You know the look. White walls, round mirror, some painfully minimal lighting, maybe a little plant in the corner that’s somehow still alive. Scroll through any “bathroom inspo” feed, and it’s like the same room just keeps showing up wearing different towels. Sure, everyone wants a bathroom sanctuary, and that’s totally understandable!
But it’s not that those bathrooms are bad. They’re clean, they’re tidy, and they definitely photograph well. But somewhere along the way, everyone started chasing the same exact vibe. Now it feels like half the bathrooms out there were designed by the same overly polite Pinterest board.
But generally speaking, a bathroom doesn’t have to look like a showroom or a skincare ad to feel good. It can be fun. It can be weird. It can even have a little attitude. The best bathrooms are the ones with a bit of a personality crisis in the best possible way, where you walk in and it actually feels like someone lives there.
Image credit: Pexels
Stop Trying to Win at Bathroom Design
Somewhere in the process of renovating, a lot of people start designing like there’s going to be a panel of judges scoring every tile choice. You already know this, but nobody’s handing out awards for the most neutral color palette or the straightest grout lines.
If everything looks too perfect, it just ends up feeling cold. Too stiff. Too much like you’re about to be handed a robe and asked to sign a waiver before using the tub. Real bathrooms should have quirks. Something on the wall that makes you smile. A mirror that’s just slightly off-center and somehow works. A rug that’s way too soft for a room with that much humidity, but you love it anyway.
Okay, these are just examples, but you don’t need to strive for something from a magazine.
Match Where It Matters, Mix Where It Doesn’t
Coordinated doesn’t have to mean cloned. No, really, it doesn’t! It’s not that everything needs to be one big matching set. In fact, when it is, things can start feeling a little sterile, like it was all ordered from the same aisle at a department store, right down to the towel hooks. Do you really want that?
That being said, it does help when the main stuff works together. For example, the sink, toilet, bath. These are the pieces that set the tone. This creates that bathroom suites sort of look. How? Well, they pull things together without making the whole room feel like it was assembled with a barcode scanner. But outside of that, don’t try to match too much, or else the room will look flat and boring.
Make it a Room You’d Actually Want to Be In
Now, a lot of bathrooms are built to be tolerated. They’re functional, a little chilly, and just neutral enough not to offend anyone. But they rarely make you want to hang out. And while no one’s suggesting you eat dinner in the tub (unless that’s your thing), there’s no reason the room where you start and end your day should feel like a dentist’s waiting room.
If you’re looking for some unique bathroom inspirations, check out these beautiful bathrooms with panelled walls, or these gorgeous pink bathrooms!
Leave a Reply