12 Beautiful Black and White Bathrooms to Inspire You
This timeless monochrome duo combines brilliantly with vintage highlights and splashes of colour
I’m a sucker for a black and white bathroom. In New York City, where I live, you’ll find plenty of vintage beauties decked out with traditional white subway tiles, black and white hexagonal floor tiles and pedestal sinks, and tubs with chunky chrome taps labelled ‘hot’ and ‘cold.’ You’ll find them in high-end apartments as well as seen-better-days brownstones.
In these classic bathrooms homeowners can easily add colour for punch – think bright pink towels or an orange bath mat or pale green paint on the walls. They can accessorise with old-style apothecary jars or go more modern with a mirrored rubbish bin and matching soap dish. In new builds you’ll find more luxurious variations on the theme, complete with dark timber vanities, marble latticework floors and glamorous freestanding tubs. Whatever the approach, the clean look of black and white is always a crowd pleaser, and here are some of my favourites…
In these classic bathrooms homeowners can easily add colour for punch – think bright pink towels or an orange bath mat or pale green paint on the walls. They can accessorise with old-style apothecary jars or go more modern with a mirrored rubbish bin and matching soap dish. In new builds you’ll find more luxurious variations on the theme, complete with dark timber vanities, marble latticework floors and glamorous freestanding tubs. Whatever the approach, the clean look of black and white is always a crowd pleaser, and here are some of my favourites…
2. This classic bathroom has some interesting design touches. The graphic dark-trimmed windows pick up the black and white tile floor and the legs of the claw-foot tub. I really love the surprising teal ceiling and the vintage wood soapbox for towel storage.
3. The centrepiece here is the vintage console that’s been artfully transformed into a vanity. Painted black and with the back two legs removed, it is attached to the wall and topped with matching white vessel sinks. Large black and white square floor tiles complete the high-end look.
4. Here’s a true find in Toronto with lots of original elements: a gently curved tub, white hexagonal floor tiles (note the designs within the layout) and white subway tile walls with a glossy black trim. The pretty casement window affords plenty of light, and a rough-hewn stool makes reaching the sink easy for kids.
5. Show-stopping black and white wallpaper (‘Minaret’ by Osborne & Little) makes a statement here. The black and white interplay continues with a white cotton duck cloth shower curtain trimmed in black, a black Jonathan Adler rug with a white border, and the stacks of black and white towels carefully arranged on a matching étagère.
6. A step up from hexagonal ceramic tile, this basket weave-patterned tile floor is crafted from Thassos (white) and Nero Marquina (black) marble. The pattern is also repeated on the shower wall and framed in black. Other nice touches: the dark bronze plumbing fixtures (from Delta) and the pale green wall colour.
Wall paint: Benjamin Moore ‘Fresh Dew’
Wall paint: Benjamin Moore ‘Fresh Dew’
7. Black, white and blue feel classically cosmopolitan when used together. That’s Benjamin Moore ‘Heavenly Blue’ on the walls with a stippled glaze, matched perfectly by the turquoise towels. The shower room with a window is a keeper, too.
8. Pale blue wall paint gives this bathroom a soft, ethereal look. That feeling continues in the lighting choices: a delicate Murano-style chandelier and Restoration Hardware’s Lugarno wall sconces. The Cheshire claw-foot tub is by Victoria + Albert.
Wall paint: Sherwin-Williams ‘Tradewind’
Wall paint: Sherwin-Williams ‘Tradewind’
9. This classic floor is Daltile’s Octagon & Dot tile, a matte white octagon accented with a glossy black diamond at each corner. (It comes in sheets for easy installation.) The vintage-style corner tub features an L-shaped rod for the shower curtain, and the grey-green hue on the walls completes the soothing appeal of this bathroom.
Wall paint: Restoration Hardware ‘Blue Sage’
Wall paint: Restoration Hardware ‘Blue Sage’
10. Updating this 7.7-square-metre bathroom in a New York brownstone included installing a furniture-style vanity and oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, which go well with the old-fashioned wall clock and dark wood-trimmed window. Note how the subway tiles run right up to the ceiling.
11. This cute cottage bathroom features standard hexagonal black and white floor tiles, purchased at Lowe’s in 30cm x 30cm sheets for quick installation. The apple-green walls are a lovely touch, as is the subtle black trim on the towels and shower curtain.
12. Here’s another interesting colour combination: yes, that’s brown on the walls (Benjamin Moore’s ‘Branchport Brown’), which complements the timber vanity. Black grout was used for the floor tiles, but as the designer cautions, you have to avoid harsh cleansers if you want to retain its colour.
TELL US
Do you have a monochrome bathroom you’d like to share? Add a photo in the comments section.
MORE ON BATHROOMS
How to Update Your Bathroom Without a Sledgehammer
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TELL US
Do you have a monochrome bathroom you’d like to share? Add a photo in the comments section.
MORE ON BATHROOMS
How to Update Your Bathroom Without a Sledgehammer
Toilet Humour: Funny Bathroom Design Ideas
12 Texture-Terrific Bathrooms That Engage the Senses
10 Five-Star Luxuries to Enhance Your Master Bathroom
Tiles: Walker Zanger