Bring industrial style into your bathroom with thoughtful decorating choices and, above all, the right wall and floor surfaces.
Around half a century after former factories, warehouses and even fire stations began finding new life as loft-style homes, interior design turned its attention to the industrial character at the heart of this movement, with roots in 1950s New York. Our continuing appetite for versatile, comfortable spaces is a major reason the style remains part of the conversation today.
With its ability to break down boundaries, industrial style can find a place in every part of a contemporary home. You do not need high ceilings, large windows or exposed concrete walls to embrace it. Follow a few considered decorating steps and complete this adaptable style with touches of your own. Most importantly, create the right combinations for its leading elements: walls and floors.
Bathrooms, our spaces for physical and mental renewal, have also embraced industrial style in its rawest, most creative form. Let us explore how to bring this functional, expressive approach into your bathroom, creating pleasing compositions, giving older pieces a second chance and finding the right surface combinations.
Natural character is central to industrial style, which favours materials used without disguising their original qualities. It enjoys raw wood and plastered concrete. Keep this principle in mind when creating an industrial bathroom. Pairing the warmth of wood with the cool texture of concrete is an effective starting point. If you need storage, begin with a raw-wood bathroom cabinet. Alternatively, introduce wood through the basin worktop. A round countertop basin will complement either option. When it comes to walls and floors, this boundary-breaking style gives you plenty of freedom. Walls can simply be painted, without tiles. Neutral wall tones balance the warmth of wood beautifully. For the floor, consider Kalebodur's Fabbrica series, inspired by the aesthetic of concrete used on industrial floors, to bring a lived-in industrial atmosphere into your bathroom.
With its affinity for natural, raw materials, industrial style feels at home with neutral tones. Black and anthracite often feature in its palette. If you prefer a lighter bathroom, explore calm combinations of grey and introduce darker tones through the basin, taps, mirror, freestanding cabinet or open shelving. For a bolder approach, use black and anthracite on walls and floors.
Metal textures are among the defining materials of industrial style, and the shower area is one place to introduce them into a bathroom. If space allows, consider a freestanding bath. In a smaller room, a shower enclosure with a grid-style frame can create a similar industrial effect while saving space. As these frames are often black, neutral wall tones work well alongside them. For a cleaner, more defined look, explore the Avenue series from Çanakkale Seramik's Miniatile Collection.
Floors are particularly effective at conveying a sense of history, which is why they play such an important role in industrial style. Give careful thought to your floor covering when bringing the look into your bathroom. Traditional surfaces with geometric patterns offer an alternative for those less drawn to concrete-effect tiles. If you enjoy geometric designs, explore Çanakkale Seramik's Ornament series, whose Classic, Geo and Multi options bring different moods to a space.
Reflecting the buildings in which it originated, industrial style often features greater wall heights than conventional homes. Yet the right products can make even a small bathroom appear taller. Whatever shade you choose from its neutral palette, large rectangular tiles measuring 60 × 120 cm can help create this impression.
We have explored industrial style's love of natural, raw materials. It also thrives on bringing these textures together: raw wood, plastered concrete, exposed brick and visible pipework, used freely in different combinations, perhaps without any need for renovation. Complete this harmony of textures with older pieces given a second life and personal touches of your own.
