Design Ideas for Bespoke Bathrooms

The bathroom is undoubtedly one of the most important rooms in the house. When it comes to selling, this room and the kitchen are often under more scrutiny than any of the other rooms. Bathroom renovations can sometimes be pricey so, for a prospective buyer, having a clean, stunning bathroom already installed instantly equates to savings on renovations. An unappealing bathroom can be an instant turnoff for potential buyers, too.

If you’re not looking to sell, then bringing a dated or shabby bathroom into the 21st century can improve the entire design dynamic of your property. It can also make your life a lot more comfortable and decadent. Changing that old bath and shower head unit into a wet room or quality bathroom suite can create a real ‘wow-factor’ for your guests and make the mornings, afternoons and weekends far more relaxing.

Even just changing the small things like tap fittings, radiators or adding some contemporary bathroom accessories can make all the difference. There’s so much that can be done to improve your bathroom, it can be hard to decide which options to go with. With that in mind, here we provide you with some design ideas for your bathroom; whether you need a full fitting service or just some ideas before you get your own bathroom supplies.

Traditional Bathroom Décor to Suit The Rest of Your Property

If you live in a period property, Victorian townhouse, picturesque cottage, or you’ve just opted for an antiquated style of design throughout your home, you might want to tie everything together with a traditional bathroom. Keeping design consistent is generally best practice, creating a sense of balance and unity throughout the house. Without this cohesion, the design of the property could feel disjointed.

Starting with the flooring, using traditionally Victorian materials creates an immediately antique feel to the room. Solid wood and laminates aren’t usually suitable for bathrooms as the humidity can cause the material to warp and discolour quickly. However, some hardwood is suitable and can be a great design option. It’s worth consulting a manufacturer or fitter first to make sure the material is apt.

Another popular option to create a Victorian aesthetic within the bathroom is to tile the floor using traditional styles. One of the most obvious options synonymous with the period is the classic black and white checkerboard floor. Simple black and white tiles running diagonally across the floor creates a real sense of elegance. Coupling this with a chandelier and plain white tiles running up the wall creates a stunning shell for the rest of design to fit beautifully in. Alternatively, deep green tiles have the same traditional significance and are a bolder, more rich option.

Now, for the important part. Which parts would work well in this setting? One of the most striking fittings to include in a traditional bathroom is a freestanding bath. Sat in the very middle of the room, with a ‘claw-foot’ stand, this emulates tradition like almost no other bathroom appliance. If you also want to fit a shower over a freestanding bath, you can use a metal shower ring from the ceiling. This is an essential fitting but also adds to the overall aesthetic of the room. Other options to create a traditional feel to the bathroom might be a high-level toilet with a pull-chain flush.

How a New Bathroom Can Add a Modern Touch To Your Home

If you’re not into traditional styles or your home has a more open-planned design to it, you might want to bring that contemporary feel into the bathroom too. A great way of achieving that is by installing a wetroom.

Wetrooms create a real impact on your property, it’s a space that exudes style, luxuriousness and modern design. Also, it’s been one of the leading bathroom trends this year.

Not only do they look incredibly stylish, but they are practical too (rare bedfellows, to say the least). A wetroom provides an accessible shower space for children or those with problems getting around. With the floor of a wetroom being level as well as slip-resistant, there’s little to no chance of too many accidents and those who find it difficult to get in and out of the bath or shower simply have to walk into the room!

Another reason to install a wetroom is that it gives you much more versatility when it comes to design. By taking the bath and shower enclosure out of the equation, there’s much more space to play with. This versatility means that you can work with the shape of the room, create a sharp, minimalistic feel throughout the space and starting looking at contemporary bathroom accessories from exciting new brands. Think waterfall shower heads, the possibility of integrated lights and music or even a tiled seating area.

In terms of aesthetic, dark colours are really fashionable for larger wetrooms at the moment. Although you might not expect it, many people are opting for black and grey wall tiles, offset with white floors, sinks and toilets. It’s unconventional but elegant.

Using natural stone is another in vogue option for your wet room. A large natural stone sink can act as a beautiful and timeless centrepiece for the bathroom and the material brings nature effortlessly back into a contemporary setting. Combining this with some plants is a good way to create a consistent natural feel.

Finally, creating a seamless design for the wetroom can create a larger sense of space. Reducing the number of elements to the bare minimum, using block colours - like marble tiles throughout the walls and floor - reduces the number of breaks in the space. This makes the room look larger than it is, lets more light in and creates an almost spa-like aesthetic.

Bathroom Designs To Fit Big or Small Spaces

Whether your bathroom is big or small, there’s no need to scrimp on design. For a smaller space, one of the tricks of the trade is to deceive the eye with perception. If you tile the side of the bath and the wall behind the bath with the same pattern, it can seem as though the space is bigger than it is in reality. This trick makes it difficult to distinguish where the boundaries are. Similarly, using the same tiles for the walls and floors also makes the room seem larger than it actually is.

In terms of the bathroom accessories, it’s worth looking at freestanding tiered storage units to save on the space of installing cupboards and draws. Freestanding units are the perfect remedy to a tiny bathroom and are still practical. When it comes to mirrors, ditch the mirrored cupboard in place of a wall hanging which will give you more wall and floor space.

Bigger bathrooms don’t have the same restrictions as smaller bathrooms, however, they still require thought out planning for the design. First of all, the functionality of the room needs to be thoroughly thought through. If you find yourself having to stride across the room to grab your toothbrush or towel before being able to use it, something is probably amiss. Before designing the room, look to create areas for each function; a space for towels near the shower, a space for face-wash and toothpaste above the sink, maybe a bookshelf near the toilet. It might seem obvious, but you don’t want to get to the end of the design only to realise you’ve got everything the wrong way around!

Most importantly in terms of design, with such a large space to consider, you need a strong focal point to draw the eye. This could be a large freestanding bath, a large floor to ceiling mirror or a statement sink. Whatever you decide on, having a focal point for the eye is key in creating a ‘wow’ factor in such a large space.

Who We Are

For much of the past century Bells Kitchens & Bathrooms has been a leading business in the South London community. Located in the same premises since 1919, we are a family-run business specialising in bathroom and kitchen design and installation. We work with some of the very best manufacturers in the UK and can help with anything you need, regardless of whether you’re starting a build or doing simple renovation work.

In everything we do, we always put you, the customer, at the forefront. Our expert staff will work with you to design the perfect kitchen or bathroom for your home. We even provide a free planning and design service! Whether you need bathroom supplies or bathroom accessories, we’ve got exactly what you need.

To see some of our handy work, you can visit our gallery for some inspiration. If you like what you see, contact us today for a consultation and we’ll be happy to work with you. You can find us at 169 - 171 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8HY, or call us on 020 8693 2223.