Pretty Bathroom Pics?
I’m looking for photos for inspiration as we’re about to (very quickly) put in a small full bath and fix up another. I’m not mad for the current “modern” look with the tall above-the-counter sinks and the West Elm-type dark wood vanities, but neither does a historically perfect restoration make any sense. (I mean, who really misses 1870s plumbing?) What’s out there besides Apartment Therapy or BH&G?
Amym718
in Bath & Kitchen 12 years and 9 months ago
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8 replies
reader718 | 12 years and 9 months ago
You can also look on the website retrorenovation.com, they are geared more toward mid-century modern or modest, but they always have great resources and ideas for bathrooms.
a_bit_of_brooklyn | 12 years and 9 months ago
Sounds like you already have some great rec’s… just to add in another (local) suggestion, one of the blogs I used to follow a lot is http://www.brooklynlimestone.com/ You can see her bathroom, classic yet modern. She does some great stuff. I’m no the best DIY’r like her, but managed to imitate a similar look on a budget using Home Depot. Good luck!
bklynpwds | 12 years and 9 months ago
elledecor.com has a nice compilation of rooms by style in their lookbook section.
newhouse | 12 years and 9 months ago
Search on Pinterest for photo inspriation.
brokelin | 12 years and 9 months ago
Cate has good advice re: taking the age and style of your home as a starting point…you can never go wrong there, and it is a very good place to start if you don’t yet know what you want. It can also give you great ideas for the style of light fixtures to use as well. I have no photos to suggest, but just a few ideas, as I also hate those modern “bowl” sinks above the counter that splash water all around (and just look silly, in my opinion), and also hate those modern dark vanities. Pedestal sinks are my favorite – vintage is my style, but they also come modern, if that’s your look. They really open up space in a small, or even a not so small, bathroom – there’s visually a lot more floor space, and there is actually a lot more space for your feet and knees when using them and walking around them. They come in a wide variety of sizes, to fit any room. Check out restaurant sinks if you really need a small sink and can’t fit the smallest residential style ones. People tend not to use pedestal sinks in small bathrooms, as they are conditioned by decades of style to think they need a vanity for storage. But small baths are where they really come in handy, as they leave space rather than use it up with bulk. I much prefer to add in storage areas elsewere, and leave what little floor space there is mostly free. In my last place, I had a very small bathroom, and I am so glad the previous owners didn’t put in a vanity, but instead installed a new, rather small but adequate sized, old fashioned style, pedestal sink. They cleverly built in 5 shelves at the end of the tub, between the short wall of the tub and the bathroom door. The shelves were narrow and deep (the depth was over two feet, the width of the tub, the width less than a foot, I think). I put long narrow baskets (the kind made to fit on bookcase shelves) on it to use as if they were drawers, and they held all my toiletries, and then some – far more than any vanity would have held, and I was able to stash my clean towels rolled up on the uppermost shelf. Very useful, and the tiny bit of floor space there was was clear. The only thing I would have done differently was to put in a deeper tub for baths. I currently have an old 40s bath with an old wall hung sink, which I stash a lot of stuff under, some on metal wire shelves, all hidden by some fabric panels that I attach to the underside of the sink with magnets – I get the space of a vanity, but the pretty fabric takes up so much less room visually than any sort of vanity would. I did it for now as I’m not renovating, but I would not use a vanity even if I were to renovate this bathroom – I’d likely reglaze my wall-hung sink and keep the curtain, or install a pedestal sink if I could figure out where to add built-in storage areas elsewhere. I also really like the look of those sinks that are held up by chrome legs, not the narrow, modern style ones, though those exist too, and work well with the style in some spaces, but I like the thick round chrome supports – some have a cross bar to use as a towel bar, some have a shelf underneath for open storage – they also are less bulky visually. I also love my 40s long deep tub with a gorgeous curve at the one corner not attached to a wall. As to tubs, I really like deep old vintage ones – they seem to be way deeper than typical short modern ones. I tend to find them more comfortable for bathing (they seem wider, too) and definitely more stylish looking (in the old fashioned style I like) than modern ones. If I were redoing a bath, I’d look for one of those salvaged, even if it needed reglazing, and find a highly-recommended shop to reglaze. They are deep, but are not as high to step into as clawfoot tubs, which I hate stepping into to shower – I’d never put in a clawfoot, as nice as they look, unless I had a separate place to shower – I also hate the round shower curtain rods you have to use with them. (And, as I hate cleaning under and behind them, I probably wouldn’t put one in even to bathe in.) Of course, if you want jets, you need a modern tub (though most people I know who have them say they never use them.) Or maybe you will find you like the style of some new tubs. Another sink option, especially nice in a powder room, if you have the space, is to use an antique piece of wood furniture for your vanity, depending on how much room you have. You have to find something the right height if you don’t want the bowl-on-top sink look, so the sink can sit inside it, or perhaps you would be inspired to have a piece modified, perhaps raising it with longer legs, or have one made from scratch from wood, to fit your needs. As to tubs, you have to decide which sort of shower you prefer – doors (which I hate showering with and hate cleaning), shower curtains (which I prefer – I use one of the synthetic fabric ones that does not need a liner), or a half wall of glass (which I like the way they look, but haven’t much experience using them.) You also have the option of having just a tile shower instead of a bath…but I prefer to have one nice deep tub, at least, for bathing…and if you want to sell your place to people with small kids, people contemplating small kids, or people who just like to take baths sometimes, you will have at least one bathtub in the place…I don’t like the trend of removing all the bathtubs from homes and just having showers. Though a nice tiled walk in shower is great to have if you have a bathing tub in another bathroom. As to resale, if you think you will ever move, I’d caution against using a lot of color in the tiles – I love color, but not everybody loves the same colors. I see many newly renovated baths that would make me not buy the place. Some are in colors that just look bad, or make the room seem dark. Many modern baths are done with tiles in various shades of tan, which is supposed to be neutral, but I find to be very ugly. My favorite baths are white or very slightly off-white in color – for wall and floor tiles, and for fixtures, with slight accent tiles, if any, in black (or in a similarly non-offensive color, though black is classic and preferable for any accent tiles), though no accent tile, just beautiful tiles, is nice too. Green glass tiles make nice bathroom accents, if you want to have some color. If the bathroom is mostly white, then any later owner can personalize with their own color choices in paint, towels, rugs, etc. You can’t go wrong in using white or off-white. Ditto with chrome or nickel as the metal color – I would pass on any bathroom with gold, brass, or any other color metal used for the faucets, etc. I think you will find more ideas and photos if you focus on searching for small bath ideas, as people need to get much more creative about storage in small spaces, and old house restorations, as in bungalows and craftsman homes, as these folks often also don’t go for a modern look (though everybody uses modern plumbing – that is a wholly separate issue from style!) Have fun designing!
Brooklynista | 12 years and 9 months ago
Try this link instead: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/bath/
Brooklynista | 12 years and 9 months ago
Garden Web Baths Forum: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/bath/ This is a national consumer-oriented forum containing lots of photos of completed projects plus plenty “how to” advice from other consumers as well as designers, tradespeople, etc. Hardly any spam.
deancollins | 12 years and 9 months ago
my wife is a new convert to www.Houzz.com you might want to check them out for ideas.