10 Steps to a Sumptuous Bathroom
Consider These Bath Trends to Elevate Your Bathroom This Spring
Lately, on Instagram, we’ve noticed a tale of two bathroom design trends: The rustic bath and the glam bath. While there are some bathrooms that meet in the middle, most tend to lean either one way or the other. Unfortunately, either design style can easily veer off track into cheesy – or gaudy-ville if not completed with premium materials and a design game plan. Whether you want to create a glamorous bathroom—one that conveys you’re of good stock, old money, and high class (even if you’re absolutely none of these things)—or a rustic bathroom that will have visitors convinced there are rolling hills with wildflowers and cattle just outside the window (even if there are only brownstones and designer dogs), we have some tips:
1. Select a sink that sings.
This is the first order of business because Instagram-worthy bathrooms often start with the basin, which will then help influence your vanity and/or countertop selection. The multi-award-winning Trough 4819 by Native Trails hits all the right notes, setting either a rustic or an industrial tone with its design and concrete construction. And, in the larger size, it serves as a novel stand-in for the ubiquitous double vanity.
2. Install a freestanding tub.
Even a rustic space takes a glamorous turn when you give a freestanding bathtub center stage. Try the Santorini tub in Polished Copper or Brushed Nickel.
3. Think in monochrome.
Of this contemporary glam powder room, Canadian-based designer Carley Villett says, “This hand hammered, brushed nickel sink combines a feminine sparkle with rustic artisan craftsmanship, balancing the polished, scalloped, and curved custom built vanity and the dazzling drop pendants, to complete this modernized-earthy-glam vibe.” Grayed-out never looked so great.
4. Add all-over elegant wallpaper.
If monochrome isn’t your style, consider a graphic wallpaper like this Lotus pattern wall covering from Galbraith & Paul. It will make a luxe statement when paired with marble and a sink that’s been polished to a mirror shine.
5. Make marble a must-have.
When it comes to marble, it should be non-negotiable for your elegant bathroom because marble effortlessly dresses up every space. Native Trails’ Carrara Marble Vanity Tops now come in three sizes, from 30” to 48”.
6. Invest in a statement vanity.
Choose a bold freestanding vanity such as the Cuzco Vanity to anchor the room. The powder-coated steel base makes it timeless – and makes a statement.
7. Pick up the light with metallic accessories.
In a bathroom fit for royalty, a standard-issue toothbrush holder won’t cut it. We suggest one of our hammered nickel bathroom accessories to dress up your bath. More luxe mood-lifters: Jonathan Adler’s Malachite Toothbrush Holder, Waterworks’ Studio Wallingford Wastebasket, Aptation’s Extension Arm Wall Mirror and Pottery Barn’s Lynn Brass & Mirror Tray. We even found a shower squeegee worth coveting from Frontgate.
8. Fall in love with a faucet.
We believe that the best faucet for your bathroom is the one you can’t stop thinking about (faucet love affairs are real). A Big-Love favorite of Native Trails is the vintage-inspired glamour of a gooseneck faucet. Click here for Native Trails’ foolproof guide to bathroom faucets.
9. Light the way.
The triple sconce is out (dated!), making way for exquisite single and double-light sconces that are best mounted on either side of a mirror (a placement that offers more flattering light and proves you’re up to date on your subscriptions to Architectural Digest and House Beautiful). Two ways to dial up the elegance: Hudson Valley’s Jericho 1 Bulb Wall Sconce or Park Harbor’s Fielding 1 Bulb Wall Sconce; both are available through Ferguson.
10. Peer into a sculptural mirror.
Pick a fresh-from-the-flea-market vintage wall mirror (or one that just looks vintage) or an artisan-crafted mirror that doubles as artwork, and you’ll never look back. Many of our Vintner’s Collection mirrors, made of wood reclaimed from used wine staves, still bear the barrel maker’s stamp, while our hand-hammered Divinity Round Mirror nails the circular mirror trend and takes it up a notch by being eco-chic.