Pile on the style. What style bathroom should you choose.

A Gif-heavy blog on styling your bathroom, because who doesn’t love gifs?

So, what style should your new bathroom take on?

Some people find that question easy and it remains easy, or it’s easy and then turns hard, or it’s hard but then gets easier, or it’s hard and remains hard.

Learning and understanding what you need, want, and can have, has to be identified, communicated and worked with along with all the other pretty things.

Stylish, classic, or fashionable bathroom?

Classic traditional, pleasant/safe/nice, or ultra-modern bathroom?

Firstly contemporary, or modern – or are they both the same?

Basically (because it’s boring) a ‘modern’ bathroom is a loose term title for a space styled within the last 100 years. Contemporary is ultra-modern, here and now. (and nothing to do with the word contempt) Let’s see some pictures…

Don’t frown. Strictly speaking this is a ‘modern’ bathroom circa 1970

Ok moving on quickly look below. It’s an example of a contemporary bathroom. Cutting-edge style and packed with current trends. Note the lighting dropbox with sectional reveals. Clever, but missed a trick with no moodlights under basin and loo though in my humble opinion.

A Classic ‘Traditional’ bathroom. Google is plentiful with these and they look amazing but looking deep, nearly all will (and necessarily have) harboured modern aspects somewhere in there; screen, loo brush, shelving.

Apart from not being practical or feasible to have 100% one style or the other – you don’t have to do that. There is no exam the room has to pass with a frowning inspector looming over it holding a clipboard. There is no shiny plaque hanging in the balance when he checks if the floorboards that were replaced in your traditional bathroom are from the northern or southern hemisphere. You don’t answer to anyone, and your bathroom style should emulate that.

Being literal and too strictly authentic with a bathroom classification is unnecessary.

At a glance the lovely Olivia’s ensuite (Our last project of 2023) is a traditional bathroom. But its actually a hybrid. A traditional theme with modern aspects. The niche for example is contemporary, as is the floor material (LVT) The tiles, although falling into the ‘Metro’ bracket – these are a flat, matt, and a longer modern take (and quite a bit more practical) and the biggest feature – the walk-in shower, although disguised with the black-sectioned glass is the headline act in the modern bathroom concert. The point I’m trying to make is don’t overcomplicate it. (Unlike this blog) turn up the music and enjoy. Love the antique brass work in this room!

Okay so now what?

For me plotting out the solution falls loosely into three types to begin with.

Lets exclude traditional. It can work really well and is the obvious direction in certain houses.

Then there’s the majority;

“A timeless classic that won’t go out of fashion please.”

However it’s described, that’s basically what the majority of people want. Modern but not too modern, stylish but not too stylish, an all-round-pleaser, safe. I get the picture.

After traditional, what we are left with is tricky to tick all the boxes. Trying to stay ahead of the game armed with ‘Good Housekeeping’s 2024 guide to bathroom styling that will last ten years.’ is unfortunately unlikely. There was a time when shell bathroom suites were the pinnacle of style. I know – I had one. Not too long ago white basins, baths and toilet suites were sneered at for being ‘council’. It was all the rage to have avocado, peach, blue, lilac, and more that got the moustache-sporting husbands, and shoulder-padded wives smirking with pride. Don’t get me started on carpet floors that extended up the bath panels, fluffy toilet seats (with matching loo roll covers) and tiled dolphin wall murals. Funny thing is those wretched suite colours of yesteryear can now be seen across tile ranges (albeit it in more modern designs) and are very popular. Remember that in 20 years when you’re ashamed by the fitters sniggering as he/she/they hack them all off. Times change. That’s a good thing. Seeing pictures of people in flares makes me shudder. 

“Can I get me fourteen yards of the gloss mustard tiles please guv.?”

Believe it or not this is actually a recent install. (Check the bottles on the shelf) The owner – an avid retro-lover had her whole house styled to suit. You have to respect the bravery of knowing what she likes.

So what’s ‘in’ at the moment?

Grey. Grey is in and fair enough – it looks good.

Get overexcited though and take it too far and it will look more like the old Spitting Image John Major sketches. Don’t get carried away. If you want grey, grey and then grey = then breed some life in with some colourful mustard fluffy towels, navy-blue accessories, jade robes or greenery (See foliage or spoilage blog) and good dashes of colour rightfully elbow themselves in on the scene. Fashion and style move in circles, I say join it.

Mustard towels? So ‘in’ and provides bold colour and character to offset a grey-themed bathroom.

Pick what you like, have what you love, here and now. Don’t over-complicate it. Don’t seek what you think is ‘clever-and-safe-for-the-next-owners.’

“Are you moving soon?”

“Oh no, it just makes sense doesn’t it?”

No. Stop it.

People still to this day adamantly state they want a bath kept, even though no one likes/has/wants one. Bathrooms, kitchens – they are no longer cemented-in monuments of the house for 30+ years. It’s very likely the new owners will happily rip out and toss into a skip your universally-appealing fixtures and fittings before you’ve even settled, found and unpacked the lightbulbs that you stole from the fittings on your way out.

I buy bathrooms and kitchens all year long, for around the past twelve.

I’ve seen more of people’s personal spaces (usually within 60 seconds of meeting them), bumped into and trod on plenty of kids, kicked toys (of owners of all ages) avoided noticing strewn underwear, and measured and scoped enough spaces to last a lifetime. My camera roll is amass with toilets, cobwebbed lofts, and recesses as well as the blurred behinds of potential customers scarpering out the door away from the camera.

So deciding my own bathroom style should therefore be easy right? Not so much.

I’ve lost count of the times I walked into the bathroom or ensuite and wanted to rip them out and start again. I love them both but still think it, layout change, style swap, brand and features, the lot. Too much knowledge can be a troublesome thing.

The good news is for our customers is that we possess and offer a cavernous splendour of ideas and suggestions that seem to be received well. It is a fact that I will admit – I love bathrooms and kitchens. With clever use of design, space and lighting and with the right planning and execution they are a marvel to behold, enjoy and show off. We make that happen.

My goal for our customers and their room’s future visitors is simply to make them think “Wow.”

Very achievable style goals. Think outside the box. Or better still – ask me to.

Who has a navy ceiling? I think this room pulls it off. Don’t be afraid to be brave.

Final thoughts:

Seek out things you like, Google will spew out endless images for as long as you can take it. Collect any pictures of any style for your household that pleases. Think about what you need that space to do, and let us assimilate that information and sprinkle you with our own inspiration and see where it goes. I’d like to say the sky is the limit, but really it’s budget. You get out what you put in.