Bathrooms can often feel quite stark with their cold, hard surfaces. In many homes, particularly urban dwellings, they are also the smallest and darkest rooms in the house. Below are four top tips to help add warmth, softness and character in order to elevate your bathroom design, regardless of size or budget.
Wallpaper
Bringing in pattern and texture through wallpaper is a brilliant way to cushion the harshness of white sanitaryware and shiny brassware, adding charm and interest, and really raising the overall look and feel of the space.
As bathrooms are areas of high humidity and moisture, using a wallpaper with a vinyl coating or scrubbable finish will provide extra durability. Here, we used this bold design in a family bathroom which only had a small window and young children splashing around. Our go to vinyl suppliers are Anna Wilms, Phillip Jeffries, Thibaut, Elitis and Pierre Frey. ⠀⠀
A properly ventilated bathroom can happily accommodate standard wallpaper outside of the wet areas. We would recommend using an extra strong wallpaper adhesive to avoid lifting. In this girl’s bathroom we used a playful Ottoline Devries wallpaper on all walls, except the bath wall which we tiled in practical penny mosaics.⠀⠀
In a very small bathroom, we would recommend tiling or panelling up to dado height and then adding wallpaper above to prevent it getting scuffed. In this narrow cloakroom used by a young family, we added tongue and groove panelling painted in eggshell for a durable finish, and then used another gorgeous Ottoline Devries wallpaper above.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In this small understairs cloakroom the proportions didn’t lend themselves to dado height panelling, so instead we wallpapered all walls and the ceiling but added a coat of clear matt varnish rollered over the finished wallpaper around the sink to protect it against moisture. Here we have used a pretty floral paper by Pierre Frey.
Patterned tiles
Not only do patterned tiles add impact and personality; they can also be used cleverly to make a room feel larger or to create a focal point.
Larger patterned tiles can be used to make smaller bathrooms feel bigger. By opting for a larger pattern on the floor in this long and narrow bathroom we drew the eye through the room, making it feel more spacious and open. We tiled over a wet room tray to achieve level entry and added a minimalist shower screen which creates more visible floorspace to further open up the space. These beautiful terrazzo tiles from Fired Earth add a touch of opulence. Terrazzo tiles need to be sealed as the cement part of the terrazzo is susceptible to stains.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In this guest en suite in Hampshire, we wanted to create a vibrant and uplifting mood reminiscent of being on holiday. We created a focal point around the bath by enveloping the whole area in these gorgeous hand painted tiles, with colour and pattern inspired by Moorish ceramics. The glazed nature of the tiles means they are only suitable for walls and need to be sealed. The vibrant yellow half height tongue and grove panelling applied around the remaining walls is both a practical choice for wet rooms but one which also adds an additional layer of warmth and texture to the space.
By wrapping tiles up from the floor onto walls, you can make a room feel bigger. In this small en suite we maximised the space by creating a wet room rather than using a shower tray, and by taking the patterned floor tile up onto the shower walls. Using these tiles all over could feel too overwhelming so we broke them up with a tonal plain tile on the sink wall with a lighter toned paint above. These digitally printed porcelain tiles from Domus require the least maintenance as they don’t need sealing and will retain a more consistent look over time compared to cement or terrazzo versions.
Vanity units
Vanities are often the focal point in any bathroom. Whilst storage and practicality is paramount, that doesn’t mean they can’t be given extra consideration and attention to make a real statement.
It’s well known that we are huge lovers of colour at Otta Design. Painting a vanity unit in a vibrant tone immediately creates character and strong visual appeal. Our go to vanity suppliers are Harvey George and Parker Howley. With these suppliers, you can choose whatever colour you like for the vanity unit to be painted in – there are no restrictions. Some of our favourite choices are Farrow & Ball Vardo and Farrow & Ball Brinjal. In the bathroom on the right we went wanted maximum impact in a small space so we chose Paint & Paper Library’s Beetlenut to create this rich red reeded unit.
Detailed elements are a sure-fire way to elevate any bathroom. If you can go bespoke when it comes to buying a vanity unit, this allows you creative freedom and a level of detailing not available from off the shelf pieces, which instantly adds a feel of luxury and consideration. The diamond brass mesh panelling in this London bathroom on the left makes the vanity the star of the show and mirrors the Waterworks fittings for a cohesive feel. In this sophisticated, masculine bathroom on the right, we designed the walnut vanity with a clean brass inlay and square knobs, mixing the metals by using a bronze mirror and lighting for layering and depth.
When it comes to London bathrooms, space is almost always at a premium so you’ve got to be smart when it comes planning and design. Here, we incorporated a built in laundry basket to the wall to wall vanity unit, maximising surface space. The mirrored cabinets above are an excellent way of providing storage without overwhelming a tight space, and the reflection of light really opens the room up.
Lighting
Layered lighting throughout a bathroom will create a relaxed, rounded and elevated scheme, but also one that is functional. For the most flattering, shadow free and even glow, we use wall lights to provide task lighting and position them, where space allows, either side of a mirror at eye level and as close to your face as possible.
Always opt for warm white 2700k dimmable bulbs across all fittings and have the wall lights on a separate circuit (often with accent lighting around the bath and in alcoves and niches) to the ceiling lights.
This double vanity is compact at 1300mm wide and its size wouldn’t allow for two individual mirrors above, so we opted for one large, bespoke mirror and these simple yet elegant wall lights by Fritz Fryer.
In this small London bathroom we mirrored the entire wall above the vanity to enhance the sense of space, adding a pair of Pooky wall lights with playful string shades on the adjacent walls. ⠀⠀
Here, the only place we could position the vanity unit was between two windows. The wall space above the vanity was too narrow for a mirror and wall lights either side so we chose a timeless coolie wall light from Hector Finch to sit above.
This large bespoke double vanity was 1600mm wide and enabled us to have two decent sized individual mirrors above. We added these three neat column wall lights from Hector Finch which don’t take up too much space and give light either side of each mirror to cast light evenly up and down the face.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
