Something that comes up over and over is making sure that our Club spaces are clean, fresh, and beautifully designed. I know in my Club, we were required to change out our bulletin board displays and other decor several times a year. But I’ve found that public spaces, like hallways, offices, and bathrooms tend to be overlooked. ESPECIALLY bathrooms, since they aren’t a room many of us like to hang out in anyway.
But what if we put some effort into actually making our bathrooms a positive place? On the National Youth Outcomes Initiative, our annual youth survey, members feeling unsafe in bathrooms is a common theme. While we need to be sure that bathrooms are physically safe for youth, is there anything we can do to help make them emotionally empowering as well?
The Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County has already answered this call! (I WROTE THAT PUN WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT SO I HAD TO KEEP IT IN NO APOLOGIES) In both of their bathrooms, they have murals in place of mirrors.
They are beautiful! For more inspiration, here are a bunch of other examples I found online.
This link has 15 different school bathroom designs! I especially love the murals in numbers 13 and 14, and how simple yet powerful the post-it idea in number 9 is:
The photos from this school bathroom makeover went viral! I LOVE the handpainted designs:
This one shows a great simple way to include some motivational phrases:
This one is designed for a staff bathroom (which is not a bad idea! Staff need motivation too!), but the quote bubble idea is fun and could easily be switched out regularly:
This local news report is about an artist who painted inspirational phrases in the bathrooms in her son’s school:
This elementary school painted murals throughout their campus, but they could all work in a bathroom:
How have you created beautiful and empowering spaces at your Club? Have you been intentional about how you decorate bathrooms? Send us pics at ClubXblog@bgca.org and you may be featured in a future post!
Leave a Reply