How to get a natural neutral look in the bathroom

Article by Your Home and Garden

Neutral schemes are always going to be easy to live with and have wide appeal when selling. They work across all interior styles and also lend themselves to being dressed up with a pop of colour

Natural neutral

The bathroom is one of the most hard-working rooms in the home, not to mention a big selling point, so it pays to give its design some decent attention. Bathroom design isn’t just about selecting a shower and/or bath, basin and toilet – there are the tiles, lighting, mirrors and storage options to consider, too. Here we have pulled together everything you need to know about neutral schemes to get you excited about your next bathroom project – including bringing non-traditional pieces of furniture and accessories into the space – to take it from functional to fantastic.

Design tips

For a neutral palette to sing in any room, the key thing to consider is texture. A good approach is to design from the floor up – a striking ‘mixed-woodgrain’ porcelain tile (picture 2) laid in a chevron pattern, for instance, would be a fabulous starting point. This would be a great choice for busy families as the material is low-maintenance and the colour very forgiving.

To complement such a graphic floor, a plain but slightly textured wall tile (picture 7) would work best. A wall-hung vanity (picture 11) in a colour hue taken from the floor tile would tie the space together – keeping vanities off the floor also gives the illusion of more space and makes cleaning easy, too. To bring texture into the scheme, woven baskets (pictures 3, 8) for storing towels, toilet rolls and so on can be added, and your bath towels themselves add texture; keep this in mind when choosing tumblers, dispensers, soap dishes and accessories (pictures 1, 5, 6, 9, 12), too.

A pop of green would look stunning with this neutral scheme, provided through a potted leafy plant (picture 10) or a vase or bottle containing a palm frond or two.

Words by: Vanessa Nouwens. Photography by: Chris Warnes/bauersyndication.com.au.