjoy!

Once your monkey themed bathroom is painted and outfitted with accessories, sit back and enjoy it. Don't forget to take before and after pictures to document your work.