Bathroom design doesn’t have to be a serious business. Once you’ve met with a bath design professional and sorted out practicalities like layout and storage options, then it’s time to have some fun with the design elements that bring out your personality: textures, colors, and patterns. Color and pattern are obvious ways to add interest, but texture is a design secret weapon that should not be forgotten. Choose your textured surfaces as Goldilocks did – not too hard, not too soft, but just right!
Read on to learn how to inject your own unique style into your bathroom design with textures.
CONTRAST ELEMENTS IN BATHROOM DESIGN
Every room has elements that work together to create a balanced design. Your bathroom design products and surfaces should contrast or complement each other to enhance the overall design. For example, you can add a contrasting feature color to your base, neutral color palette to highlight a particular wall or a storage niche. Likewise, use textures to add another layer to your design or to create a focal point in the room. Bathrooms are, by necessity, smooth, hard places, so contrast this by adding matte surfaces, textured mosaic tile features, natural materials like pebbles or wood, all topped off with soft bath mats and fluffy towels. The copper sink in this bathroom design in East Lansing contrasts in both color and texture to the smooth countertop.
MAXIMIZE WHAT YOU HAVE
If you are not ready for a major bathroom overhaul but just want a fresh look, try adding products that, quite literally, give your bath design a new feel. Textures can change the overall vibe of your bathroom design without having to completely update the room. Add a new mirror framed in metal, pebbles, or a one-of-a-kind locally sourced tile or wood. Change your cabinet hardware from smooth polished chrome to a brushed finish, hammered metal, glass, or a unique material like repurposed buttons.
REACHING OUT
Make your bath welcoming by adding a tactile element to the space, which will make it more inviting to guests and a comfortable space for you. Use textured paint or embossed wallpaper, include a glass mosaic tile feature in the shower, or add a comfortable chair or bench outside the shower in a water-resistant material. Towels and robes come in a variety of interesting materials that add another dimension to your bathroom textures and are irresistible to touch.
RAW MATERIALS
Stone can be incredibly varied in its appearance, without disrupting your design color palette. It has a natural texture and veining that adds interest to floors, walls or countertops and always pairs well with other elements. Stone textured by chiseling or combing can transform walls and floors. Wood looks attractively diverse with its natural knots, grains and intricate flaws. It offers a warmth to bare feet and brings a customized look to vanity cabinets. Pebbles can create a spa like atmosphere in your bathroom when used for a shower floor or wall.
FEELING FLOORED
There is an abundance of materials to shake up your floor. Polished concrete and rubber make a statement while textured stone tiles provide a non-slip surface that will be a delight to your feet. Wood-effect vinyl or tiles offer waterproof alternatives to wood and luxury vinyl tile looks as good as the real thing without the grout maintenance. Add underfloor heating to any of these surfaces to keep your feet toasty warm on even the coldest day.
GOING UP THE WALLS
3D walls look amazing in bath design, especially when the color scheme is monochrome as they add depth to the design without adding contrasting colors. The 3D look is achieved with dimensional tiles with irregular surface depth that come in a variety of styles from concave circular patterned tiles to tiles with a wave effect. Textured glass shower doors will also bring a luxurious feel to a bathroom or include a shower curtain in a textured fabric.
ACCESSORIZE
Sometimes it is the small things you bring into a room that change the style and tone. Make mirrors pop by selecting one framed in mosaic tiles or rope to fit your style or soften a space with baskets or canvas laundry hampers. Add textured glass jars for storing essentials on your countertop or position a plant in a clay or metal pot. Find small accessories that reflect your personality and make you happy. After all, we start and end our day in the bathroom, so your bath design should feel like a retreat.
Bathrooms have been, traditionally, hard, sterile environments, but adding different textures will make it a welcoming, stylish and sensory experience. Textures are also an ideal way to bring your own unique personality to your design. A bathroom design professional will guide you through all these exciting options. Visit our project gallery or contact us today to get started on your bathroom remodel.
