Add warmth to a contemporary bathroom

Bathrooms tend to be sterile and cold, but with the addition of a single element these bathrooms went from cold to warm.

18/08/2017

 

 

Catherine Heraghty is an Australian interior stylist based in Sydney, and is the owner of The Stables, a boutique styling company. She recently took on the challenge of knocking down an older home on her property to build a duplex - one as her forever home and the other as an investment property.

In both of these homes, Catherine designed a spacious bathroom with each bathroom decorated with a muted, monochromatic colour palette, with wood accents to add warmth to the room.

 

 

In any bathroom the vanity is the main piece of furniture and you want to choose the right vanity for the room. Unfortunately we are limited for choice when it comes to bathroom vanities, so the next best thing would be to make your own bathroom vanity. Timber Merchants around the country offer a selection of hardwoods that you can buy to make your own wood furniture, and Meranti and Saligna are the most affordable of these, unless you would prefer to use PAR pine. Alternatively, look at using a veneered plywood for making a bathroom vanity.

 

 

 

 

If you want to make your own bathroom vanity similar in style to the ones shown here, we've included a basic step-by-step pictorial at the bottom of this page.

 

The clean lines of the bathroom vanity tie in with the contemporary styling and the warmth of the wood contrasts beautifully with the vanilla tiles.

 

 

Catherine's concept for her 'forever' home bathroom, shown above, is a contemporary design that combines cool and warm colour palettes. She incorporated lots of soft, geometric lines and curves with simple styling and a minimalist approach for a bathroom that is relaxing and fresh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The starting point for the bathroom was the subway tiles in a soft white vanilla hue. These were installed in an stacked, upright pattern that is on trend and adds to the contemporary look and feel. Floor tiles in a white Terrazzo floor tile bring in understated elegance that will last for years to come.

 

 

It's easy to introduce wooden elements into a bathroom and these can be practical items that you would use on a regular basis. Love the idea of tree stumps or large branches turned into stools. Season the stump for a couple of weeks to dry it out before placing it in a bathroom.

 

 

For the bathroom in the investment property, Catherine opted for a contemporary coastal theme with natural materials, a cooling colour palette and lots of texture. Subway tiles in a double herringbone format are the perfect backdrop for a warm wood bathroom vanity. The deep-framed mirror adds curves to the bathroom and highlights to contemporary coastal style.

 

 

Follow the step-by-step below using 19mm thick pine or hardwood to make your own bathroom vanity as seen above. Fit drawer runners inside and easy operation of drawer. Add the shelf (centre) last, once the drawer has been fitted. Allow a 4mm clearance underneath the drawer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOOD TO KNOW: Use wood glue and staples or panel pins to secure the 3mm base for the drawer in place.