Woman Spends $700 and Hours Creating Over-the-Top Toilet Decor: 'Your Poo Process Deserves Attention' (Exclusive)
"You can relax anywhere — even in the bathroom," Sarah Velush tells PEOPLE
Sarah Velush first got the idea to decorate her bathroom while sitting in her apartment
Not long after, she began sharing some of the decoration videos on TikTok. One of her first viral designs featured a royal theme, with black and gold tones and a Mona Lisa-inspired piece in the background
Since then, the content creator's bathroom decoration videos have amassed millions of views and thousands of comments
Scroll through Sarah Velush’s TikTok page, and you’ll find one ASMR video after another of the 27-year-old decorating her bathroom from top to bottom with unique, themed decor. In one video, she sets up a mini projector and record player next to her toilet, which is covered in pink fur. In another, she fills a container with strawberries, ice cream and other sweets to place on a table beside her toilet.
Velush, a self-employed content creator, first got the idea to decorate her bathroom while sitting in her apartment, eager to film a video that created a chill-out vibe. Instead of filming in the living room, she thought it would be more interesting to move everything to a different space — like the toilet.
"No one had done it before, so I decided to try it," Velush recalls thinking. "After all, you can relax anywhere — even in the bathroom."
Since then, Velush's bathroom decoration videos have amassed millions of views and thousands of comments. She says that while her eyes catch some of the comments — many of which criticize her for putting food and electronics in the bathroom — she rarely reads through all of them.
"I have 111,000 comments under one of my posts," she says. "Most people talk s--- and think someone’s actually reading it. But the best strategy ever is hate. And I’m super successful because of it. So whatever they’re writing, I’m happy — they’re making me famous."
"Even if someone eats in the toilet, I don’t see any problem with that. I’ve eaten in the bath while chilling and watching movies on my iPad," she adds. "If one day my toilet routine takes as much time as my bath, I don’t see anything wrong with watching a movie or doing something useful while pooping. I’m not planning to dunk cookies in the toilet before putting them in my mouth, so I don’t see any problem with it."
One of her first viral designs featured a royal theme, with black and gold tones and a Mona Lisa art piece in the background. Next, she created a menstruation-themed setup, using dramatic red hues and feminine touches to craft a relaxing space for that time of the month. Another design featured a “kitty toilet” with yellow water, inspired by her cat.
"When I had him, my whole place was always covered in his yellow pee," says Velush, who lives in Miami but grew up in Ukraine.
"I would say the most outrageous item I’ve put around the toilet is a toilet seat cover made from real fur," she adds. "It’s really awful, especially for people who live with a man — pee gets everywhere! I really feel bad for that fur."
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When brainstorming ideas for a theme, Velush draws inspiration from various aspects of her life. For example, she says the village toilet idea, complete with tree decor, was inspired by the toilets at her grandmother’s house in Ukraine. "They had an outdoor tree toilet because old houses in Ukrainian villages didn’t have plumbing," she explains. "People used to go to a hole outside the house, kind of like a tree toilet."
"In winter, it was super cold, and I remember when I was a child, we’d go outside to pee in the freezing cold and total darkness," she adds. "We’d just pee around the house instead of walking to the tree toilet because it was super scary and smelled awful! Thank God my dad eventually built an indoor toilet for my grandma."
When filming the videos, Velush says it takes her hours to set everything up. Most times, things usually go smoothly during filming, but once — right at the end of a shoot, just before the last shot — the table couldn’t handle it and everything fell. "Ice cream splattered on the wall and all over the carpet, and strawberries dropped on my stone floor — there are still stains to this day," she says.
However, when it comes ordering the items, receiving them, unpacking, collecting all the parts and buying snacks can take up to a week. Velush gets everything new for her designs from Amazon, usually spending around $500 to $700 just on orders.
But having all the packages in her one-bedroom apartment also drives her crazy, so she ends up returning a lot of the items after filming.
"I’m gonna tell you the secret — yeah, it’s just a video setup," she says. "My daily toilet looks way simpler, and I’m definitely not eating while I’m pooping! But, you know, I like having candles and good smells around, nothing too extra, even in the toilet. In my previous house, I even had a palm tree in the bathroom. It gave that jungle vibe and real Sattva energy."
She adds with a smile, "Love yourself and remember that even your poo process deserves attention. A little extra comfort in your life is never too much!"
Read the original article on People