I was visiting my friend Sarah’ bathroom a few weeks ago drinking a cup of tea whilst trying very hard not to spill anything on her beautiful new floor when it finally clicked. You know how sometimes you walk into a room & think “wow – this is great” but you’re not quite sure why? That was me – bobbing up and down in my socks thinking this: She’d managed to create a bathroom that felt totally on-trend & current but wouldn’t look dated in a few years time.
Sarah had been talking about renovating her bathroom for months – eight months! All that time preparing; weeks tearing her hair out about what tile size to choose; piles of mood-boards stuck up on her kitchen wall. Honestly – when she showed me all of these images of vanities, clean-lined bathrooms & beige tones etc I was fully convinced she was paving the way straight into boring town.
Neutral coloured bathrooms can be chic AF but equally a total snooze fest – and trust me when i say – anyone who owns (or has lived in) a neutral bathroom will tell you that the BEST thing to happen to any interior designer is them taking a deep breath and realising there is such a thing as TOO neutral. BUT – there i was that morning (& slightly damp from my previous mis-adventures!) and it all made sense.
Sarah had mastered what i had failed to realise during my many years renovating homes: The difference between following trends vs creating something timeless.
Don’t get me wrong – i know trends well! I’ve spent a small fortune educating myself over the years. Believe me when i say i was FOMO-ing hard over all of the herringbone subway tiles when we first moved into our house in Armley.
THEY LOOK SO GOOD IN THE INSTAGRAM PHOTO – an utter nightmare IRL. They sucked up all of the moisture & by the end of year i was BORED of looking at those nasty grooves. EVERY.
SINGLE. TIME. i moaned about having to clean them Phil simply said “well you should have listened to me”. Sarah stuck with large subway tiles but did what most homeowners don’t take enough time to do – considered how the materials aged over time.
White oak for her vanity base – not painted; not stained some trendy colour that’|ll look ridiculous in Three years time; natural, raw wood doing its job. Those are tones that only get richer with age vs chip off or fade like our nasty painted vanity we had in our last flat. Same concept with the stone.
Instead of going super high-shine and then having every water mark & fingerprint on display she went with honed marble. I could go on forever about the choices she made – but honestly – it all came down to planning for how she would USE the room daily and designing around that instead of Pinterest. Does everyone need extravagant tile patterns?!
3000 pipes in the ceiling?! A steam room?! Of COURSE not!
Light-plan!! Plumbing!! Storage!!
Materials that can stand up to everyday life!! Good lord i sound like my dad. Hang on – let me explain.
Fixtures Sarah chose beautiful brushed brass hardware throughout. I love, love loved that she went warm but not too IN-YOUR-FACE brass; substantial but not overly fancy. And the actual taps have presence to them – none of this cheap, flimsy junk that starts to wobble after six months.
Don’t get me started on the plastic-accented ones from B&Q that wiggle around when you touch them.. Pour yourself a glass of wine and accidentally bump them? Ruined.
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There’||s NOTHING worse than the feeling of fancy-schmancy being ruined by a wobbly tap. Showers She did AN AMAZING job on her shower too. No crazy digital panels that will malfunction within Three years & cost hundreds to repair.
No steam function that sounded cool until you realise how much it’s going to punch your bank account. Instead – she nailed it with great water pressure (we all know how that can suck!) an rain head that isn’| too big for the space (spraying water all over the floor), AND a handheld on a slide bar. And speaking of rain heads – haha – yes she used one.
BUT – the glass is CLEAR! Thank you for educating me Sarah – but it took me five years to realise WHY textured glass is never a good idea.. It traps soap scum.
You’|| hate looking at it. Lighting Okay lighting in bathrooms are NOT my strong suit – but she’|| figured it out and i needed to share. 3 types of lighting; all on separate switches; all dimmable.
Yes dimmable (not a huge fan of blasting yourself with closet lights in the morning..). Recessed up-lighting on the ceiling for overall bathroom use; sconces either side of the mirror to prevent yourself from looking like a vampire whilst applying makeup; and that cute little pendant light above the bath that makes bath time again feel like a treat. We’ve been in too many bathrooms that someone went nutty over tile & now they feel sick of looking at them every.single.day. colour palette: Last – but certainly not least.
Colour! It was super muted. Warm white walls; natural stone; wood; easy grey & brown tones in the soft furnishings.
Nothing begging for attention; nothing that was going to date her space. It was funny because as we were chatting i kept thinking of all of these bathrooms I’|| been in that got it SO wrong.. Bold wallpaper when all of the walls aren’| big enough; super trendy sinks; mad tile choices that look incredible on instagram but literally EVERYWHERE right now.
We ALL know how those turn out. Storage was everything we dreamed of – everything had its place. Deep drawers with actual sections inside (not just one huge space for everything to mingle together); linen cupboard with adjustable shelves; AND –genius- toe-kick drawers built into the bottom of her counter where she can store extra towels etc out of sight.
Every item had its ‘home’ so counter tops stayed clear & the whole bathroom felt less cluttered. Something we are STILL trying to do in our bathroom – every time i look at our counter top it looks like Wilkos exploded all over the place… The bath itself was simple yet beautiful. Not a trendy slim-line shape; not some artsy statement piece that will probably sink in photos but isn’t practical to actually use….
This bath was deep; long enough to stretch out if you wanted too & wide enough to feel comfortable but not so big it overpowered the room. FORM FOLLOWING FUNCTION = NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE. Ventilation – something i think about way more than most humans.
But even in this department Sarah did not disappoint.
Instead of opting for the smallest vent fan that would “kind of work” or trying to replace a window with an expensive air unit; she chose a legit exhaust fan that was the RIGHT SIZE for her room; along with a small window that actually opens. Moisture is public enemy # when it comes to bathrooms and planning for it ahead of time will save you from a world of headache down the road.
Just ask us – our first bathroom ended up with disgusting black mould around the window from no ventilation! All of these little things added up to a bathroom that was…. TA DA!
Staying on trend WITHOUT being trendy. As trends come back to earth band minimalist bathrooms (whenever the next trend is) (NOT sorry Jim.) her bathroom will STILL look modern & well put together. So what’s the secret?
Planning for how you LIVE in a space vs how you want it to LOOK when you visit friends. Basics; quality materials; good lighting; built-in storage. Classics. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Image credit: Amelia Wood Interiors
