Bathroom Color Scheme

Bathroom Color Scheme

It may look silly to you to pay so much attention to bathroom color but it can really make or mar your bathroom decor and experience. Red walls being reflected in the bathroom vanity, where you apply makeup, can fool your eye into applying too much red on your face and make you look redder than you want to. Bathroom color choices are a part of color therapy that influences your overall experience in the bath. Bathrooms serve as our refuge from our busy lives, where we can devote sometime only to ourselves, away from all the hassles of our lives and help us to relax and even do our creative thinking while lying luxuriously in the hot water tub.

Choose bathroom paint color according to the taste of the individual, his or her emotional state and the feel you would like in your bathroom such as feeling relaxed or revitalized, energized, formal and royal, cozy, casual, creative or artistic. While deciding the color, it is best to keep a color wheel to consult choosing colors for your bath. There are some color basics that help you in choosing the right bath color scheme. Warm colors energize and are invigorating. Cool colors have a calming and soothing effect. Analogous colors or colors that are next to each other on the color wheel will make bath space look serene and relaxing. Complementary colors or colors that are across each other will give creative, artistic and jazzy look to your bathroom.

Colors schemes with high contrasts such as black and white or white and royal blue make the bath look formal and spotless. Low contrast color combination such as beige and shutter green and mint green and forest green lend a casual look to your bath. Latest trendy bathrooms can change their color according to your mood or the time of day, energizing and invigorating you in the morning and soothing you and helping you to relax before going to bed at night. The fashion in bathroom colors is to create harmonious color palettes, using the principles of color and light therapy, to help you heal and live life at best. There are showers with fiber-optic lights in different colors that can be lit selectively according to the feel you want at the moment, mood lighting in the bathroom and light fixtures that can dim down at night or for relaxing mood but can be very bright when you want them to be can help you have the best bath experience.

Give our bathroom a professional finish by painting it in unique color themes. You may get the inspiration from Nature, art pieces, dresses for a color palette. Even eggshell and pebbles can inspire you for a soft bathroom color palette. If you are choosing a monochromatic color scheme, you can add a visual balance and variety using the accessories in contrasting colors. Choose towels and decorative pieces in a shade lighter or darker than your walls. Do remember that when you are doing makeup in the bathroom vanity area, the colors reflecting in the mirror can fool you eye, whether they are bold or muted. So, you may need to compensate them with other colors for a balanced and natural look.

Colors cast shadows on each other or highlight the contrasting colors. White with beige may look dirtier than white with black. Lilac with blue looks bluer than lilac with white. To balance rectangular or square tiles and countertops, add plants and greenery to your bath to lend asymmetrical and natural beauty and add refreshing accent color to your bath. Tiles on walls and for flooring can also add beautiful colors to your bath. Blue glass tiles recreate the feel of water and sky while earthy green tiles look great for Nature lovers. Use red and other dramatic colors sparingly and with other colors to balance them out for greater effect. They are best used as accessories and towels. However, if you still want to use red in your bathroom vanity area or powder room, choose shades of red wisely such as rose and coral.

Bathroom Colors

Bathroom Colors

Popular bathroom color themes include the colors of wall, tiles, faucets, accessories, towels and napkins and accents such as potted plants. The traditional bathroom colors are neutral that can easily be given different tones according to your taste, just by changing the accent colors, shower curtains, bathroom rugs, towels and accessories. However, fresh linen white seems a good bathroom color idea to many people as it makes the bath look fresh, clean and simple and works well almost all the colors and shades. Crispy white bathrooms with light tranquil blue accents are quite relaxing and have spa-like feel. They can carry clear glass accessories and sterling silver fixtures and hardware finish well.

People who would like elite décor in their baths can choose gold or taupe paint and tile colors with black accents. It can be kept light and airy, if done properly. Bathtub with black exteriors and bisque interiors and edges, polished brass faucets, ginger-glazed medium color maple wood vanities with black granite and bisque sinks, beige color floor tiles and shower walls and accent tiles and chair rail tile all in the same color perfectly compliment the royal color bathroom theme. Creamy white bathroom walls and aqua blues and greens as accent colors remain the popular favorite theme with many people.

