Renovating, updating or building a new bathroom involves many factors. Where does your toilet go? How big should your shower be? Wall hung or above counter basin?
The questions are endless, and the answers are only limited by your imagination.
And then there is the question of tying all the elements together. And there is no better way than with the right colour scheme.
For the sake of your sanity, it’s important to get this part of a bathroom renovation right because the last thing you want is to be unhappy with your new colours and potentially spend more money on renovating a renovation.
Here are two of our suggestions to keep in mind before getting to our list:
1. You want to choose colours that age well and will not leave you wanting to redo everything.
2. If you do want to experiment with a riskier palette, it can be wise to implement these colours on easily replaceable components of your bathroom – it’s a lot easier and affordable to replace an ugly brown tap than say all the tiles. Likewise, you may want to reserve striking colours for accents such as towel rails, robe hooks and so on.
1. Black, White and Everything in Between
Think monochromatic and greyscale.
We start off with the most classic and safest colour scheme of all. You would be fine to implement shades of these colours as well.
Black, white, grey and chrome. These are by far the most common colours in bathrooms.
Chrome and matte black are especially plentiful when it comes to all kinds of tapware, and toilets and basins almost always come in a default white.
With this colour scheme you’ve got:
- A huge number of designs.
- More affordable than most other colours schemes – chrome tends to be the most affordable tapware variation and the most common colours are usually the most affordable.
- The ability to close or open up spaces. Dark colours can make a space look smaller whilst lighter colours can make it look more spacious, and nothing is darker than black or lighter than white!
Tip: Try not to overdo it with too much of one colour. It is all about balance. White tiles go well with a dark splashback feature for the mirror in combination with a white vanity and chrome tapware. Grey tiles can also be fantastic with a lighter vanity along with matte black tapware.
Because of the contrasting colours, this colour scheme lends itself well to exaggerating certain design elements. A primarily white bathroom will automatically push black matte tapware to the forefront.
Don’t be afraid to use other colours with this primary design. If you’re using something lighter like greys or whites, it’s a great idea to use something more vivid like strong browns or even shades of yellow. Moderation is key though – keep these colours to a minimum for maximum effect.
Too much contrast? This black and white design probably takes things a little too far for most people.
Look to implement more subtle shades that open the space up. The darkest blacks are useful for accents.
Monochromatic and greyscale colours used to perfection. This design effectively enhances the smaller details of the bathroom such as the shower glass edges and towel rails.
Not everything has to be overwhelmingly black or grey though. You can opt for a primarily white colour scheme with other colours as the highlights.
This colour scheme uses less black and more whites. The cherry on top is the addition of wooden and brown accents.
2. Shades of Blue
Bring nature into your bathroom with shades of blue. Navy, aqua and even smooth mixes like turquoise are great ways of making elements of your bathroom ‘pop’. Go for lighter blues if you want the bathroom to look more relaxed.
Follow the classic look of a Mediterranean palette – nautical blue colours with white utilities. Think of a pristine white bath with strong blue backdrop tiles or a feature wall.
Tip:Â When used effectively, yellow can go great with a blue colour scheme. Experiment!
This bathroom is all about nature. You’ve got a blue feature wall combined with stone tiles and windows that lets sunlight in.
3. Mocha with Cream Please
When it comes to this colour scheme, think of coffee colours. These tones add warm colours to your bathroom and make it more inviting. They are also great colours for accents. Contrast a crisp white with a cream brown to exaggerate some part of your bathroom.
The white tiles act as a feature and the wooden elements blend beautifully with the mocha palette.
Tip:Â Light colours recede and dark colours advance. Got a low ceiling? Use light tiles to make it appear taller. Want to make your vanity appear to take more space? Use a darker colour against a lighter backdrop.