Monthly Archives: August 2022

On-trend organically shaped pebble mirrors.

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This year we are seeing a growing love of beautiful imperfection and refreshing authenticity in bathroom design and styling. Gone are the days of symmetrical spaces with perfectly shaped objects. Instead, we are moving to a place of comfort and injecting a sense of serenity and harmony into the room. This trend is very much inspired by the social directions of mindfulness, quality of life and enhancing the home environment.

Bespoke Illuminated mirror with walnut frame

Embracing the forms seen in the natural world, with many flowing lines and curves, one of the ways in which we see this styling trend taking shape in the bathroom is through pebble shaped, organic looking mirrors.

By their very function, bathrooms can sometimes appear a little sterile, so organic-shaped mirrors help create a striking focal point, and bring an understated and elegant, free-flowing asymmetrical design quality to the interior.

How to style with an organic shaped mirror:

Before embarking on any bathroom styling project, it is important to think about the bathroom interior design holistically, as there are many pebble shaped mirrors options, all providing a slightly different aesthetic. It is therefore a good idea to consider how you want your bathroom identity to look, before investing in a pebble style mirror.

Stripped back simplicity:

Frameless organic shaped mirrors softly finish off a pared back, effortless Scandinavian, or Minimalist bathroom. Combine with simple fixtures and fittings, clean lines, and subtle colour palettes. This look is unfussy, simple, and structured with a soft elegance and knowingly understated style. Less is more here, both in terms of colour and design.

Sculptural and stylish:

Acrylic edge-lit pebble mirror

Pebble shaped mirrors with acrylic edges offer a contemporary style which provides a sculptural, modern, and minimal style. They can be paired perfectly with sleek materials such as granite and marble and help create a break in the straight lines of the rest of the bathroom. Combine natural materials with high end finishes to complete the look. – Think polished concrete, floor to ceiling marble, and dark, statement furniture.

Introduce a pop of colour through the mirror frame edge, and thread the same hue through the rest of the room. – Be sure to repeat it at least three times within the bathroom to help balance and subliminally tie everything together visually for a harmonious design.

Go Boho

Mirrors with natural, timber edged frames work well for a warmer, bohemian styled bathroom. Pair with other nature inspired elements such as stoneware or bamboo for a tranquil scheme. Add an earthy colour palette of Olive green, Terracotta and Clay for a Bohemian vibe, or stick to calming off-whites and Greige for a Japandi theme. This trend works particularly well for eco-friendly or sustainable styling in bathrooms

Enhance with elegance:

Frosted edge-lit pebble mirror

Organic bathroom mirrors with frosted edging add a little sense of luxury to a naturally styled bathroom. They subtly finish off the mirror to create a refined frame that doesn’t draw attention too strongly and instead finishes off the room with elegance.

Having an illuminated frosted edge also makes a great contemporary alternative to heavier, metal frames.

Top tips for styling bathrooms with organic shaped mirrors:

  • Avoid combining this mirror type with harsh geometric prints, in favour of natural, organic shapes. Think about natural elements; the irregularity of mountains, rivers and seascapes and be inspired by these. Geometrics with hard lines are unlikely to sit well with a pebble shape. Instead, pair the soft, flowing lines of the mirror with accessories that have the same design principles such as asymmetrical, wavy curves. This will help coordinate the scheme and pull it all together.
  • Enhance the feeling of nature by hanging the organic styled mirror opposite a window to reflect the outside back into the room. Seeing greenery from the outdoors will highlight the natural elements in the room and help elevate well-being too. Mirrors are also a great way to bounce and reflect daylight back into the bathroom, too which can really help brighten the space.
  • Pair an irregular edged mirror with rounded or oval shaped basin and rounded taps. Friendly, soft, and understated design with rounded corners will tie the whole interior style together. Just one or two angled or hard lined objects are enough to cause a discord within an interior scheme, so favour softer lines to match your organic scheme.
  • Select mirrors with lighting already built in to draw attention and really add impact to a wall, as well as offering a practical lighting solution, too.
  • For a sleek and understated appeal, select a subtle, slimline mirror to finish off the bathroom.

How to wow with Worn Gold

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There has been a welcomed resurgence lately of the use of warm metals such as Copper, Bronze, and Gold, particularly within a bathroom environment. More recently, this trend has embraced the aesthetic of a little imperfection, to create understated and effortless style and opulence, through the appearance of Worn Gold.

This sense of glamour and luxury was previously mainly seen in boutique hotels, but you only have to look online to see that it has become a big trend within our homes – because who doesn’t want a hint of splendour?

Using Gold in the bathroom doesn’t necessarily mean that it will result in a traditional aesthetic; you can style a Worn Gold bathroom with classic, glamorous looks as well as an edgier, more modern industrial chic, through just a few tweaks to fixtures and fittings selections.

The main thing to remember is that Worn Gold has the effect of a patina to it which gives it the more rustic, lived-in look. This is key to creating a bathroom that exudes effortless warmth and sophistication.

