When renovating a bathroom, homeowners are faced with a plethora of design options and colours. Choosing a colour palette, tiles, tapware and fixed items, can be overwhelming to say the least. Whilst it should be a goal when renovating, to “update” our homes so they reflect a more modern design. It can be all too tempting to become caught up with the latest bright, bold colours and trends and quite possibly in doing so, date our homes in just a few short years.

This is particularly true for the bathroom. Whilst in other areas of the home, it is quite easy to repaint a wall or replace those bright coloured rugs, throws and cushions with Pantone’s latest colour of the year, replacing tiles and fittings in our bathroom is quite another thing and can be an expensive process to update an outdated colour trend.

Gorgeous wall hung vanity with large custom made mirrored shaving cabinet. Bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Gorgeous timber wall hung vanity with large custom made mirrored shaving cabinet and neutral colour palette – Bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Lets face it, renovating a bathroom is an investment, in both time and money. One that most homeowners can afford to do just once, at most twice in their lifetime. So when renovating a bathroom, the result should be one that makes a statement that reflects our own individual taste, that will continue to look new and relevant for many years to come.

Lets look at as to how to choose a modern yet timeless bathroom design:

Colour Scheme:

Neutral colours such as beige, taupe, stone, greys, browns etc are the cornerstone of great design. Unfortunately many people equate the word neutral with plain. However nothing could be further from the truth. Using a neutral colour scheme in your bathroom produces a classic, timeless design. Contrasting light and dark neutrals such as moody greys in a bathroom creates a stunning feature. Teaming white and neutrals is perfect for smaller sized bathrooms where using a lighter colour scheme is required to create the appearance of more space.

Black and white is another example of timeless design. White is crisp, clean and creates the appearance of space. Black is the perfect for creating a feature. Combining the two is classic yet contemporary.

Black & white classic colour palette with dowlighting in niche over the stunning free standing bath - bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

Black & white classic colour palette with dowlighting in niche over the stunning free standing bath – bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

If you want to add a splash of colour, do so with your paint or textiles, not with tile. It is easy to add bright bold colours with your towels, bath mats, candles and other such decor. Another option for adding colour is to tile to only 1200mm high on bathroom walls instead of tiling all the way to the ceiling. This particular design is again quite popular and allows homeowners to use a white or light neutral coloured wall tile and paint the remainder of the walls in a bold or bright colour. Of course a good quality mould resistant bathroom paint should be used. It is much easier to repaint in another colour a few years down the track than it is to replace a dated tile.

Remember that the smaller your bathroom, the lighter you will need to go with your primary tile colour. As a general rule with colour, the darker the colour scheme, the smaller the room will appear.

Gorgeous timber look vanity with custom made recessed mirrored shaving cabinet & faux marble porcelain tiles - bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

Gorgeous timber look vanity with custom made recessed mirrored shaving cabinet & faux marble porcelain tiles – bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

Stone:

Whether you choose natural stone, such as granite or marble, or you choose engineered stone like quartz or porcelain stone look alike tiles, incorporating stone in your bathroom adds a touch of class and timeless quality. Keep in mind that natural stone will require annual sealing and can be difficult to clean. Quartz has become more popular for use in the bathroom for vanity tops and now comes in a range that perfectly imitates marble and does not require sealing. It is not recommended to use natural stone in shower recesses due to the porosity of natural stone. This has encouraged manufacturers of porcelain tile to create a large range of stone look alike tiles that beautifully imitate natural stone, even marble with all it’s veining. These porcelain stone look alike tiles not only allow us the look of natural stone in our bathrooms, they’re strong, do not require sealing and are easy to clean.

Gorgeous feature wall in shower recess adding depth & character to the room - bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

Gorgeous feature wall in shower recess adding depth & character to the room – bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens

Tiles & Feature Walls:

Large format tiles are more popular now as they reduce the amount of grout joins and create a more seamless finish and add to the appearance of space. The size of your tile will depend on the size of your bathroom. It is best to discuss the size of your tiles with your bathroom renovator.

Creating a feature wall makes a statement within your bathroom and is an effective way to break up an all white bathroom, while keeping it light and airy. This is a particularly useful feature for small bathrooms, where keeping the tile colour light is used for giving the appearance of space. Although, all bathrooms, large or small, benefit from a feature wall. Your feature wall can be any wall you choose in your bathroom, but is most effective when set to highlight your vanity and mirrors or your bath.

While using stone, feature tiles or mosaics without doubt creates a stunning effect, your feature wall need not be tiled with a specialty tile. A feature wall is just as effective using a simple tile that is a contrasting colour to the remaining walls. This can save the homeowner a great deal of money. Tiling the feature wall with the floor tile also creates an amazing effect.

Adding a niche with LED strip lighting or downlights to your feature wall creates the perfect place for your candles, decorations or even a glass of wine when enjoying a bath.

Regardless of the type of tile you choose, creating a feature wall in your bathroom is a way to add the WOW factor in your bathroom.

Stunning feature wall created by using the same colour tile as the floor - bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Stunning feature wall created by using the same colour tile as the floor – bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Tapware & Accessories:

Gold, brass and more recently black tapware and accessories have all had their turn in the limelight, however, if you want a truly timeless bathroom, look no further than chrome. Chrome works well with any bathroom design and colour scheme and does not wear and corrode like gold and black.

However changing your tapware and accessories are almost the only “easy” fittings to replace in your bathroom, so if you must go with “on trend” finish, these can be changed in later years if need be. Be sure though, to keep extra wall tiles on hand should they need to be replaced when changing accessories as they may crack when doing so.

Lighting:

Lighting is often an afterthought in bathrooms. It should though, be carefully considered prior to renovating. How much natural light your bathroom receives during the day will also determine how light or dark you go with your colour scheme.

Adequate lighting to vanity mirrors is imperative for shaving and makeup application. This can be aided with above mirror lights or mirrors that come with built in backlighting.

Undercabinet lighting & niche lighting - bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Undercabinet lighting & niche lighting – bathroom renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Installing downlights with a dimmer is always a timeless lighting option. These can be set to point in certain directions to highlight particular areas.

Feature lighting such as LED strip lighting in a niche is the perfect ambient lighting when relaxing in a bath.

Under cabinet lighting is ideal lighting for those middle of the night bathroom visits as this lighting can be set to trigger by sensor and timer to turn on and off with movement and is soft enough to avoid burning our retinas and disturbing the rest of the household (this lighting is especially useful in ensuites).

A single pendant light over a free standing bath is also a beautiful feature.

 

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Master Bathrooms & Kitchens have created many timeless bathrooms in the Hills & Hornsby Districts. We have been renovating homes beautiful for more than 25 years and can offer advice and expertise that only comes from years of experience. Peruse our website for more renovation inspiration and advice or simply call us on (02)9899-9330 to discuss your renovation and organise a quotation today!

See our video below of just some of our beautiful bathroom renovations.