White walls and cabinetry, pale aqua floor tiles, accessories in darker aqua shades, towels in complimentary colors and shower curtains having a bit of all the colors as the unifying factor make a beautiful bathroom. If you are decorating a big bath space with high ceiling, you may even add a beautiful sparkling chandelier to the ceiling. Bathroom wall and tile colors of course set the backdrop of your bathroom and are important but if you are on a strict budget, you can do renovation of your bathroom by just adding a colorful bath rug to it! Some quick, easy and inexpensive ways to add or change colors to your bathroom include wall decoupage with vivid and bright color, luminous and freckled tissue paper and coating it with water-based polyurethane.

You may also hang a poster board on the wall and change its colors whenever you want. Repainting the walls and/or ceilings of the bathroom can make it look in just one day. Pretty colorful fabric window treatments and shower curtains can make a drastic impact on your color scheme, so coordinate them well with the walls. You can even customize the empty bare wall with bright batik bedspread in a jiffy. Fun accessories in bright and bold colors such as flower cases or art pieces that are waterproof give a classic touch to your bathroom. Do not put expensive items in heavy-traffic bathrooms such as guest bathrooms as they may get damaged. An inexpensive way to add more color to your bathroom is to put up bright posters with large prints in cheap poster frames. You can find some good and funny bathroom art items in estate, yard and garage sales for bathroom art.

If you are living in rented apartments and cannot change the color of our tiles, use accessories to add accent colors, highlight the colors you like and downplay the ones you don't like. Pastels of old times can be revved up with popular chocolate-brown accessories such as towel racks and curtains. Color of mirror frames can be one such accent color. Do not use dark colors in bathrooms that don't get enough natural light or use ample of artificial light to compensate for it. Dim light in dark bathrooms make them too dark to shave or apply makeup. Too odd a color in the bath can actually look frightening in the mornings, so steer clear of lime green, peach and certain shades of yellow.

Bathroom Countertops

Bathroom Countertops

Counter tops provide additional workspace in the bathroom. Wood is not recommended for bathrooms as it can be damaged by the moisture, so use synthetic material resistant to water, moisture and dampness for bathroom countertops. Bathroom countertops are generally custom made and can be tailored to your bathroom design in terms of color, pattern, size and shape. Thus, they usually take a back seat in bathroom decorating and are made only to provide a workspace near a major fixture such as shower, whirlpool, bath tub or vanity sink. Plastic laminates that are water resistant and are quite decorative are quite popular for bathroom countertops and come in many different finishes and looks ranging from low luster to metallic to high gloss.

Plastic laminated bathroom vanity countertops are generally available with recessed sinks with self rims and under-mounted bowls. However, plastic countertops can get damaged by excessive heat and can sustain scratches from sharp objects or damages from ceramic or abrasive things dragged across them and are not suitable for bathrooms that are accessible by kids. They are easy to clean using soft, non-abrasive cloth and a mild household cleaner but scouring pads, abrasive powders, steel wool and sandpaper can scratch their surface. They can be easily stained too and that too permanently by dyes and other staining products and one needs to apply self cleaning wax periodically to avoid such stains.

They are economical and may prove long lasting, if used very carefully but water seeping in the seams and under sink edges can cause the laminate to separate by damaging the substrate. Thus, they may prove cumbersome to maintain. Bathroom marble countertops look elegant, are functional and have wide range of colors and styles. Cultured marble and cultured onyx is quite popular for bathroom countertops. It has a rugged, hard, waterproof and stain-resistant surface. They can be easily repaired and a little sanding and polishing the countertop can make it glisten like new. The common problem with bathroom marble countertops was crazing or formation of hairline cracks, which has been solved by cultured marble option.

