Bathroom accent wall ideas: materials, colors, and wall selection
Creating an unusual, trendy, and balanced bathroom interior is no less exciting than decorating any other room in the house. Sometimes, just a couple of details are enough for this functional room’s appearance to become truly unique and attractive – you just have to choose which elements will do that.
According to American designers’ research, in 2018, the median size of single-family housing was 2386 sq ft (217 sq m), while back in 1973, this figure was in the region of 1500 sq ft (140-145 sq m). The trend towards an increase in the total area of housing is reflected in the premises’ size, and therefore large bathrooms have recently become more common. Moreover, even in apartments with smaller footage, spacious bathrooms are no longer a rarity – also because their owners are making sufficient efforts to expand them.
The development of possibilities in terms of surface could not but affect the emergence of new interior trends, including large baths, open showers, glass showers, and separation of bathrooms and showers. All this led to the need to try various techniques for decorating rooms with similar functionality – and one of the most striking is the accent wall. This solution not only allows you to bring the visual balance of the interior to perfection but also provides it with the much-desired exclusive due to the intelligent choice of colors, materials, and their location. Let’s dwell on this in more detail.
Ways to accent the wall in the bathroom
Let’s make a reservation right away: we wrote above about spacious bathrooms’ role in the development and growth of the popularity of accent walls, but this does not mean the impossibility of using such decor in small rooms. Today, the accent walls are used with no less success in small-sized apartments, allowing you to transform the space profitably. It remains only to decide how you will create such an accent. There are several basic options:
You can apply wallpapers, paints, etc. on walls and see how they look in various interiors.
Which wall should be accentuated?
Before choosing the color and texture of the material to create an accent wall, it is necessary to determine which of the planes will accept the contrasting design in the best way. Depending on your idea, you can choose:
Materials for a bathroom accent wall
Now that you’ve identified the accent’s location, it’s time to move on to a more fun and challenging process: choosing materials to create an attractive yet harmonious bathroom detail. The list of suitable solutions for this room is quite long, and therefore you will have plenty to choose from. Let’s take a closer look at the materials that are used today to design an accent.
Tile
This decision seems self-evident and almost a win-win. Indeed, with a material created specifically for wet areas, you don’t have to worry about its practicality, but you can entirely focus on the design.
The most comfortable and least expensive option is to use tiles from the same collection. In this case, you can tile all the walls with tiles without a pattern – and layout the pattern on the selected plane following your idea. If this seems too common to you, you can try any of the following tricks:
Mosaic
A mosaic accent wall in a bathroom is the best way to embody modern chic. This solution is appropriate both in a spacious room and on small footage. The mosaic layout is often performed over the bathtub, less frequently in the area with the dressing table and mirrors. In the latter case, the decoration of the wall along with the countertop will help add sophistication.
Large-format porcelain stoneware
If you are the happy owner of a huge bathroom, then the large format is just what you need. Of course, you can’t combine it with ordinary tiles, but it is quite possible to play with shades and textures within the framework of one or different collections. Various types of marble, travertine and onyx, oxidized metal, and time-worn concrete are just a few of the options offered by large-format slab manufacturers.
Wood
The wood accent wall takes on a remarkable expressiveness in the interior of the bathroom. Of course, you will have to tinker with the preparation and selection of material, and first of all, it concerns the water-repellent coating. In all other respects, wooden elements are an environmentally friendly and relevant solution for decorating an accent wall, especially since you will have a lot of materials at your disposal, including:
If you are still worried about wood, you can take a closer look at wood imitation tiles – today, manufacturers offer many options that delight with an almost impeccable similarity to natural material.
Paint
If you do not have the experience and talent of a decorator, it will not be difficult for you to paint the bathroom yourself – and, of course, highlight one of the walls with color. Modern moisture-resistant and vapor-resistant paints serve for years without warping and swelling and can easily withstand wet cleaning. A vast color palette allows you to choose the ideal tone both in terms of spectrum and color temperature.
Brick
The brick accent composition looks great in modern bathrooms – especially in the loft and industrial interiors. The texture of ceramic tiles opens up unlimited possibilities for color combinations: so, against the background of rough brickwork, white plumbing fixtures and mirrors in the same frames look great, silicate brick perfectly sets off bright details, and white plastered sets a cozy and relaxed tone.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper for the bathroom is a somewhat atypical solution. However, there are often cases when the beauty of wallpaper makes you forget about practicality. Yet, manufacturers of finishing materials have found a compromise solution. Today, they offer washable, liquid, and fiberglass wallpapers that delight you with various designs and make you forget about the risk of high humidity. Simultaneously, it is recommended to decorate accent wallpaper walls in the driest areas, combining them with a base of tiles or painted surfaces.
Stone
A stone accent wall is a very romantic technique that allows you to create a natural and mysterious atmosphere in the bathroom. However, this material has a significant drawback: you can use the stone for accent only in spacious bathrooms since it looks unnecessarily bulky in small ones.
Acrylic panels
Glossy acrylic surfaces have become a truly great option for accent walls. The panels look especially impressive in the decoration of open shower areas. Thanks to seamless installation’s ideal smoothness and technology, acrylic plates delight both with ease of installation and easy maintenance.
Accent wall in the bathroom: how to choose a color
The color of the accent wall is just as crucial as its texture. Above, we have already mentioned the pattern of shades selection based on the color temperature of background surfaces – and now let’s dwell on some of the current tones.
Grey
The gray accent in the bathroom interior is in perfect harmony with the colored walls, and you can exceptionally well combine it with wooden surfaces. The principles of shade selection obey the general rules: dark ones move away, light ones bring them closer, warm to warm, cold to cold. Besides, lamps and wall decor look very good against such a background.
Black
According to the design laws, black works to remove, which means that the bathroom interior will look more profound and more expressive due to this shade’s accent wall. Black accent walls are great in compact and spacious rooms, especially when combined with neutral or soothing shades and light fixtures.
Blue
A blue wall seems like an incredibly logical bathroom solution. Indeed, what color could be an accent wall in the kingdom of water? Depending on the background, you can choose a blue shade that will best harmonize with other surfaces’ tones; however, universal solutions suit almost everything – these are sea blue, denim, and azure.
Green
Oddly enough, green accents in the bathroom interior are used much less often. However, it can be said with all certainty that this color is undeservedly ignored. Shades of emerald, forest moss, mint, sage, and olives are in perfect harmony with the most fashionable textures – from large matte tiles to rough brickwork.
Red
For a neutral bathroom, a red accent wall is the perfect opportunity to add life, optimism, and real passion. We will not talk about the need to avoid overly bright, “electric” shades. However, deep and juicy tones will come in handy, especially if you supplement them with accessories of a dark color: against such a background, the red shades look imposing.
Yellow
If you want to add a little more sun to the bathroom interior, a wall in yellow tones will come to the rescue. Shades of yellow look organic in minimalist bathrooms with colored or neutral tiled walls, creating a pleasant and warming accent.
Bathroom accent wall: Conclusions + Photo gallery
Whatever size your bathroom is, and whatever style it is decorated in, an accent wall will help create a very special mood. Do not save time in researching the material or choosing a color: with a thoughtful approach, the result will delight you until the next remodel!