Details Make the Difference

Attention to detail can transform an awkward and uninviting bathing space into a haven where you can relax and enjoy the various sensations in your bath. With the right choice of physical compositions to enhance your senses you can soothe and pamper your delicate skin. Surfaces should be inviting to the touch since the washroom is one of the few rooms in the home where you can bare it all as nature intended and not feel embarrassed or guilty about it. Experience the joy of texture in your bathroom through the careful planning of the way surfaces feel when touched.

Few home owners even consider this factor into their renovation planning; yet in the bath the sumptuous feeling of the right grain can really enhance the whole bathing experience. When we think of texture in our wet rooms we usually associated it with surface quality: smooth or rough, soft or coarse but in reality the tactile quality of the room goes far beyond these superficial labels.

Its all a Matter of Perception

The character of the space can also be interpreted in terms of depth, the unevenness of the grain or the elevation of its pile. Whether naturally occurring in nature or man-made, surfaces in your bathing area help define the global design and feel of the room so it’s important to get it right.

Being human, we are visual and tactile creatures, generally speaking we like to look at and touch things. Yet few of us realize how light and color affects our perception of texture in our surroundings. When designing your home spa you have to remember that the smoother and shinier the surface, the greater the refraction of light (light bounces off the surface) whereas the opposite is true for matte and rougher surfaces that have a tendency of absorbing refracted light.

The Illusion of Light

This is important because it affects our depth of field, that said, the shinier the surface, the lighter the same hue of a particular color appears as compared to a non-reflective or rougher surface. So why is this important? Well, light and shadow specifically create the illusion of texture in a three dimensional space. Once you understand this you can strategically arrange your lighting to take advantage of this phenomenon.

The other design element in your washroom that can superficially create the illusion of tactile property is pattern. In your bath, you can use pattern to establish graphic rhythm throughout the room and bring the separate design elements together. What this means is that the intensity of light and the complexity of surface patterns can for all intensive purposes create the illusion of texture on your surfaces when in reality none does exist.

The Quality of Touch

This textural attention to detail can create a decorative or sensual holistic environment based upon your design intentions. Of all the design elements, the joy of texture in your bathroom can be used as a supplemental palette to enhance your bathing space. Depending upon the effect you are trying to create you can apply this principle contrastingly bold or subtly to complement your décor.

In the restroom, the design response we are most familiar with and associate with the term “texture” is touch; the softness of our bath towels, the feeling of surfaces underfoot, the hard smooth exterior of your handheld shower in the palm of your hand and the warm invigorating feeling of warm water on your neck and back. It is only natural that we intimately interact with the materials and surfaces that surround us.

Safety Comes First

The feeling of a surface such as a floor plays an important role in the usability and safety of the chamber. It should go without saying that underfoot you should avoid surfaces that become slippery when wet. Choose a surface composition that creates some form of traction. A good choice would be to resurface your floors with smaller unglazed tiles with plenty of grout to aid with solid footing.

To fully appreciate the joy of textures in yo[...]