Instantly evocative of open sea and skies, blue is a natural choice for a bathroom design. Whether you’re looking for a bold jewel-toned scheme or an uplighting cornflower colour palette, find your blue bathroom inspiration in these rooms from the ELLE Decoration archives.
A graphic bathroom in Sicily
This bold space features a simple, sculptural basin by Flaminia set in a bespoke iron stand designed by Studio Gum. Blue tiled walls are punctuated by graphic black gridlines, while the ‘Acrobates No. 324’ pendant light by DCW Éditions, available from Made In Design, completes the look.
Sky blue mosaics in Madrid
Punchy colour is found around every corner in this Madrid home. In the bathroom, design studio Plutarco opted for sky blue mosaic tiles from Cinca to decorate the walls, while ‘Primavera’ stoneware tiles by Barber & Osgerby for Mutina, in the exact same shade, sit underfoot.
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The colour-blocked London home
Walking from one colour drenched room to another in this Kings Cross apartment and it’s hard to believe it was a plain white box when designer Rhonda Drakeford took on the project. She devised her own Rainbow Brite meets Brutalism aesthetic, using concrete grey as a foil to the palette of cobalt, yellow, apple green and candyfloss pink. In the bathroom, she used Bert & May tiles to colour-block the room, while a yellow tap from Vola and a painted duckboard injects the space with a little sunshine.
The Memphis-inspired home in Maine
Cornflower blue, used for the flooring and concrete basin in this Maine bathroom, proved to be the perfect contrast to the zingy coral vanity, while beige terrazzo tiles provide a neutral backdrop to the otherwise punchy scheme. The team at An Aesthetic Pursuit describe the overall effect of this vibrant property as ‘Memphis vibes, but with a softer palette’.
The surprise pop of colour in a Kensington apartment
This cobalt blue bathroom is like a jewel box in an otherwise calm and neutral London apartment. Design studio To&From enveloped the walls, floor, and vanity in inky zellig tiles, creating a cocooning, luxurious feel to this compact space.
A contemporary teal bathroom in Paris
When homeowners Seiichi Takeichi and his partner Philippe moved into a chintzy Parisian apartment they wanted to toe the line between a contemporary remodel while honouring the apartment’s grand period details. While stucco ceilings and elaborate wood panelling remain, in spaces like the bathroom they embraced a more minimalist take on decorating – this clean space lets the teal wall tiles do all the talking.
The sapphire-coloured bathroom for two brothers
Designer Róisín Lafferty is renowned for use of bold jewel colours. This Irish farmhouse, however, was a lesson in restraint with a muted palette inspired by the surrounding countryside – except for this sapphire coloured bathroom. Designed for the two young brothers of the family, she paired terrazzo-effect ‘Venice Villa’ tiles from CTD with petrol-blue piano-key-shaped tiles from Cinca, while the vanity unit is a custom design by her firm.
Wall-to-ceiling blue microcement in Rome
This ensuite is wholly clad in blue microcement, with a vanity by interior designers Studio Strata made of lavastone and doors clad in black-steel panels from De Castelli. Through the door in the fluted-glass divider, you can just make out the parquet flooring by Mardegan in the main bedroom.
Original brutalist tiles in Udine
When converting a former office in Udine’s iconic Brutalist Residence Club into a two-bedroom home, designer Cristina Celestino referenced the building’s original colours and palettes when devising the new space. She also kept certain original features, including the glossy teal tiles in the bathroom - ‘I love to mix different shades and textures, but these always come at the beginning of a project, it’s not something decorative that’s added at the end,’ she says.
