As an interior stylist, I simply love exploring upcoming styles and hot trends. In this "Get the look" style guide, I've discovered a trend that is hotter than most!
In recent times, we've begun to see a blurring of the traditional boundaries between outdoors and indoors living, resulting in patio furniture used inside the home and new-fangled luxuries like garden beds and outdoor desks. The modern world in which we live allows us to enjoy al fresco living when the weather is kind, so it's hardly surprising that we are noticing a more outdoorsy theme creeping into interior design.
Whilst I'm not expecting an outdoor bathroom craze anytime soon (think what the neighbours would say!), there is now an emerging trend that is bringing a touch of the outdoors to your bathroom space.
The Tropical look
We all know the benefits of having plants inside our home: They keep our air cleaner by reducing carbon dioxide levels, filtering out toxins and help to promote a sense of wellbeing. However, it's only in recent times that we've seen a surge in interest around indoor plants, with houseplant sales experiencing phenomenal growth over the past year.
With more and more tropical variants available from High Street stores, plants are fast becoming must-have accessories, leading to a more lush, green and verdant form of interior design.
You can already begin to imagine the sunlight streaming through your windows, filtered by an array of tropical plants, for a look and feel that is both natural and relaxed. To get you in the mood, I've even created a handy mood board below.
Tropical bathroom
In our Tropical bathroom, we’ve divided the space up into distinct zones using different types of tile. For the shower area, we’ve gone with stone effect, for the wash area, where you’d normally have your basin and toilet, we’ve gone with wood effect, and for the bath area, we’ve opted for slate effect.
Tropical plants have been added liberally around the interior space, including both potted varieties and hanging baskets, producing the appearance of green fronds wherever you look. We've also added a “living wall” (a whole wall covered in greenery) on one side of the shower area. And you can find out how to do this by watching the video below.
One other thing you’ll notice about this bathroom is the amount of glass used to divide the different zones, with frosted panes giving a slight sense of privacy, in an otherwise open-plan environment.
Best tropical plants for your bathroom
Whilst we’ve already touched upon the best plants for your bathroom, to really bring this look to life, you’ll want some plant life of the more tropical variety, rather than a bog standard spider plant or two.
Choosing your bathroom products
Of course, in amongst all the greenery, you’ll also need a bathroom suite, providing somewhere to unwind and relax. With great prices on many of the products below, it’s now even easier to create the Tropical look in your own home.
Create your own waterfall in amongst the foliage with this stunning shower set. Consisting of an overhead ceiling shower, shower handset & outlet, triple thermostatic valve and body jets, for an all-over exhilarating experience.
Unwind, relax and de-stress in your very own freestanding bath. Inspired by the minimalist, contemporary style room design, why not choose the Ellis pearl freestanding bath? With clean lines and soft, rounded ends, it’ll make a subtle yet stylish impact.
Keep your bathroom feeling light and spacious with round shaped mirrors featuring an LED surround. They even have handy demisters for when things get a little hot and steamy in your version of the rainforest!
For a clean and minimalist appearance, a wall hung toilet is a great choice. Complete with noise-reducing soft close seat, your Tropical bathroom will remain an oasis of calm and serenity.
Colours & textures
As you can tell, choosing the right colours and textures are vitally important to this look. Here's what we went for:
- Shower area: Rocky clay beige matt tile
- Basin & toilet area: Slate light riven grey matt tile
- Main floor area: Bark coffee wood effect brown matt tile
- Bath area: Mosaic hex black gloss tile
The Tropical look in an average-sized bathroom
To demonstrate the breadth of this particular look, we chose a rather large bathroom! This was done intentionally, to show you all the different colours, textures and products you could use. So, how does this look translate into an average sized bathroom?
As you can see, we dispensed with the bath and used a glass panel to create a wet room shower. We’ve still managed to include plenty of tropical plants and maintained the zoning, through the use of different tiles.
Shop the Tropical look
Feeling green with envy? Or have you been inspired to create your very own beautiful botanical bathroom? For a more up-to-date look at this trend, check out our latest tropical bathroom ideas.
