As with any room, the materials and finishes used in your bath have significant impact on the overarching feel of the space. This is particularly true in the bath or powder room of a mountain style home. And, while you are likely familiar with a number of materials and finishes, new interior fashions continually emerge. To follow is a look at bath finishes and materials, along with a few relevant trends. We hope you enjoy it.
Bath Walls
Beyond paint lies a world of finishes for the walls of your bath or powder room. Further, today’s bath walls often include more than one finish. Create an elegant touch by combining textured glass tiles with burnished timber, or hand-adzed log walls with rugged, natural stone. [i] In addition, Sculptural 3-D and dimensional wall tiles are popular this year as are patterned walls, especially linear and chevron patterns.
Materials you may like: tile, stone, glass, logs, timbers, paint
Finish Considerations: Texture is this year’s overarching interior wall trend. Consider including hand-hewn wood, matte tiles, honed paint, or fabric-like paint finishes.
Browse this home’s photo gallery here.
Read Log Home Bathroom Basics by Log Home Living writer, Mercedes Hayes.
Bath Fixtures
From polished chrome to oil-rubbed bronze, fixtures create the essential character of your bath. This year, antiqued hardware remains a favorite, especially antique by hand. And, as with bath walls, textured finishes are on point. Also moving on the fixtures trend chart? Side mounted faucets, especially in smaller baths with narrow sinks.
Materials you may like: nickel, brass, copper, bronze, titanium, chrome
Finish Considerations: wire brushed, antiqued, oil rubbed, matte
Bath Lighting
While brushed finishes for lighting remain a steady favorite, rising bath lighting finish options include everything from distressed to burnished. The former presents stunning lighting options when added to gold, silver, or brass.
Materials you may like: glass, silver, wood, aluminum, iron, graphite
Finish Considerations: burnished, weathered, satin, suede
Bath Floors
Whether you think of it as old-world, vintage, or rustic, the retro style is en vogue for bath floors. Also trending, tile floors, including stenciled, mosaic, and wood-look ones. In fact, flooring maven, Debbie Gartner, writes, “The biggest trend in tile flooring…is tile that looks like hardwood.” [ii]
Materials you may like: concrete, porcelain or ceramic tile, cork, engineered wood, limestone, bamboo
Finish Considerations: glazed, stamped or stained (concrete), distressed
Bath Cabinets
Wood cabinets are a favorite of PrecisionCraft clients because wood naturally complements their mountain style homes. And, bath cabinets made from wood easily combine with other materials creating sophisticated, one-of-a-kind spaces. For example, solid wood cabinets like oak or maple [iii] perfectly meld with marble cabinet accents or marble vanity tops. Trending this year are two modern styles: floating vanities and console sink vanities. Both styles can be seen on the Emily Henderson website, here and both blend a lovely assortment of materials and finishes.
Materials you may like: wood, (cherry, maple, oak, hickory), plywood, stainless steel
Finish Considerations: hand-glazed, pen-glazed, [iv] opaque, stain, paint (Note: stained and painted cabinets can also be glazed.), bead-blast matte (stainless steel)
Enjoy more photographs of this resort area residence.
Bath Countertops
2018 saw white, ebony, and gray-colored bath countertops surge straight to the top of interior palettes while materials like glass and concrete made major gains. Bath countertops this year add recycled glass and stainless steel to what was already an amazing and eclectic list of materials. And, while classics like marble and quartz show few signs of slowing down, exciting new design opportunities abound in new uses of materials. Concrete in particular seems to be top-of-mind for bath countertop trends. It can be pigmented, textured, or embedded with simple stones or intricate tiles.
Materials you may like: glass, marble, stainless steel, concrete, limestone
Finish Considerations: stained or textured (concrete), backpainted (glass), colored or patterned (stainless steel), tumbled or honed (marble)
Read more about countertops and countertop materials here.
MSI’s blog, On the Surface, provides a useful guide here.
Bath Sinks and Bathtubs
Sinks comprised of marble and quartz were big in 2018. This is a trend that shows little sign of stopping. Tiled and solid marble bathtubs are still big, especially in mountain style homes. An overarching increase in spa-like bath features cannot be overlooked. This includes concrete accents, wood- wrapped bathtubs, aromatherapy lighting, and personal waterfalls. Finally, vessel sinks, especially ones with unique shapes, and gemstone or other unusual materials (think: petrified wood) are also being incorporated.
Materials you may like: hemathoid or rose quartz, labradorite, marble, stainless steel, concrete
Finish Considerations: polished (quartz, marble, and labradorite), matte (stainless steel)
Read Julianne Hilmes Bartlett’s article, 8 Bathroom Trends That Will Be Huge in 2019 on the Better Homes & Gardens website here.
The Finish
With bold, new styles and re-discovered old favorites, your bath or powder room easily moves beyond mere function. It becomes a lovely personal statement and retreat.
Read: Bath Design: Blending Form & Function
Contemplating your log, timber, or hybrid luxury home? Contact us.
Works cited and notes
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[i] natural stone is porous; regular sealing is important
[ii] Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl, Top 7 Bathroom Flooring Trends for 2019 | Tile, June 19, 2018
[iii] solid wood cabinets should be properly sealed and painted for best performance
[iv] Read more about hand glazed, pen glazed, and other cabinet finishes at The Pro Wholesale website.
