How to Create a Rustic Bathroom

We'll be discussing some rustic bathroom ideas that you can implement yourself, that'll Turn Your Bathroom from Drab to Fab!

What is ‘rustic’? 

‘Rustic’ comes from the Latin word ‘rusticus’ meaning ‘the country’. Therefore, when we talk about rustic design, we usually think of a ‘farmhouse’ aesthetic that’s homely in an unpolished or unrefined way. The direct opposite of rustic would be a modern or luxurious design. 

Why are rustic bathrooms gaining popularity?

Rustic bathrooms are thriving for several reasons: 

• Easy to design -  Rustic is a slightly mismatched aesthetic and it prioritizes the ‘rough’ look. Therefore, it’s effortless to match and blend your furniture and accessories when implementing a rustic design.
• Comfortability - Rustic is cozy and it often features warm colour palettes, or wooden furniture, to mimic the calmness of nature. 
• Nostalgic - A lot of the furniture that makes the rustic aesthetic is inspired by vintage or antique design, which can often create warm feelings of nostalgia.
• Simple- The good thing about a simple style is that it’s very hard to mess it up. Rustic designs are easy to implement because of how effortlessly chic they are. 

You don’t need to instigate a full renovation, where you’re ripping apart your bathroom, to create the perfect rustic look. The fun part about rustic is that you can make subtle, small changes that can completely transform your bathroom.

Without further ado, here are a few rustic bathroom ideas to achieve your dream bathroom!

How to Create a Rustic Bathroom

Clinical to Mineral: incorporating minerals into your space

One way to take control of the rustic look is to incorporate natural or mineral-inspired design into your space. Patterns from wood or stone can revitalize your bathroom and bring the calmness and tranquillity of nature to your space. This can be achieved through changes like adding stone-effect tiles, wooden floor panels, or incorporating oak furniture. Using natural resources or nature-inspired patterns in your bathroom will guarantee timelessness. Like with clothing, avoiding ‘fast-fashion’ trends and sticking to a classic style, such as rustic, will ensure that your bathroom remains chic for a long time. Using minerals in your space will help create the perfect rustic, capsule bathroom!

Soft Light to Avoid a Fright: make use of soft lighting

Next on our rustic bathroom ideas list, we'll be discussing the importance of soft lighting. In a rustic bathroom, a bright white-toned light is practically a chargeable offense. A key selling point for the rustic design is its ability to create a calming atmosphere…an impossible task when dealing with harsh, clinical lighting. This tip is probably the easiest to implement in your bathroom as all you need to do is switch out your lightbulbs. Going from soft white to warm white bulbs can help manage the mood in your space and create a more inviting, homely atmosphere. Need some inspiration? Take a look at our selection of lighting here.

Transform into Warm: adding warm colours to your space

Integrating warm colours into your bathroom is another great way to successfully pull off the rustic look. Different deep shades of brown, orange, and green can be used as base colours for your bathroom as they are the colours most commonly found in nature. Avoid too many bright or neon-y colours, as this lessens the fluidity of colour in your space and draws too much attention away from the natural aesthetic. Of course, a pop of colour is still manageable and sometimes essential in preventing your bathroom from becoming boring. You can achieve this with a range of different colours, like blues, pinks, and greys, but to be sure that they don’t stick out like a sore thumb, choose muted tones.

Emphasize on Accessorize: incorporate rustic accessories 

A simple way to create a rustic bathroom is by accessorizing correctly. There is a range of accessories to choose from to give your bathroom a rustic feel, from bathtubs to mirrors, to woven basket containers, and more. If you’re looking for a more drastic change, a freestanding bathtub (more specifically, a double-ended roll-top tub) would be a great addition to your bathroom, to create a traditional rustic style. If you’re looking to implement smaller changes, switching from plastic storage containers to wooden or woven is an example of how to subtly exude a rustic vibe. Take a look at our quality accessories here. 

Whether you want to implement small or big changes to your bathroom, you can achieve the rustic look fairly easily. You may find that creating a rustic/modern hybrid bathroom is more suited to your style. That is what’s great about having total creative freedom when it comes to renovating your space, as you can personalize your sanctuary based on your own, personal style. However, if you’re a fan of the unrefined, unpolished nature of the rustic look, these rustic bathroom ideas may be the perfect catalyst to achieve your dream bathroom!