4 Principles for Creating the Perfect Bathroom

In this week’s blog post, I want to focus on a room that doesn’t normally get that much attention.

The Bathroom.

We spend a lot of time here and so it is important to ensure this room is not only fit for its purpose, but aesthetically pleasing in the right way.

So how exactly do we create the perfect bathroom?

I have collated my four top principles for creating the perfect bathroom in this post to help you transform your home and make the most of your space.

If you haven’t done so already, I’d highly recommend you check out my post on how you can make your bathroom look and feel like a spa!

Let’s get started!

Neutral vs. Clinical

The first principle to creating the perfect bathroom is deciding on the perfect colour palette and materials for the room.

Many people associate a white clinical-looking bathroom with being the cleanest and most simple in terms of its design execution.

And whilst I tend to agree with this, there are a lot of ways you can bring pops of colour or muted tones of colour into the bathroom whilst keeping this clean feeling.

Instead of using white as the foundation and base colour for the entire room, why not choose a neutral tone? A muted beige, sage green or even grey can work extremely well in absence of crisp white.

If keeping your bathroom as minimal and clean as possible is your end goal then sticking to a crisp white bathroom with accent colour is definitely the way to go. Add colour through the blind, towels, bath matts and even soap dispensers.

To add muted colours to your bathroom, try feature splash-back tiles to the sink or shower walls. You could even paint your cabinetry in a feature colour to really stand out from a neutral background / base.

Or you could consider making a feature of the vanity units and adding timber to the bathroom. Always make sure it has been sealed correctly for its environment though!

Simplicity

The second design principle to creating the perfect bathroom is simplicity.

The bathroom has an almost “set-in-stone” purpose. You wash, revitalise and use it for practical bodily reasons.

Unlike many other rooms of the house, this is the one room where there’s no confusion as to what its key purpose is or how you use it. For example, your living room could be connected to other rooms such as the dining room or kitchen. This can add difficulty in understanding its key or primary purpose.

It perhaps goes without saying that my recommendation is to only keep necessary items in the bathroom. Strip it back to the absolute basics of its main purpose.

In addition to this, it can be very easy to overthink the design of bathrooms. Of course there is going to be a restriction on the amount of space you may have and need to make allowances for that. But in terms of it’s overall look this is one room where overthinking shouldn’t exist.

For the ergonomics of the bathroom, try to position the sink / basin / vanity unit so you open the door to it. There is nothing worse than opening the door to a bathroom and the first thing you see is the toilet!

Clever Storage

This design principle for creating the perfect bathroom is particularly prominent for more smaller spaces.

From both personal and professional experience, the more bathroom storage you can incorporate into the design of the room, the better.

For example, instead of hanging a normal mirror above the basin, look into mirrored storage cupboards. These not only give you more storage space, but helps to make the room feel bigger too.

Another way you can add storage into the bathroom is through the clever use of furniture. Whilst it is stylish, modern and super sleek to have a “floating” sink, this doesn’t give you a lot of useful storage space.

If you’re super keen to keep a modern and sleek basin, combine this with mirrored integrated storage above.

Lighting

Last but not last, Lighting is the fourth and final key principle to creating the perfect bathroom.

If it’s available, natural light should be the top priority. Let in as much natural light as possible, not forgetting a stylish blind or shutters for privacy!

Make sure to include large mirrors above your sink / basin / vanity unit to ensure all natural light can bounce around the room. This is the best way to guarantee the perfect lighting here.

Otherwise, recessed spot lights in the ceiling are perfect. The size of your bathroom will massively impact the quantity required, and also the strength of bulb you will be using. It is important to plan how many light fittings and choose bulbs appropriate for them and the space.

You can also use decorative wall lights either side of the mirror for added ambience. These can be particularly useful for applying makeup!