Adding soothing, neutral accents to your bathrooms

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Published Date 6/11/2024

It wasn’t that long ago that bathrooms were simply “necessary rooms.” Usually one per house. Kids lined up to take baths once a week. And adults simply retreated there for a few hours with a newspaper in hand because it was the only privacy they may have been afforded on a given day.

Today’s “spa-like” bathrooms are not only the rule, but have also evolved into high-functioning, high style getaways. More than a few pieces of plumbing, they have become bejeweled style statements as well. Realtor’s Larissa Runkle searched Instagram and came up with a few looks that embody an upscale, neutral aesthetic but are anything but average.

The first employs the embrace of olive. The color, not the food.“Olive green vanities are here to stay,” says designer Amanda Wiss, saying adding this color to your bathroom is a subtle nod to the natural world, helping to ground a room that is usually stark white. If you don’t have the budget to buy an olive green vanity, she suggests a repaint of your current one with Dark Olive by Benjamin Moore.

Did you know wooden tubs and other wood elements of bathrooms began to disappear after the great Spanish Flu pandemic back in 1918? It was determined that wood was unhygienic for personal use, as it could absorb bacteria. Now? Wood is still a great look in a bathroom in the form of a chunky, rough-carved mirror. “Adding organic materials like wood to your neutral-colored bathroom is the ideal way to create a biophilic design or traditional design,” says designer Peg Hemzacek. “A wood-framed mirror with an ornate design helps balance out the metals and tiled surfaces and also adds warmth.”

Anyone who catches episodes on HGTV will tell you that shades of green seem to have become the new neutral, especially in bathrooms. For those who love neutrals with a more high-end spin, green tiling is guaranteed to deliver the wow factor, especially as a bold accent. “Bringing curves and lines together in a bathroom design creates a pleasing, naturalistic flow to the space,” says Hemzacek. “Selecting a backsplash bathroom tile in an art deco style in a neutral shade like green, brown, and cream will achieve that soothing flow in your room.”

High-style fabric wallpaper can add both warmth and style to any bathroom. “Walls are often a missed opportunity—especially in a bathroom, a fabric wallpaper can add some much-needed softness and texture,” says Wiss. “Fabric wallpaper can add so much dimension to your bathroom without even needing a pattern printed on it. Just be sure to get one that won’t capture too much moisture.”

If you like shelving in kitchens, you’ll love it in your bathroom. When a small bathroom needs a unique flourish, nothing does it quite as well as a gallery shelf upon which you can hold a mix of decor ranging from art prints, vases, plants, candles, or books while still adhering to a neutral theme. Deep shelving can hold towels and elegant toiletries. Vintage pieces rock, and anything in olive green, dusty rose, or terra cotta are the ticket(s), according to Heidenry.

Now that you’ve gotten creative with colors, fabrics, and finishes that are easy on the eye, show them off with some spiffy accent lighting. Under-shelf and under-cabinet lighting are especially handy when entertaining, offering guests a bathroom that is softly pre-lit for their use during their visit.

Realtor, TBWS

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