When remodeling your bathroom, one of the biggest choices you have to make is whether you want the feel to be traditional or contemporary. While it’s not necessarily something everyone considers from the start of the design process, it’s really important to choose a style, otherwise your bathroom could end up looking confused or cluttered. Both contemporary and traditional bathroom styles can look absolutely stunning, so you don’t want to rush into the decision and wish you went the other way. There are many factors to take into consideration, such as the style and décor of the rest of your house, and how much space you have to play with.
Space
If space is an issue it’s best to stick to a contemporary design as the traditional style often features extravagant, space consuming fixtures and fittings like freestanding roll-top baths. A great way of introducing a luxury feel in a contemporary style is fitting a walk-in shower. It might mean you don’t have room for a bath, but it’s worth spending the money you would have spent on a bath to get a really top-notch multi-jet power shower.
If you’re really short on space, many bathroom furniture designers also offer cloakroom sized items – although the pieces are smaller, they still retain the functionality and design of larger ones, so you don’t feel like you’re compromising on style. To get a really clean, streamlined feel, keep towels in a drawer or cupboard rather than leaving them hanging out, and keep decorative accessories like candles to a minimum. For maximum impact, you can look for recessed LED spotlights, especially if there isn’t much natural light – this will also make the room feel bigger.
If you have a slightly larger bathroom but still want to go for a contemporary style, you can really let loose and experiment. Introduce a feature color such as bright turquoise in accessories and tiles. You could even introduce the color on a feature wall if you’re feeling bold! If you do, it’s probably best to keep flooring plan and other decoration to a minimum, as a strong color can feel overwhelming.
Traditional bathrooms often feature more subtle and neutral colours such as creams and whites, allowing them to easily fit in with the style of the rest of your home.
Matching the Style of Your Home
Most people choose whether to have a traditional or contemporary bathroom based on the decorative style and age of their home. However, if done well, it can make a big impact to have an unexpected traditional bathroom in a modern home or vice-versa. This can be expensive to execute beautifully, though, so if your budget is limited it’s best to stay in keeping with the overall style of your home.
Detail
As is so often the case the devil is in the detail, so to achieve the perfect bathroom style it’s worth concentrating on the little things like taps, plugs and fittings: if you get these wrong it can ruin the entire feel of your bathroom. Both contemporary and traditional taps are usually finished in chrome, but that’s where the similarities end. Contemporary taps are often almost geometric in design and feature clean lines and sharp edges, whereas traditional style taps feature smooth curves and decorative flourishes inspired by the Victorian era.
Rushing your choice and ending up with a style you’re not happy with can be costly in both time and money, so it’s important to consider your decision carefully. If you still are not sure what to go for, have a look at Utopia‘s guide to bathroom furnishing: their suggestions of pieces of furniture for every decorating style are invaluable and are sure to help you decide all the finer details.
View these beautiful bathrooms from Utopia
Featured image post found on John Cullen
