The Bathroom Trend That Will Add Sophistication To Your Space

Bathrooms are often the last place you want to spend time decorating or customizing in your home. They're spaces of utility, and there's only so much you can do to a room that contains some configuration of a shower, bath, toilet, and sink, right? Not quite! There are many ways to elevate the look of your bathroom, even without a full remodel. Whether you've moved in recently or need to give your old water closet some much-needed love, we've got a great idea for making the space look polished and elevated. 

One of the main keys to creating a sophisticated and stylish bathroom is not trying to do too much at once. That's why we love the advice from designer Sasha Bikoff in an interview with Architectural Digest. She suggests choosing one standout color and really letting it dominate the space. Using one color as the unifying design principle creates a more cohesive room. This fundamental design choice can work with any style, whether you're more farmhouse, mountain modern, or boho eclectic. 

While the advice for years has been to go for delicately balanced neutrals in any room, if you're trying to add some sophistication, though, don't be afraid to go bold or incorporate your aesthetic. Bikoff finds that using a single color is extremely soothing and can even open up the space, noting via Architectural Digest, "Using one color is calming, and generally, it's nice to have a bathroom feel somewhat Zen." 

We love bathroom designs that include pale blues, blush pinks, and mossy greens for a sophisticated feel. To keep your bathroom project on budget, check through the décor you already have and work with it to find the dominant color for your bathroom. If you have a set of bathmats, a shower curtain, or vanity accessories you already love, draw inspiration from their colors and build your palette around them. This will prevent you from unnecessarily buying new sets or accessories, and you can focus your budget on paint, which is a relatively affordable design tool. 

While you want one color, or even color family, to dominate the bathroom as the common design principle, you don't want it to be totally monochrome. This will cause visual fatigue and look, well, boring. Instead, balance your monotone bathroom out with neutrals and glam metallics, which creates a harmonious color palette, without falling into the standard, somewhat cookie-cutter 60-30-10 color rule.

So if you've gone for navy blue or deep forest greens, pair it with gold metallic accents and soft off-whites or rich cognac brown. When it comes to paler colors, you can use dark accents, so the room still pops and doesn't look washed out. 

Another way to keep the room balanced is to use spunky prints and patterns. To avoid outdated looks when choosing prints for wallpaper, rugs, or shower curtains, look forward to new trending patterns. Trend Design Book predicts that monochromatic, bold patterns will be huge in 2023, so look to black-and-white herringbone and checkerboard patterns. If you crave something more fantastical and colorful, check out the maximalist fabric patterns of Liberty London.