So, if you’re looking for ways to re-style your bathroom from drab to fab with a Worn Gold vibe, here are our top tips to get the look. >>

Consider your colour palette

When planning your Worn gold bathroom, try to create a mood board that encompasses the styling and colour palette that you’d like to achieve. A few things to consider are whether you want Gold to be the main colour, or perhaps a highlight within the scheme.

Here are a few of our favourite Old Gold palette combinations for inspiration:

Dusky rose and olive green are soft and understated colours that create a light and natural combination. Add worn gold fixtures and fittings to this palette to style a premium look and feel. 

For a more industrial take on the trend, adding deep, saturated colours such as navy or charcoal will complement the gold in the room and make it pop.

Alternatively, fresh white and stoneware such as white/neutral marble and granite can give a more subtle backdrop to Worn Gold.

Be bold with brassware

Brushed brass or gold effect taps, and shower heads are a sure-fire way of pulling in a hint of refined luxury to elevate your bathroom and create a worn gold bathroom scheme.

Updating other fixtures and fittings such as furniture door and drawer handles to tie in, will help create a coordinated, seamless aesthetic that easily hangs together, and is a great way to ensure that any existing cabinets align with your new look.

Top Tip! >> Leave the super-shiny, highly polished brassware for another scheme, and instead look for brushed and matte finishes for a raw aesthetic.

Add wow factor to your walls and floors

The right wall and floor coverings can help ground an interior scheme. Since they affect the largest expanse of space in a bathroom, they are one of the key decisions to make when it comes to directing the interior design.

If you enjoy pattern, add a feminine flourish to your worn gold scheme by selecting an opulent wallpaper in a bold print. Enlarged botanicals with metallic gold in are a great way to thread the colour palette through the room and will create a vibrant, maximalist scheme.

Top tip >> When selecting a bolder print, it’s important to consider whether you want to create a feature wall or if it’s a design you’d like to envelope the whole room with. Busy prints are best used in small doses, whereas less detailed designs can more easily be used in the whole room, regardless of print size.

In contrast, abstract and geometric designs can offer interest in a sleek and modern scheme.

Top tip >> When wallpapering a bathroom, use decorators varnish to seal it and make it splash-proof, or better still, choose one that’s suitable for scrubbing/wiping down.

To wholly embrace the worn look and feel, consider selecting Worn gold bathroom tiles like these by Crown. To get the maximum realistic patina effect of this tile, it is worth covering a large expanse of space.

Aged-gold effect travertine tiles are a good option for a worn looking floor, or for smaller budgets, a similar look can also be achieved with lino.

Illuminate the room  

When considering lighting for your Worn Gold bathroom, continue the brushed or worn brass effect through to your lighting selections.

Where space allows, brushed metal wall sconces make a great style statement. Team with white gloss shades for an elegant, Scandi style.

For an industrial style bathroom, worn gold metal wall lights paired with charcoal and other darker hues can provide an edgier, more modern feel.

Top tip >> To enhance the golden glow, choose warm white lighting instead of cooler, blue light which can leave a space feeling more clinical and less welcoming.

Fabulous finishing touches

An effective way of instantly enhancing a Worn Gold styled bathroom is with a few finishing flourishes such as mirrors and accessories.

Neutral towels with texture such as waffle weaves and seer sucker styles work well with worn gold and will contrast nicely.

Darker colours pair nicely with Gold and can really add drama to a space.

Brushed brass bathroom accessories are a great way to continue the theme and finish it all off. It is well worth paying attention to small details such as the pump and any other brassware on the accessories, to ensure that the scheme ties in tonally and that the metals all sit well together.

Mirrors with matte gold or brushed gold edges can really level up a bathroom, amplify a scheme and are often the key ingredient in grounding and combining an aesthetic.

For a stronger reference to the gold scheme, select mirrors with larger frames where the gold effect is more prominent, and for more subtle, modern takes on the look, choose mirrors with thinner gold frames to pull the interior together in an understated and elegant way.

Let there be lighting!

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Choosing the lighting for a bathroom is a big decision which requires a little foresight and planning. From aesthetics and style to functionality and safety, there are a number of factors to consider when selecting bathroom lighting that delivers both practically as well as visually.

One of the main aspects to consider, is bathroom lighting safety, which is of paramount importance, and why it is always recommended that a trained electrician installs any new bathroom lighting. There are a number of regulations to adhere to, including IP rating, which measures the likelihood of steam or water accessing the light fitting, placements of fixtures within the different zones of bathrooms, and the general suitability of lighting fixtures and fittings for bathrooms.

Bathrooms are predominantly bathing spaces… So why is good bathroom lighting such an important aspect of the design?

Often in smaller rooms, or if the bathroom is in the middle of the home, there may very little, and sometimes even no source of natural light. In this scenario bathroom lighting will often be selected as a substitute for natural light. This means that it needs to do more than simply brighten the room, and so several light sources are likely needed to cover various tasks and functions.

Bathrooms are where we do a lot of preparation for the day – from makeup to shaving, to hair, we need to be able to see clear detail (and often on a microscopic level!) Decent lighting will make these jobs a lot easier to do!

