Colour-Coded: Inspiring Coloured Bathrooms

Coloured bathrooms - are back - and their beauty is astounding

The design world has found joy in colour; that excitement translates to our homes and bathrooms. It allows us to appreciate bold colours, soothing pastels, brushed finishes and matte palettes. A world of colour has opened up before us! The last time we saw coloured bathrooms in vogue was in the 1970s. As a matter of fact, Villeroy & Boch was one of the first companies to embrace the fashionable bathroom, working with popular designers at the time to create jaw-dropping, fashion forward spaces that embraced both form and function. Until recently, we've been ripping those coloured basins or baths out of old homes in favour of gloss white. But no longer. Coloured sanitaryware is back in a big way, and we're totally here for it. So how do we style the latest in coloured bathrooms modern and elegantly? Here's some inspiration for styling colour in your bathroom to achieve soft, bold, and unique looks.

Bathed in colour

A gorgeous bath creates drama and luxury in our modern bathrooms, and colour here can be a fantastic way to let your bathtub take centre stage. A freestanding bath brings the wow factor if you have space. We adore the coloured bath range from the luxury German brand Bette, made from the toughest Titanium Steel. Seen here is the BetteLux Oval Silhouette Freestanding Bath. Bette has a real passion for natural elements and sustainable values. Their Special-Order Program allows you to choose from a great colour palette. As well as options for two-toned colours, fabric, and luxury Effect colours. An example is this stunning Blue Satin, which takes on a pearly quality in a hue reminiscent of the sky or water.  

A coloured basin sets the tone

The vanity area is an easy place to create a focal point in the bathroom, regardless of its size, and an above-counter basin cuts a beautiful shape to draw the eye to. Exciting shapes in organic, geometric, or traditional lines help you echo the overall aesthetic of your home. A coloured basin adds extra focus and can help highlight your beautiful tapware. If you're looking for something other than a complete reno, a coloured basin can be a great way to modernise your bathroom. Try soft pastels in sky blue, sage or luxuriously soft pinks for just a hint of colour in an otherwise neutral space. Or try a deep or bright colour for a bold and exciting look. You can make a feature of your basin, leaving the rest of the bathroom primarily neutral with subtle accents to help settle the colour. Or bring in more saturation by coordinating with tiles and/or your bath. This gorgeous BetterCraft Counter Top Basin is hand-crafted from titanium steel and is available in two sizes and more than 500 colours. The sides of the basin are elegant and taper thinly towards the top, so it all feels delicate and organic. Choose from glossy, matte, Bicolour or try their gorgeous Effect colour range (pictured here), which offers a little pearl or shimmer for an extravagant feel.

 

Two colours bring more styling options

A bi-colour bath or basin incorporates a traditional white inside, with colour on the outside. It's a great choice if you have other pieces in white that need to match seamlessly. Choose a bi-colour bath in the Bette Titanium-Steel bath range. Or, for a stunning bi-colour basin, you can't go past the Villeroy & Boch Artis Collection in many gorgeous Bi-Colour shades. Artis is an incredible range of vessel basins in four flowing silhouettes - round, oval, rectangle, and square. The hues range from deep, bold, and bright through to the latest pastel shades and a delicate barely-there soft grey. Artis basins have a silky lustre on the outside and are crisp white inside. It is designed with extremely thin walls made from high-strength TitanCeram.

 

Order a “palette” cleanser

Nothing is more refreshing than white if you have used colour liberally in your bathroom. In fact, in a highly coloured space, white will come forward rather than recess in your room. If the form of your bath or basin (or toilet) is stunning, white will help to emphasise it. This is particularly relevant for the new season's matte white. It serves to enhance shape and surface even more than its glossy counterpart. Matte white adds a textural richness, which is ideally at home with the gorgeous, rounded edges and organic lines we are seeing more and more lately. Matte white adds a sense of understated luxury, it and everything around it feel lovely and touchable. Use it to enhance the shape of your fixture and contrast coloured tapware, or darker tiles. Try Argent's Cast Stone freestanding baths. These baths come in various beautiful shapes in a gorgeous matte white texture. The material is soft like silk but hard as rock - so it will look great for the life of your bathroom. Made from a careful selection of high-quality materials with natural core ingredients, Argent Cast Stone Baths have no joinery. Featuring oval, rectangular, avocado and corner silhouettes.

 

Always bet on black

Black is quickly becoming a staple in today's bathrooms, particularly velvety matte black. Always timeless, black infuses a sense of luxury and elegance. And the styling options are endless. Black contrasts so beautifully with white, complementing the cool marbled tones we see more of this year. If you are inspired to incorporate a range of black bathroom sanitaryware and fittings, accents of wood or earthy tones like stone are excellent here. This helps soften the look and makes it all feel incredibly luxurious. Headlining for its quality, colour and finish, Villeroy & Boch offers a beautiful matte black basin, the Loop Slim Vessel Basin in Ebony. It's available in three flowing forms, including round, rectangular and oval, with a style that will appeal to the modern minimalist. With the overflow slot cleverly positioned at the front of the basin, the Loop Slim design pays particular attention to detail. Pair it with the Villeroy & Boch Subway 2.0 Wall Hung toilet in Ebony, which features DirectFlush technology.

A word on quality

More than just a pretty face, coloured bathroom products should also be highly functional. The last thing you want is to have your look diminished by fading, scratches, and discolouration. Investing in quality will ensure your coloured spaces remain looking good over the life of your bathroom. Premium European lifestyle brands Villeroy & Boch and Bette have always been ahead of the curve. Villeroy & Boch have a rich history of providing quality products spanning 275 years. Bette manufactures their sanitaryware in next-generation Glazed-Titanium Steel coated with their BetteGlaze® finish, designed to be scratch-resistant. and durable, which carries a 30-year guarantee.

Matching coloured bathroom pieces is optional

A common question in the showroom is about matching your coloured bathroom choices. Should you match a coloured basin with the same colour in the bath, shower tray, or toilet? And what about tapware? Or tiles? Our answer is usually, "It depends on the size of your bathroom and the colour you're choosing." Matching sanitaryware can look quite stunning in the right bathroom. Sometimes, though, saturating your colour too much can have the opposite effect you intended. We can also probably afford to be more generous with white, pastel, black or neutral tones than with bolder shades. Every home is different, and clever placement of accents or layers of contrasting shades can be just the thing to lift it all to fabulous! If you'd like some advice about this, feel free to speak with us in the showroom about the size of your space and the colour palette you had in mind.