Grey has officially become THE trendy neutral for bathrooms. While I love grey. All grey really isn’t created equal.
Grey that envelops you in a cashmere hug is good. Grey that makes you feel like you’re washing your face in a hospital shower is bad. Over the last couple of years I’ve dabbled with grey bathrooms, learned from my mistakes, and have come up with a few tricks to make your grey bathroom feel awesome.
Grey that makes you feel calms and relaxed is good. MY GREY WASHROOM DISASTER About 3 years ago I got sucked into the charcoal subway tile craze.
Everywhere I turned I saw these insanely gorgeous charcoal tiles.
Dark lord cried when I had to pry me away from them. I ordered the tiles online (mistake number 1), had the cheapest white grout installed (mistake number 2), and painted the walls what I thought was a “warm dove grey” but turned out to be more of a “sad pigeon forgot it was winter grey”. When I stepped back to admire my handiwork I immediately wanted to relocate to the kitchen sink.
GREY IS NOT THE PROBLEM The problem wasn’t grey walls. No my mistake was creating a cold, monotone box. There was nothing to anchor the room or give it any warmth.
No texture. No contrast. Blech.
Everything I chose was the same tone of grey just in different material. It was boring and felt like something out of the penmanship workbook we had to trace back in grade school. TIP: Warm greys are your friend.
To warm greys I’m talking about greys with brown, beige or even slightly purple undertones. The kind of grey that doesn’t make you feel like you need to scrub away at your teeth. Once I repainted that wall Benjamin Moore’s Classic Grey (yes it is a warm grey despite it’s name) I was shocked at how different the whole room felt.
Same tiles. Same sink. Same counters.
But suddenly it was somewhere that I enjoyed spending time in. THE DETAILS Paint colour is just the foundation. Natural materials are what bring your grey bathroom to life.
Woah! Look at how that big-ass oak floating shelf I added breaks up all that grey. I got lucky and found this at my local timber merchants for $45.
I could have easily found something similar at Home Depot or Lowe’s but there is something about the wood grain that gives it some contrast to the grey and makes the space feel more organic. Also organic? This little river rock shower mat.
This was another lucky find on Amazon. It was only $22 and is so nice to step on each morning. It gives you that nice textural surprise that offsets all the hard surfaces and brings the room down a couple of notches.
It also drains super easy and doesn’t feel like I’m trying to hide something filthy underneath. Installing this nice warm brass light fixture was the biggest game changer of them all. Now everyone is saying brass is the new “IT” material.
And yes it is. But it’s been around for awhile. Brass works so well with grey because it counteracts the cool tone of the grey with a warm hue.
However, I didn’t want to spend an arm and leg on brass fixtures. I found a local bathroom outlet that sells-brand new- fixtures for half of the retail price. Ive had mine in for 2 years now and I still smile every time I glance at them while washing my hands.
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I think the number one mistake most people make with their grey bathrooms is lighting. You CAN NOT have a beautiful grey bathroom with harsh overhead lighting. I did this when I first installed my shower and it killed the whole room.
It was so glaring and unforgiving. Grey rooms NEED soft lighting. In place of boring overhead lighting, I like to layer my lighting.
First, I have a backlit mirror that I use for task lighting. It puts off just enough light that I don’t cast any weird shadows. I put some LED strip lighting underneath my oak floating shelf.
It puts off the softest glow. And finally, I added a table lamp on my windowsill. I know, I sound nuts.
But trust me. On gloomy mornings that warm light that floods my bathroom is what makes me feel like I’M ready to take on the day vs. preparing for an operation. Soft textures help break up all the hard stone and tile surfaces.
I love adding soft elements to a bathroom. I have a large chunky knit bath mat (machine washable! ), fluffy white towels (yes I actually replace them every once in awhile so they don’t look crappy), and this teeny wooden stool with a woven bottom that I sit on if I’m wearing socks or use to hold my clothes. Another trick to making your grey space feel more inviting is to add a plant.
I say trick because it can be tricky to find the right plant. If there is one thing that kills me, it’s dead house plants. I murdered three before I finally found one that could handle the heat and humidity of my bathroom.
Thirsty foliage lover! My ZZ plant is currently residing on my oak shelf. It’s perfect because it doesn’t require much light and can tolerate my occasional raging steam sessions.
Try to stick with only one healthy plant. A bunch of sad, dying plants are worse than no plants at all. Who knew that water temperature would make or break your grey bathroom?
Nope. Me either. But trust me, it matters.
I added a small heated towel rail. (It’s not just for looks ladies. It’s great for chilly winter mornings.) And for extra zones underfloor heating. Don’t hate!
I promise it’s worth the money. There is nothing worse than stepping out of a hot shower and onto freezing tile. Warm floors = warm bathroom.
Mirrors are also key in making your grey bathroom feel larger and more welcoming. I have two mirrors in my bathroom. The large rectangular mirror is hung over the sink and the smaller round mirror is hung on the opposite wall.
Having two mirrors create this sense of depth throughout the bathroom and really helps reflect the light.
One mirror just isn’t enough and your bathroom will feel closed off like a cave. The biggest thing I learned while sprucing up my grey bathroom was to focus on adding warmth, not finding that one special thing that was going to fix it.
Use warm paints colours. Add natural materials. Use ample lighting.
Mix in some soft textures. And don’t forget those finishing touches. You will be surprised at what a difference these things can make to your grey space.
Don’t feel like you have to do everything at once. I slowly added things to my bathroom over the course of about 6 months. Trust me, it will save you some headaches when you figure out what works and what doesn’t.