From an interior design perspective, better bathroom lighting can immediately transform a space, and it also helps draw attention to certain aspects of a room.

You can save on the cost of energy by investing in decent lighting solutions. By selecting energy efficient lighting such as LED’s, you will use less power consumption which means that the lights will last a lot longer, prolonging their use as well as protecting your wallet a little in the process.

Bathroom dimmer switches are also an energy efficient option, as even on their brightest setting they use significantly less electricity than a standard light switch. As well as adding a subtle ambient glow, dimmers can also help with the adjustment of your eyes between darkness and light – a gentle way to ease into those dark winter mornings!

So now we’re fully versed in what is so amazing about great bathroom lighting, what are the different types, and why do we need them?

If you have begun your research into bathroom lighting, you may have noticed that there are a broad range of different types on the market. The key thing to note is to use lighting to layer and highlight different zones of the room, enhancing experience and functionality of those areas dependent upon their usage.

  • Recessed spotlights

Spotlights sit within the ceiling so that the lightbulb is flush with the ceiling surface. By positioning spotlights equally throughout the bathroom, you can ensure that the room is evenly lit for general lighting use. They’re a great option for smaller spaces, since they don’t encroach into the bathroom itself at all.

  • Short bathroom ceiling lights

If space is not an issue, ceiling lights make great alternatives to recessed spots. Choose a short ceiling light that sits up to and over the ceiling fitting to light the bathroom as a whole.

  • Bathroom ceiling chandeliers

Used to enhance a space visually and add a little luxurious elegance, a chandelier is a great option for adding a show-stopping statement to larger bathrooms.

Top tip >> Before hanging chandeliers, ensure that you check the weight and bathroom suitability first.

  • Bathroom wall lights

Often positioned to frame the sides of a mirror, wall lights are frequently selected for their decorative qualities as well as for their functionality. Usually chosen to add a soft glow to a room, they’re an ambient addition that has the additional use of helping brighten the space.

Top tip >> Since many bathrooms are tiled, the installation of wall lighting fixtures and fittings always needs to be planned intricately as selecting the wrong position can have costly implications.

  • Bathroom mirror lights

Used to enhance and illuminate a bathroom mirror, bathroom mirror lights can usually be found around the edge of the mirror frame. Depending upon the design, the lights are positioned to the sides, top or bottom of the mirror and can emit anything from a soft glow to stronger lighting appropriate for such tasks as the application of makeup and shaving. Whilst not designed to be the primary or sole light-source of a bathroom, they do provide optimal lighting for beauty regimes.

Top tip >> Consider how bright you need your lighting to be. For example, do you require strong, focussed light directed to one specific area, or perhaps it’s more of an overall glow to enhance the whole room? Brightness is measured in Lumens, so it is a good idea to take the time to check and compare the Lumens across different LED lights.

Once you have established the type of lighting that you would like for your bathroom, another key consideration is the temperature of light.

By temperature we mean how ‘cool’ (blue toned) or ‘warm’ (yellow toned) a light is, which is measured in Kelvins (K).

Generally speaking, a warmer light (around 3000 Kelvins) will emit a gentle, more flattering and even glow – ideal for photographs and for assessing how you may look in an environment with softer light. Cooler, more natural lighting (around 5000 Kelvins) provides a more intense, harsher light, and is therefore more suitable for tasks such as makeup application as it provides a true reflection of detail and colour.

So, which is better?

The temperature of the light is therefore an important decision to make when it comes to installing lighting. Ideally, if you are looking for both task lighting in the bathroom and would also like the ability to be able to see how you would look in varying lighting environments, then it may be worth considering illuminated mirrors that have the benefit of being able to switch between different lighting temperatures.

The best of both …

All our UK manufactured mirrors use CCT (corrective colour temperature) LED lighting, which enables the user to flip between 3000K and 5000K, meaning that you can quickly see your reflection in different lighting scenarios and feel better prepared for your day (or night) ahead.

Colour corrective temperature lighting also means that you can mimic the natural light of a day, by setting it to 5000K for the cooler light of a morning (an ideal setting to gradually wake you up for a morning shower!) and you can then change it to 3000K to appear warmer for the evenings – ideal to create a calming atmosphere for bedtime. This can be especially helpful in supporting and enhancing circadian rhythms, and for helping children with night time routines too.

Design your bathroom lighting to coordinate with your interior.

Lighting a bathroom needn’t only be about the technical aspects of design. There are also ways to add more colour to an interior, solely with clever lighting. If you are looking to add pops of colour as well as better lighting, then it is worth considering colour changing LED lights.

Ultra-versatile dual white LED lights, coupled with our Spa Mode lighting can instantly and dramatically change the look of the interior simply with the flick of a switch. Used within many of our mirrors, you can quickly and easily control the light colour of a room and therefore the mood and aura too.

For example, if your bathroom is all white, you can inject colourful yellow and orange lights to add warmth and a welcoming feel for visitors.

Calming blues and greens can add a spa-like sanctuary feel, perfect for relaxing baths and R&R.

To find out more about lighting options within our mirrors, take a look at the collection here