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Trend-led or timeless: What’s the best option for bathroom style?

Choosing the style of your design plays a big part in your decision-making process. Leafing through interior mags and scouring online sites can give insight into what’s out there. But finding a specialist who offers everything from a design service to tiles and accessories, is the holy grail. Like West One Bathrooms – a family-run company which has been offering a wide selection of beautiful bathroom products, paired with exceptional advice and guidance for over 45 years.

But how do you decide on a style? Trend-led can be tempting but is timeless a safer bet? Louise Ashdown, our Head of Design, has pooled her ideas to help you make a choice that’s right for your home…

Enhance design credentials with an on-trend bathroom

Choosing a bathroom with cutting-edge style has its advantages. First and foremost, it can enhance the design credentials of your home – and if you put your home on the market, more likely to draw discerning buyers in. So what does on-trend currently look like?

“You may channel a trend by bringing new materials into your space. With Corian never going out of fashion, sanitaryware manufacturers are offering contemporary colours and matt finishes. Glass furniture with bespoke solutions and colours are more popular than ever especially with the rise of quality of ranges, such as Oasis.”

“We don’t believe nor follow trends per se, they come and go. However, we have noticed an increase in clients embracing colour, patterns, and various textures in their designs”

WOB – 00186RL M103 Deck Mounted Basin Tap in Dark Bronze Grey Moon Sand Stone

Introduce fashion finishes

It might be a fashion-inspired colour palette that sways you – like the very latest tiles, finishes or décor ideas.

This shift could have been influenced by advancements in technology and the growing popularity of our Wall&Deco WET SYSTEM wallpaper, which can be directly applied in shower areas.

“A wow space is achieved by breaking the norm and pushing creative boundaries. Mixing textures, inputting unusual design features, incorporating new materials and new products will all help to make a space luxurious”

Or is trend-led a mistake?

Picking an on-trend bathroom, however, also puts your space at risk of looking dated, before you’re ready to replace it. Adhering to a trend means you have less scope to add your own stamp on a space. And unless your whole property is refurbished at the same time, it could feel disjointed having a fashionable bathroom when the rest of your home needs to play catch up.

Enjoy enduring style with a timeless bathroom

So, then, does that mean timeless is better? After all, a new bathroom is a big investment for any home, and being able to transcend trends is key to enduring appeal. Heritage designs are dependable when it comes to kitting out a new bathroom. From roll top baths and taps in time-honoured shapes to classic finishing touches, like subway tiles, which stand the test of time.

And don’t forget, classic styles are also being designed in new materials, to make them align more with modern lifestyles – like acrylic baths, which are more affordable, durable and easier to maintain than their cast iron counterparts.

Versatile neutrals will never date

Timeless natural shades, including white, are a versatile choice which you’re unlikely to tire of. These palettes are also wonderfully relaxing. Who wouldn’t want a calming sanctuary of a bathroom where you can escape to for a luxurious soak or refreshing shower?

A neutral classic colour palette also makes a timeless bathroom better value ultimately, even if you splash out on high-end pieces – because you won’t have to invest in updates, replacing pieces that go out of favour. And if you come to sell your home, the broad market appeal of a classic bathroom – especially one with carefully considered design details – will make your property more in demand.

“Rustic bathrooms, for example, will always be timeless in design. Blending rustic natural elements and blending with a contrasting surface basin creates a unique warm space, we have had clients source reclaimed oak slabs and using as countertop shelves and teaming with a coloured basin for an added statement.”

Best of both worlds

But just maybe, the best bathroom mixes both trends and timeless design? A timeless bathroom can provide a neutral backdrop for modern accessories, knowing that they can be easily switched when tastes evolve. Towels in a fashionable colour scheme or decorative items, from candles to plant pots, are a super easy way to embrace a trend without committing long term and can be a great way to introduce your personality into your bathroom, wet room, shower room or en suite.

west one bathrooms timeless bathroom 9 1

“Introducing innovative tech is also a way to bring a timeless bathroom up to date. Think introducing a shower toilet, underfloor heating, showers with water- and energy-saving features. So you can pick key pieces, like your bath and basin, in a classic look and feel, but integrate trend-led innovations, to create the bathroom of your dreams.”