It is easy to clean and polish and a protective coat of wax provides the perfect finish to marble countertops. Avoid using abrasives and scouring powders on these countertops as they can dull its shine. Corian is one of the expensive options for countertops and is made up of an advanced blend of natural materials and pure acrylic polymer. It has a smooth surface, comes in variety of colors, is nonporous, is resistant to mold, mildew or bacteria and resistant to moisture and stains. Corian bathroom countertops are easy to clean and maintain, hypoallergenic, nontoxic and chemically non-reactive. It offers three countertop finishes - matte, semi gloss and gloss. However, heat-generating appliances or hot pans should always be kept on a hot pad or trivet or it can damage its surface.

Corian countertops are easy to restore to its pristine condition using an ordinary abrasive cleanser and a cleansing pad. Granite is quite popular for a high-end and elegant bathroom vanity countertop. Coarse grained pegmatite is stronger than sandstone, limestone and marble and is more difficult to quarry. Granite is very much durable and impervious to water but as it is a natural rock, it can be chipped and broken and is very difficult to repair. Any liquid detergent and warm water can clean granite countertops easily but abrasive cleaners may scratch its surface and dull the finish that can be restored by polishing and waxing the countertop. White marble bathroom countertops are more porous than granite and are easily stainable.

Vessel bowls installed on a glass counter look beautiful and elite but they are difficult to maintain, easily breakable and can often get blemished with fingerprints. They can be cleaned using any standard glass cleaner. Tiled countertops are of course custom made and ceramic tiles are installed on site. Their surface looks attractive and is best for countertops. They are durable, easy to clean, resistant to stains, heat and moisture and very easy to maintain. However, the grout between the tiles may crack and collect bacteria that can prove unhealthy but if tiled counters are properly maintained and sealed well, they can offer good service for a number of years. Counter vessels kept on beautiful countertops can steal the show in a designer bathroom.

Bathroom Cabinets

Bathroom cabinet designs are available in wide range of styles that off optimum functionality and are quite versatile. These cabinets can be customized and tailor-made to your bathroom design and make the best use of the bath space. Base units are functional and look simple but elegant. They can adapt well from modern and contemporary bathrooms with clean lines to classic and traditional bathrooms. They are versatile and flexible and the designer versions of these base cabinet units look quite sophisticated too. The space saver bathroom cabinets look stylish too and are perfect for minimalist bathrooms. Bathroom vanity cabinet or mirrored bathroom cabinets are best suited to small bathrooms that need to optimize space.

Mirrors add the illusion of space to compact bathrooms while providing the storage solution to the bath space. Mirrored bathroom vanity cabinet with simple, sleek and streamlined looks is perfect at home in modern bathrooms. Add a personal touch to your bathroom cabinet by choosing high quality bathroom cabinet options in contemporary styles made up of toughened frosted glass and aluminum and stainless steel frames that look beautiful and are a perfect storage space for the modern bathrooms. Bathroom cabinets provide storage solution to organize your bathroom, keep items of daily use in the bath space such as fresh towels, cleaning accessories and cosmetics and are functional and space saver at the same time.

You can use a space saving bathroom wall cabinet or hand a stylish medicine cabinet above the sink or the toilet. If you do not have much wall space left, you can try bathroom corner cabinets or low floor cabinets that can fir into tiny spaces. Yet another beautiful option is to install designer sink cabinet with impeccable bathroom sink faucets that not only provides extra storage space but hides plumbing too. You can even find a place to keep the bathroom wastepaper bin under the pipes. Illuminated bathroom cabinets with glass front doors are good for displaying your accessories and do ambient and mood lighting by adding soft lights that diffuse through the doors and help you to relax. However, you may install bright lights such as halogen bulbs inside the cabinets to help you find things more easily.

Replace old and bulky bathroom storage cabinets with stylish and sleek hanging cabinets to give your bathroom an instant makeover and free up some floor space for batter use. Hanging cabinets are easy to install in the bathroom too. You may choose from various styles such as country, rustic, Victorian or shabby chic looks. Bathroom medicine cabinets are being increasingly expanding in their function such as more shelves to keep personal accessories, door racks, hidden compartments that provide extra storage space for toiletries and toilet cleaning supplies that are not accessible by or even visible to children, drawers that are easily organized and space to hold larger items such as towels and grooming appliances.

