If spa-like, contemporary bathroom design isn’t for you, and you’d like to create a stunning yet timeless space unbeholden to the changing trends of the day, you’re in the right place.
Our collection of essential traditional bathroom design ideas aim to help inspire the design of your perfect bathroom design. One that harnesses the beautiful classic features of the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian period, in a modern way.
8 Essential Traditional Bathroom Design Ideas
1. Add a Traditional Vanity Unit
Whatever the style of design, luxury bathrooms feature carefully considered focal points, and there’s perhaps no element of bathroom design that makes a more powerful focal point, than a bespoke vanity unit.
Opt for a freestanding vanity unit in a traditional design, like our Hampswaith, Staxton, Saltburn, Bolsterstone models, or a unit design with open shelving like our Thornton models, to inject beautiful traditional features into your space.
At Parker Howley, we offer each of our vanity unit models in either a plain wood or painted finish, in a wide range of colour options, to help you realise the traditional bathroom of your dreams.
Alternatively Edwardian-style pedestal basins, or basins with a stand finished in chrome, gold, nickel or copper, are a great way to harness the traditional basin look.
2. Basins & Taps in Traditional Finishes
As a continuation of the previous point in our list of traditional bathroom design ideas, the basins and taps you pair with your vanity unit can make or break your bathroom’s traditional aesthetic.
Countertop basins are quintessentially traditional, sitting proudly on top of your vanity unit countertop, making a feature of your basin and taps. So, choose wisely.
Consider roll top basins in traditional brass, nickel and copper finishes, like those from BC designs, models like the Radford 51 from Victoria & Albert and the Real Square from Crosswater for a classic traditional look, or more contemporary countertop models like those from Villeroy & Boch, to achieve a modern take on the traditional aesthetic.
Countertop basins require wall mounted or deck mounted tall taps to provide the required height for the elevated basin. Consider crosshead, or lever taps, in 1, 2 and 3 hole arrangements, and brass, bronze, copper, or typical chrome finishes, to achieve the ultimate traditional look.
Of course, there are no set in stone rules, and many choose to pair a traditional vanity unit design with an undermount, sunken basin, though these are more commonly associated with spa-like, contemporary luxury bathrooms.
3. Style-Appropriate Baths & Showers
No list of traditional bathroom ideas would be complete without featuring freestanding bathtubs. Specifically, clawfoot, roll top, freestanding baths, which simply scream traditional design, provide your space with a stunning all important focal point, and offer wow factor in spades.
Choose a freestanding tub in white for a truly timeless aesthetic, or a traditional hero colour of your choosing, to help define, or align with your bathroom’s aesthetic.
If showers are better suited to your family’s busy schedule, over bath showers are most akin to the bathrooms of the past, while quadrant showers, and even typical rectangular showers, when paired with floor to ceiling traditional tiling or waterproof wall panels in more vintage-inspired designs, can help you to harness a timeless traditional look.
4. Remember, Toilets Are Not Merely Functional
Floating, modern-style toilets may be all the rage in today’s luxury contemporary bathrooms, but when it comes to creating a traditional bathroom, they can sometimes confuse the design of your space.
Two-piece toilets, both high-level and close-coupled models, scream Edwardian-inspired splendour, and carry a lot of aesthetic weight, creating a look that is quintessentially traditional. Alternatively models are available in art deco design to help you achieve the ultimate vintage-inspired look.
If space allows, pairing either of these toilet models with art deco-inspired bidet is another traditional bathroom idea that can help take your space to the next level, and help you to achieve the traditional bathroom of your dreams.
5. Accessories & Touches That Set the Right Tone
Carefully chosen accessories make a big aesthetic impact, and can make or break your finished bathroom design, so it’s important to browse with direction, which we hope to provide here.
Ultimately, ceramic accessories, or those made from glass, with metalwork in finishes like gold, brass, copper or classic chrome are characteristic of traditional bathroom design.
Perhaps explore glass wall lighting with gold or brass metalwork, and arched, curved or circular mirrors like the Windsor model in our Curated by PH range, the Revival model, or the super traditional Kora and Hera models from Origins Living, in frames of the appropriate finish.
Similarly, browse wall-mounted, glass or white ceramic soap dispensers, soap trays and toothbrush tumblers with gold, brass or chrome fixings.
While often missing from lists of traditional bathroom design ideas like this one, it’s important to ensure that small features like handles, robe hooks, towel rings, and toilet roll holders are in keeping with the traditional aesthetic you’re aiming for, as these tiny details can make a big splash when it comes to your finished bathroom design.
6. Consider the Aesthetic Impact of Your Bathroom Heating
There’s perhaps no bathroom heating option more quintessentially traditional than a cast iron radiator, which are now available in a range of colours to help elevate your bathroom design and enable you to harness the beautiful features of Georgian design in a modern way.
However, if you find radiators a little unsightly, cast iron heated towel rails, or towel rails in gold, bronze or copper, are a practical, stunning addition to any luxury traditional bathroom.
Alternatively, and perhaps a little left field for a collection of essential traditional bathroom design ideas, you could explore underfloor heating options typically found in contemporary bathrooms, and use the wall and floor space that a radiator or heater would occupy for decorative features, fixtures and accessories that help to create the ultimate traditional design.
7. Wood vs Tile Flooring
Wooden flooring is a great way to inject some natural materials in your bathroom, and harness a timeless, traditional aesthetic that screams elegance. If the Victorians had the modern engineered wood flooring available to us today, they may never have switched to tiles.
Though it’s good they did, or the world may have never been introduced to the stunning patterned floor tiling that has been synonymous with traditional bathroom design for decades, and is a stunning addition to any modern, traditional bathroom. Be sure to explore both options, and the many traditional tile designs available to find the flooring best suited to your image of the perfect traditional bathroom.
8. Remember the Conventions of Traditional Bathroom Decor
Fully painted walls? Painted walls with a wallpapered statement wall? All over wallpaper? Tiled walls or a tiled statement wall? Wall panelling? Decisions decisions decisions.
When it comes to decor-related traditional bathroom design ideas, there are a number of approaches to choose from or combine, to achieve a timeless traditional aesthetic.
Paint
Painted walls in traditional bathrooms should typically be painted in natural or pale muted tones, such as whites, creams and beiges, or pale sage greens, blues and pinks, while a bolder, and perhaps darker hero colour should be reserved for wood panelled statement walls, bath panels, bathroom doors, and toilet seats.
If you don’t intend to pair your painted walls with wallpapered or tiled accent walls, remember the rule of 3 (or 70-20-10). For this, select 3 colours that each get gradually darker, and work well together. Use the lightest colour across 70% of the painted surfaces, the slightly darker tone across 20% of surfaces, and the darkest colour for accent walls (or 10% of surfaces).
Wallpaper
No list of traditional bathroom design ideas would be complete without the inclusion of vintage-inspired wallpaper.
Whether you opt for all over wallpaper, or a statement wall approach, explore tight-print, floral wallpaper, or those featuring scallop shapes, birds, ornamental designs like paisley, and patterns reminiscent of William Morris designs.
Tiling
While patterned tiling is a popular flooring feature of traditional bathrooms, when it comes to wall tiling, textured or bevelled titles, in hues of classic traditional colours like green, red and blue are an excellent choice for a timeless traditional aesthetic.
Still deciding between modern vs contemporary design? Read our guide to modern bathroom design.
More than manufacturers of bespoke vanity units, and trusted purveyors of luxury bathroom accessories from the market’s leading brands, we can help provide you with the full bathroom suite of your dreams to bring your image of the perfect bathroom to life. Contact our team today to get started.
