6 easy style tips when renovating a bathroom

Building a home, and in particular renovating a bathroom, is such a personal process. This is why I decided to spend the next few posts in the series taking you behind-the-scenes of a barn conversion that I am currently working on with artist and owner Tara Leaver.

Having discovered how Tara found her feels-like-home in the previous interview, and looked at the brief and Pinterest Mood Board, we are now following the entire renovation step by step.  

Last time we looked at the kitchen designs, and now I am excited to be working on the bathroom renovations.

As a super bonus, throughout the series I will be providing all the interior designs as downloadable pdfs in case you want to recreate any of the styles! Just click the link at the end of the post.

Renovating a bathroom can be a tricky process and a difficult space to design, as there isn't always a clear focal point. This can lead to an either bland or confusing scheme. Taras barn conversion has both a shower room and a bathroom and during this design process I decided to take notes on my favourite style tips! 

Here they are!

 

Choose one area to create your focal point

If the most natural option doesn't work, create a new one. The most successful focal points are either those on the wall opposite the door, or the wall adjacent, facing the swing of the door. If these areas are not suitable, consider using statement flooring and keeping everything else very simple. 

  Define the focal point clearly

A bathroom is full of angles, lines, and hard edges and it's important to look at the space as a whole. Think about what you will use to define the focal point, whether that be a basin & mirror combo, a free standing or central bath, or a feature tiled wall. This is the technique we used in Taras shower room concept. (click the link below to access the free designs)

Blend and extend 

Blend and extend the rest of the bathroom so that these secondary features don't detract from the main focal point. This can be done by keeping any tiles within this secondary area the same palette as the paintwork. Another option is to play down additional features such as window treatments or panelling, so that they don't fight for attention with the main focal point. 

Limit your materials

Limit your materials and consider how they will all work together. There are multiple opportunities in a bathroom to combine several different materials such as wood, vinyl, tiles, porcelain, ceramic and paint but most often less is more. However, it is important to create enough contrasts to enhance each individual design element. I would suggest concentrating on 3 different materials within the scheme.

Consider the flooring

Consider the flooring as a key component of the concept. Unless the flooring is designed as a focal point it can often be overlooked, yet it is responsible for such a large proportion of the finished look. Too dark and the bathroom can look harsh or masculine, yet too pale and the bathroom might appear too bland.

Consider how well the flooring ties in with the rest of the house. Within Taras scheme we chose to continue the wooden flooring throughout the whole house including the bathrooms for added continuity. 

Spend wisely

I would allocate more spending on brassware such as taps and showers as these have working parts that need to function well, and finishes that need to stand the test of time. I would then allocate a smaller, but still significant portion to the main focal point, whether that be a piece of furniture, feature tiles or a free standing bath. Lastly I would spend the smallest portion on sanitary-ware, built-in baths and secondary features.

I hope you found this useful! I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below. In the next post of the series we go behind-the-scenes of bedroom design to look at storage, feature walls, artwork ideas and window treatments.

If you would like to access to my FREE printable bathroom designs, or to simply keep in touch, just click the button below!

Yes please!