Independent floor cabinets or wall mounted hanging cabinets in the bathroom can determine the space available to you for other uses. Besides the traditional mirrored bathroom cabinet above the sink, cabinets can be installed throughout the bathroom as a practical storage solution and to keep it clutter free. Bathroom vanity cabinets can be topped up with bathroom storage cabinets to help you organize your bath space better. Use your wall space for extra cabinetry. Bathroom wall cabinet can be custom made to meet your requirements such as the size, shelving and partitions. Bathroom wall cabinet designs range from antique to modern and contemporary and the doors of the cabinet can have different finishes to go with your bathroom decor theme. Mirror on the bathroom wall cabinet door or glass door can optimize the functional storage solution and add a touch of elegance to your bathroom.

Bath Accessories

Classy and elegant fixtures and bath accessories can turn your bathroom into a personal retreat while adding a creative and fun touch to your bathroom and may increase your comfort level in the bath too. It is necessary that the bathroom always remains neat and clean and is germ-free. Master bathrooms in modern homes built on larger scale are a popular tend these days and they may be as large and luxurious as the bedrooms in the house so you should pay special attention to the basic bathroom accessories that define the look of the bathroom such as bathroom mirrors, towel holders, shower curtains, holders to keep tissue, shampoo and holders, toothbrushes and paste; soap dishes and lotion dispensers.

While pondering on how to choose bathroom and bathtub accessory, make sure that you do not buy too much or less and that you may keep as many bathroom accessories in luxurious bathrooms as you want, as long as you have enough space for them and bathroom does not look too cluttered or crowded. Do not overdo your bathroom accessories or you may have to compromise on the organized look of your bathroom. Bathroom accessories make bathroom environment more appealing and can be bought based on a theme that goes with your bathroom design and style theme. Right accessories can give a unique, creative and different look to your bath space. A simple bathtub accessory such as a rack that fits on one end of the bath can make the soap and bathing lotions easily accessible to you while bathing and is a good idea.

Replace bathroom furniture set that sits unutilized in the bathroom with functional bath accessories that help you to relax and add warmth and coziness to your bath. Fresh towels kept neatly on a nearby towel rack ready to use after the shower or hanging on a towel holder in the bathroom wall cabinet are just priceless. Bathroom accessories also include aroma extracts and essential oils that soothe you with their fragrances as you massage them onto your body can occupy a place on your bathroom counters. You can recreate the spat at home or add romance to the day and pamper yourself by having a bubble bath in the tub strewn with dried or fresh flower petals or colored soap beads that serve as bathtub accents.

Color coordinate bathroom accessories and towels and you may even use a family of colors such as blended reds, oranges or pinks, with green highlights and summer bathrooms bedecked with youthful yellows. You can find soap dispensers, soap dishes, toothbrush holders and tissue boxes along with other bathroom accessories that can be grouped together as a theme. Find the matching ones and use them to make your bathroom look more attractive. You can change the look of your bathroom every moth or change of season by just changing the bathroom accessory sets and coordinate the colors of bath curtains, towels, hand towels and items around the washbasin items such as candles and magazine racks to go with them.

Magazine racks are for people who love to read while soaking in the bath. Make sure that accessories you are using are easy to clean and maintain and can resist moisture and dampness. A shower massager can help you ease the tension and relax before going to bed and a fog free shower mirror will help you to shave better. Expensive designer baths are creatively planned and indulgent and can use crystal bowl washbasins. A stylish, contemporary but small bathroom can use top cabinets; space saving radiators that can be used as towel rails too and may be a built-in seat for a luxurious touch or comfort place for the elderly. A light, simple bathroom carpet in a neutral shade suits contemporary bath decor much more than a heavy and plush rug. Other types of bathroom accessory ideas include pillar taps, bath panels, floor coverings, bathroom cabinets, shelving, window treatments such as blinds and curtains, towel rails, bins and mirrors.

