Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Updated Classics: The New Old Bathroom
With the high cost of renovating a bath or building one from scratch in a new home, it is best to avoid design choices that will appear dated within a few years. One approach is to select fixtures, tile, hardware and finishes that have become proven classics over the years and incorporate them in a bathroom design with a modern attitude and updated function. Trend elements can still find their way into the design through paint and accessories or slight twists on the classic selections.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| When taking a second look at this bathroom one sees that each one of the elements is an updated take on the original. The subway tile features a modern beveled edge, the penny tile is a beautiful blue, the free standing tub is a modern take on the old classic, as are the sink and fixtures. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Craftsman style medicine cabinets, a free standing tub, black and white hexagon tile and wainscoting all are classic choices which will stand the test of time. What is modern here? The addition of a second pedestal sink.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Traditional wainscoting, basketweave mosaic floor tile, nickel fixtures and neutral colors can be dramatic when a stylish venetian mirror is thrown into the mix.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
From the subway tile lining the walls to the marble basketweave tile running the length of the floor, this is a stunningly beautiful and classic bathroom. The elements that bring in a touch of modern are a deep angular shaped sink and the simple glass partition at the shower.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Here is another bathroom covered with classic materials, even down to the vintage styled bath fixtures. What makes this space modern? Installing the dual shower heads.
by CWB Architects
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Nothing is more classic in a bathroom than a claw foot tub, particularly when paired with hexagon tile in white paired with a black and white mosaic border. So what is the modern element? The intensely dark and dramatic paint color featured on the walls above the wainscoting.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
A beautifully classic bathroom gets a jolt of updated style through black paint highlighting the lower portion of the exposed sink and the updated subtle geometric wallpaper.
by CWB Architects
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Custom cabinetry with white glass knobs and an abundance of marble are choices that could have been selected years ago. What is new? A large steam shower, what a wonderful luxury!
by Gast Architects
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
All the selections in this bathroom are classic, but what sets it apart and makes it modern is the vibrant blue color selected for the walls above the beadboard.
by Gast Architects
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
This is such a smart way to bring a unique personality to a bathroom. Paint is inexpensive and easy to change down the road if one chooses.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
This classic combination doesn't get old: subway tile, a claw foot tub and a pedestal sink. What is new in this space? A dramatic round skylight, which defines the design.
Ideabook published on Nov. 26, 2010.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
donna
I used to be all about white, beige, gray in bathrooms. I remodeled 3 in those colorways (complete with wainscoting & other traditional touches). This bathroom has completely changed my perspective, though. I think I'll have to leave it as the last room to redo :)
http://retrorenovation.com/
You can purchase toilet conversion kits for less than a hundred dollars that let you choose between a liquid flush using something .08 gallons of water or solids flush that let you use 1.6 gallons of water. I googled and found one called Hydroright® Dual Flush Converter (HYR270). Best of luck to you perhaps you will be able to keep your teal toilet.
I love the classic elements of these bathrooms : the white fixtures, the hexagon mosaic floor tiles with the black and white boarder, the basket weave floor tile, the marble sinks with back splash, the white subway tile, the craftsman style medicine cabinets, the hardware that is either chrome or brushed nickel. I think these elements will stand the test of time as well as the newer frame-less shower glass surrounds and doors.
But Bead-Board? Bead board won't last more than a few years in the bathroom. I have had bead board in the bathroom and would never have it again. It doesn't last. The steam and humidity of showering makes airborne all the dust which then settles on the bead board and in those little grooves. You are forever cleaning the dust and tiny almost microscopic hairs off of it. You have to wipe down the bead board everyday and reserve a few hours on the weekend to deeply clean the grooves. The bead board gets nicks which you have to touch up with paint and After a while the bead board starts to warp. I don't recommend bead board.
A much better choice is subway tile that is run all the way up to the ceiling. One wall surface that can easily be cleaned with a damp sponge and will last 50 + years and still be in style.
Many of the subway tile images don't run it up to the ceiling. This leaves a tile ledge that requires dusting and a section of wall that will eventually need re-painting. The paint will of course drop little specks on the tile. Much better to eliminate having to paint by running the subway tile all the way up to the ceiling.