By Kerry Hale

White Bathroom Ideas

  • Wednesday 05 May 2021
  • 5 minute read

The great thing about using white in the bathroom is that it suits every style, every size, every shape and goes with absolutely everything. 

A white bathroom is a blank canvas, meaning that it’s incredibly adaptable; when you get bored of your colour scheme, all you have to do is change your accessories and you’ve got a whole new one. Explore our white bathroom ideas and create your own bright, light, white paradise.

Small white bathroom ideas 

White is a great choice for a small bathroom or downstairs cloakroom as it helps to open up a tighter space and make it appear much lighter, brighter and – most importantly – bigger. We wouldn’t advise using it in isolation, as an all-white bathroom can appear colder and it can veer into feeling somewhat medical. You want to strike balance and aim for a feeling of purity and serenity as opposed to stark and clinical. Add colour with furnishings and accessories to break up the white and bring a bit of life to the room, but keep the volume of accessories to a minimum to avoid making the small space feel overly crowded. 

There are several clever tricks you can use to create the feeling of space in a small white bathroom: white reflects light, so add a well-positioned mirror to open up the room, and if you’re tiling your bathroom, consider using the same white tiles on the floor and walls to trick the eye into thinking it’s bigger than it really is.

Traditional white bathroom ideas 

If you’re after a classic, traditional feel in your bathroom, white will play along nicely. As we’ve mentioned, it’s important to use colour for balance, as a totally white bathroom can start to feel a bit cold and sterile. Wooden bathroom furniture – such as shelving, vanity units and even wooden toilet seats – can work strongly in your favour here, adding to the traditional feel. Keep the wooden tones natural, or paint them in a cream, blue or grey for a farmhouse-inspired finish.

You can’t get any more classic than a freestanding Victorian roll-top bath, so consider incorporating one into your scheme and complete the traditional look with Victorian-inspired taps and a shower head from the Mira Virtue range.

Modern white bathroom ideas

White is so endlessly adaptable that it can be employed successfully to create almost any look or feel you want. If you’re after something contemporary, cool and stylish, give monochrome a go. If your bathroom is predominantly white, use black to break it up, whether that’s through accessories, furniture, wall features or fixtures like black showers. White subway tiles with black grouting are a particularly modern take on a monochrome bathroom scheme, creating a supremely suave juxtaposition that is on-trend yet timeless.

Alternatively, if you’ve gone for all-white on the walls, consider introducing pattern to your floor in the form of black and white tiles. There are plenty of options to choose from, from checkerboard and mosaic to geometric and marble styles.

Minimalist white bathroom ideas 

Nothing says minimalism like a blank canvas, which is what a white bathroom provides. The key to achieving the pared-back look is for the room to be clutter-free, so clever storage is a must as you want to keep surfaces as clear as possible. You can go one step further to reducing that cluttered sensation by experimenting with wall panels instead of tiles. Whether that’s a shower panel, a bath splashback or a basin splash back, replacing tiles with panels helps to reduce busy grout lines and enhance the minimalist aesthetic, with the added bonus of being easier to install.

When it comes to choosing your bathroom suite and complementary fittings, consider wall-hung units and stick to clean lines. If you have the space for it, a statement freestanding bath is the perfect focal point in a minimalist bathroom.

Minimalism and nature go hand in hand, so incorporate wooden accents and other natural textures and materials, and add a houseplant for a splash of greenery that will instantly liven up the room, while keeping the overall look natural and pared-back.

Splashes of colour

We’ve mentioned this already, but it bears repeating: you can have too much of a good thing. White symbolises cleanliness, purity and serenity but in a bathroom, it needs colour to work to full effect. If you want the theme to be predominantly white, go for subtle touches of colour, whether that’s a pastel pink or blue, a bold mustard or teal, or anything in between. And if bold, stark white is a bit daunting for you, try an off-white with warm undertones as a compromise. Discover more bathroom paint ideas.

No matter the size of your bathroom, and whether you decide to go for a traditional, modern or minimalist look, explore our full range of wall panels as a starting point for your white bathroom design.

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