We all want our homes to be peaceful spaces to retire back to at the end of the day. For this, one of the most popular decor choices is the country house style.
Here is our quickfire list of tips for how to achieve that delightful country bathroom style:
- Maximising neutral tones
- Creating country decor from the floor up
- Adding Traditional bathroom fittings
- Using texture for country-style bathrooms
- Adding country-style bathroom accessories
- Bring nature inside
- Establish a spa-like feel with open space
Reminiscent of those wholesome autumn days in the hills before retreating to a crackling fire, mug of tea in hand, the country-style is all about warmth, rustic living and British tradition.
And, whether you’re nestled in a Cotswolds cottage or living in a city flat, this timeless style can be achieved.
But while an inviting living space and cosy bedroom might be the first ports of call for creating that warm sanctuary, one room that can often go overlooked from a design point of view is the bathroom.
The bathroom may not seem like the first place to change in style to achieve what you want, but it is such a vital space within the home – in fact, it’s often where we head first after waking up.
In this way, it makes sense to make sure you’re setting yourself up for a relaxing day by choosing a calming country-style bathroom design for your home.
1. Maximising neutral tones
When you’re planning your perfect country-style bathroom, it’s best to start with the fundamentals – and one of the most important parts of this process is choosing your colour palette.
True country-style bathrooms tend to feature primarily neutral tones – but rather than the stark whites of more modern aesthetics, opt for hues such as beige, mauve or warmer greys. This will make the space feel more inviting and homely.
Alternatively, you could choose to experiment with natural colours such as greens – but lean more towards cool or neutral undertones, because yellowish greens can begin to harken towards those seventies-era avocado suites!
This makeover by Ashlea at This Mamas Dance shows how light cool tones can be utilised to bring about that lovely breezy beach cottage feel.
For some colour inspiration, take a look at this post, where the homeowner has combined different shades of grey across the bathroom cabinet, bath panelling and wall to offset the whites of the bath itself and create a welcoming, natural feel in their bathroom.
2. Creating country decor from the floor up
Another essential element in any country-style bathroom is choosing the right wall and floor tiling.
Your walls and floor are your canvas, so make them truly emanate your style choice by adding depth with country-style bathroom tiles. Plain paint alone simply won’t do.
For the walls, our Karndean range offers plenty of choices featuring stone textures, perfect for that country home feel.
We also offer a wide selection of wooden-textured floor tiles, crafting that classic country feel whilst maintaining the safety of a non-slip surface throughout your bathroom.
This blog post by Ahna at Hammers N Hugs shows just how much of a difference natural-textured floor tiles can make when creating that dream country-style bathroom.
These two textures together are a match made in heaven when it comes to creating a country cottage style in your bathroom.
You can choose to either tile only your bath or shower area, or opt for a full wall depending on the contrast and balance you’re aiming for.
3. Traditional bathroom fittings
Of course, the most important element of any bathroom is the bath or showering area itself. However, if you have accessibility needs, fear not – you can still achieve your desired country-style finish!
The key to creating the cottage-esque look with your bathroom fittings is to opt for panelled designs rather than smooth, unbroken lines.
Often, you will see people assert that, in order to truly evoke the country-style bathroom finish, you need to have a freestanding bathtub – but this doesn’t have to be the case.
Jen at Tatertots & Jello shows just how far some simple bevelled lines go towards achieving a country aesthetic with her vanity drawer panelling – perfectly complemented by ornate brass or silver handles.
4. Using texture for country-style bathrooms
Country-style homes are traditionally full of differing textures, so this should also be reflected in your cottage bathroom design.
The most important textures to incorporate are wood and stone or slate – which can be easily included in your flooring and wall tiles. Consider capitalising on these textures with wooden wall cabinets and benches, or statement metal tap fittings and cosmetics holders.
However, you can also create more textural interest by adding in metals in the form of steel or brass tap fittings, copper bowls for towels or wicker baskets for laundry.
And, whilst often a wooden-slatted duckboard is a more in-keeping choice than bathmats for country-style bathrooms, you can add a range of textures through light chiffon-style draped curtains, heavy rugs and even a nice comfy linen cushion on a classic rocking chair.
Or, for a more elevated country-style finish, you could even opt for decadent marble-textured surfaces around your sink like in this master bathroom by Designthusiasm.
5. Country-style bathroom accessories
Unlike the minimalist decoration of modern bathroom designs, country-style bathrooms are all about detail and visual interest. Because of this, accessories are very important.
From wooden bath caddies to pillar candles, church window-style metal mirrors to bamboo toilet roll baskets, there are so many options when it comes to creating a cottage feel with bathroom accessories.
Accessories are also where you have an opportunity to recycle what you have – consider displaying any particularly attractive mason jars you might own as cotton pad storage, for example, or reusing a frosted glass tumbler as a toothbrush holder.
The options are endless, and the fantastic thing about this style is that not everything has to match – or be brand new!
Here it’s all about mixing materials – so don’t be shy, get experimental with anything you can find! This blog by Vague to Vogue offers lots of examples of accessories being used both sparingly and in abundance to create a cottage decor style.
6. Bring nature inside
Continuing on the theme of accessories, another key facet of country-style bathrooms is their connection with the outside world. Take nature as your inspiration here and be sure to include at least one plant or natural item in your new space.
This could be dried flowers in a vase, fresh ones in a ceramic jug or even a trailing plant hanging from your window.
Whatever you choose, bringing a bit of nature inside will create that calming energy that country-style bathrooms are known and loved for.
Grace from the blog Nesting with Grace has made full use of this important detail increating her modern country-style bathroom – take a look at her design here.
7. Establish a spa-like feel with open space
Finally, when you’re designing your ideal country-style bathroom, consider how you could use space to create an open, welcoming environment. One of the easiest ways to do this is by transforming a generic bathroom layout into an accessible wet room.
With a wet room, the entirety of the floors and walls are covered in easy-clean wall tiles (which, as we mentioned earlier, can be customised to reflect the colours and textures you wish to feature throughout your space), and there is simply a glass panel around part of the showering area to keep the rest of the space dry.
Not only is this a very chic layout, it is also very accessible – requiring no climbing in and out of baths – you can even add in a choice of shower seats – either wooden to continue your textural theme, or with a padded cushion for added comfort.
So, those are our top tips when it comes to creating that charming country-style cottage bathroom.
There are truly so many options to choose from when it comes to designing country-style bathrooms – whether you’re taking inspiration from French villas, seaside cottages or Victorian townhouses.
Accessible bathroom installations
We offer free no-obligation design consultation to learn about your design vision and identify your needs.
If you’d like to learn more about our walk-in baths and walk-in showers installations, please get in touch with us and we’d be happy to chat through what you’re looking for.