Bathroom Decor

Bathroom is not considered just a utility these days. They are seen as the room or space that sets the mood of the rest of your day in the morning, where you can spend some time with just yourself and pamper yourself, free from the worries of the world. The master bathroom or luxury bathrooms today include at least a toilet, bidet, two sinks, separate tub and shower, whirlpool or spa and perhaps more. There are half bathrooms that only have a sink and toilet while full bathrooms have bathtub and shower combo along with it. Smaller bathrooms may just have shower area or corner shower stall instead of both tub and shower. Children's bathroom may omit a thing or two but is more colorful and has energetic feel.

Some people love to take a long shower or soak in the tub to relax perhaps with aroma candles and relaxing music to have a spa-like feel in your bath. Luxury items that can be incorporated in master baths are exercise equipments, see-through fireplaces, mini-refrigerators, saunas and even flat panel televisions that can be mounted on walls or ceiling to really pamper you. Master baths are expanding into personal retreats and spas at home are becoming more and more popular. Whirlpools, Jacuzzi, decorative fixtures and real furniture pieces are becoming a part of luxuries that are incorporated in bathroom design these days. Stainless steel sink, medicine chest, bathtub, shower walls, faucets and spigots are popular in contemporary bathroom decor though they are available in wide variety of shapes and materials.

Fixtures in white, biscuit or bone colors are popular while chrome faucets with soft brass accents are the latest trend. Artistic and aesthetic sinks, vanity areas, vessel sinks and sinks made up of hand-blown glass are the fashion of the times. Corner shelves, corner shower with shower caddy, hanging towel bars and medicine cabinets with mirrors are all part of the contemporary bathroom fittings including washbasins in regular round, square or rectangular shapes or unique, creative and artistic shapes. They can be made from stainless steel, glass or ceramic. Steel baths look traditional and are strong and durable while acrylic baths are much more versatile and lightweight. Modern acrylic baths do not feel cold and metallic and are easy-to-maintain. Bathroom accessories make you bath stylish and elegant or fun and relaxing and can be customized according to your taste.

Bathroom light fixtures range from simple to funky and are available in all colors, shapes and styles and you may add dim soft lights for mood lighting purposes in addition to bright light that you use while applying makeup. Bathroom faucets and other accessories help you to define the overall style of the bathroom. Traditional fixtures are more ornate and suit classic, antique, period, shabby chic, colonial, rustic and country bathroom decors while modern fixtures are slim, sleek, angular and ultra-streamlined and look better with high-tech, elite, modern, contemporary and minimalist bathroom styles. Most of the traditional bathroom accessories have fluting or floral designs while modern pieces have geometric or swirl designs.

Sunken marble, Roman style, claw-foot tubs or bathtubs with elongated pedestal base look classic and formal while a rectangular tub with square tiles or curvy whirlpools suit contemporary bathroom decorations. Modern and high-tech bathrooms have streamlined pedestal sinks with plumbing on display, vessel sinks or sinks above countertops while traditional bathrooms have marble sinks, vanity-sink combinations or sinks with embellished pedestals. Plain glass, frosted or beaded shower doors look modernistic while stained glass shower doors look artsy, Victorian or period style. Oak seats and tanks including antique and tall ones mounted high on the wall make bathroom look traditional while modern bathroom interiors call for low-profile commodes mounted on the wall.

People with eclectic tastes or frequently changing taste should choose neutral colors and plain styles that can easily be given a different look by switching a few things here and there. Basic porcelain over cast iron bathtub, porcelain toilet and sink and faucets and showerhead in porcelain glass combinations are traditional. Basic faucets such as chrome brass combinations work best with neutral bathroom schemes. White bathrooms can look both traditional and modern depending on other factors and is a safe choice for every kind of decor. Modern faucets such as gooseneck and waterfall faucets ones are trendy. Remodeling and designing bathrooms for people with physical disabilities require them to be fully functional. High traffic bathrooms should use decorations that are more durable and do not damage easily.