5 bathrooms that embrace colour

Forget wall-to-wall white, colour has taken up residence in the bathroom. These real spaces approach colour in different ways.

Bathrooms, historically, have been guilty of being a bit bland – whether that’s down to the permanence of fixtures and fittings in this space leading to less bold choices; just a sense that this space should be clean, sparse and sterile; or a reaction to those avocado and candyfloss coloured bathroom suites of the 1970s.

In recent years, however, colour has returned in a big way to these spaces, with manufacturers taking risks with coloured fixtures and homeowners introducing colour into the bathroom fearlessly.

Guest of honour

As guest bathroom is the perfect place to use colour, without the risk of those using it everyday getting weary of a bold look.

This is exactly what Day True did in the renovation of this former small coat storage space in a spare bedroom, using colourful tiles from Popham which captured the homeowner’s bold personalities, and added some energy to this compact space.

Biophilic design

Colour is a great way to connect a space with nature and evoke biophilic design in your bathroom – using colours that echo natural environments to spark a memory of the enjoyment of those spaces.

The key of this ‘Disappearing Bathroom’ project by Manyu Architects is the window view of the garden – so much so that moveable joinery used for the door allows a through-line of vision through the house to this window, while the bathroom fixtures remains hidden. This textured green paint helps to blend the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Sparking joy

Created in collaboration with Ripples bathrooms, blogger Geraldine from Little Big Bell’s pastel bathroom uses colour more subtly.

Soft pinks and blues keep the scheme appropriately calm for a bathroom, while yellow accents ensure it’s a space that infuses its users with energy, especially important first thing in the morning.

All in on colour

For those fearful about using colour in a bathroom space, the odd accent in a neutral space can work well. However, colour confidence is the new black, and bold, more-is-more schemes in the bathroom are a direct response to the uninspiring, plain bathrooms of recent times.

This scheme, created by Rebirth at Cuschieri Architects and fitted with brass fixtures from Drummonds, is an explosion of texture and the colour green.

Floor stories

In this renovated former Monastery in Italy, the bathroom combines modern features with classic, rustic elements of local design.

The textured, lime washed walls create a striking contrast with the clean lines and bright white ceramic finishes of the bath and sink, leaving the floor to bring colour and pattern into play, choosing a natural palette in an intriguing design.