A Dream Bathroom in 8 Steps

Decorating today's bathrooms calls for a sophisticated mix of colors, materials, and hard and soft goods. Here, an interior designer makes it simple.

By Mark McCauley, ASID
Filed under: Bathrooms

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Choose Color and Motif

How do you want to feel when you're in the bathroom? Is it a formal space (consider a black-and-white scheme) or a casual area (try neutrals)? The motifs associated with baths often are water oriented. Seashells, boats, piers, blue colorations and sandy beach colors are frequently used. But it's OK to think outside of the box. Choose a motif that relates to the area in which you live (city or country?), a style of architecture (classic 18th-century English or New England cottage?) or a style that you're personally attached to (bohemian or Asian?). Remember: A bathroom motif doesn't have to (and probably shouldn't) knock you over the head.