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Where to Begin: Using Black and White in the Bathroom
Jan
This classic color combination makes for a chic and clean look in any style of bathroom.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I’ll describe as “collected.”
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I’ve been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
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Begin With an Accent Wall
The herringbone pattern of black tiles on this vanity wall provides a beautiful backdrop for the brass sconces and the mirrors.
Detail worth noting: The Greek key tile border around the floor.
Choose an Artful Wallpaper
The graphic wallpaper makes a strong statement in this powder room.
Detail worth noting: The pedestal sink instead of a vanity, which lets the wall make a strong, continuous impact.
A white shower stall provides a little relief from this geometric wallpaper.
The trend for premium frameless shower screens isn’t going anywhere either and helps to brighten the space.
Detail worth noting: The way the designer played off the geometry with the hexagonal mirror and the square honeycomb pattern of the light fixture.
Charming row house illustrations cover the walls in this eclectic bathroom.
Detail worth noting: The anglepoise lamp over the mirror.
Stripes add a traditional graphic touch to this powder room. The black wainscoting keeps it from having a dizzying effect.
Detail worth noting: The ornate lines of the mirror and light fixture, which provide contrast to all those straight lines.
Buffalo check wallpaper in black and white jazzes up this handsome bathroom.
Detail worth noting: The ring pulls on the vanity drawers.
Wallpaper and molding bring traditional style to this lovely bath.
Detail worth noting: The dentil molding at the ceiling.
Use Color-Blocking
There’s a yin-yang balance to the wide swaths of black and white in this bathroom. The careful use of color-blocking splices through the room.
Detail worth noting: The long trough vessel sink, which suits the lines of the room.
This design plays with squares (large-scale tiles on the floor and walls) and rectangles (shelf and sink) in the color-blocking strategy. Accents such as the shower head, towel rack, and light fixture throw in some curves.
Detail worth noting: The way the shelf under the medicine cabinet is recessed.
Extend a Black-and-White Floor Tile Up a Wall
Tile that extends across the floor and up the wall in one long line popped up in several of the newest black-and-white bathroom photos. Here it makes a strong statement in the shower, where a transparent glass partition allows for a clear view.
Detail worth noting: The attractive P-trap underneath the sink — these details matter.
This tile strategy also makes an impact when it goes across the floor and up the toilet wall in a powder room.
Detail worth noting: The wall-mounted toilet, which saves space and shows off a larger expanse of tile.
This traditional tile takes on a modern look with surrounding walls tiled in black, forcing a strong perspective view.
Detail worth noting: The rope around the pendant light’s cord.
Begin With a Lively Patterned Floor Tile
The floor is also a good spot to use a strong tile pattern. Here, the pattern grounds a freestanding bathtub with a black surround.
Detail worth noting: The tile pattern around the column.
In this room, the patterned floor ties the white walls to the black ones. Also worth noting is the seamlessness created by a curbless shower.
Detail worth noting: That fabulous long niche in the shower.
The modern geometric pattern on this floor recalls those seen on Navajo rugs.
Detail worth noting: The way the baskets fit into the open vanity shelves — it’s a nice way to bring in texture.
Start With White and Layer in Sharp Black Accents
White is the main color in the rest of these bathrooms, which have just the right amount of carefully edited black accents to create a pleasing combination.
Detail worth noting: The handy shelf underneath the pedestal sink.
Matte black faucets and pipes, the light fixture, the shower curtain rod and the stool add small but strong accents to this mostly white bath. But the pièce de résistance is that sweet tile pattern in the middle of the floor.
Detail worth noting: Mirror-mounted faucets.
There’s a strong third accent in this mostly white room: the almost mirrored look of the chrome pipes and accents. It works so well with the lovely glass of the Venetian mirror.
Detail worth noting: The impact of painting the window trim black.
Source: Where to Begin: Using Black and White in the Bathroom
