White may be the most popular (and perhaps safest) choice when it comes to bathroom colors , but it certainly isn’t the only option. Bright and bold shades can add life—and major style—to a bath, whether you use strategic pops of color or add an entire rainbow’s worth. There a number of vibrant ways to amp up the energy in your bathroom, whether you’re looking for an easy update or are undergoing a full renovation.
For a quick change, consider painting the walls (or ceiling) a bright hue. For a home in the Adirondacks, Thom Filicia used red and navy paint to invigorate a guest bath, while Jamie Drake applied a pretty pink to the walls of a Manhattan bathroom. Wallpaper can add pattern to a bland bathroom and works particularly well in small spaces such as powder rooms. Designer Katie Ridder used one of her own wallpapers in the powder room of her Millbrook, New York, home, and Bunny Williams used a traditional motif to add elegance to a Richmond, Virginia, bathroom.
If you’re ready to a top-to-bottom renovation, colored tile can help a space stand out. The Campana brothers used red mosaic tile on nearly every surface of a bathroom in a São Paulo home, while Kelly Wearstler made a splash with pink, black, and white marble inlaid walls at a Beverly Hills house. In a Manhattan bathroom, Rockwell Group kept the space sleek and unadorned except for a single wall of gold mosaic tile.
Not sure which route to choose? We’ve gathered bathrooms from the AD archives that feature vivid wall paint, splashy mosaic tile, and eye-catching patterns in shades ranging from soothing pastels to daring jewel tones to adventurous primaries. Find ideas for your own colorful bath designs in these lively, inspiring spaces that will make you want to leave white behind.
Red Bisazza tile lines a bath of a São Paulo home designed by the Campana brothers; the light fixtures are by Konstantin Grcic for Flos, and the vanity, sink, and fittings are by Antonio Lupi.
A Nina Campbell for Osborne & Little wallpaper lines a bath at the Spanish villa of designer Lorenzo Castillo; the mirror is 17th-century Spanish, and the portraits date from the 17th and 19th centuries.
In the sunny master bath of designer Katie Ridder and architect Peter Pennoyer’s Hudson Valley, New York, getaway , Robern medicine cabinets are mounted over a washstand equipped with Waterworks sinks and fittings.
A guest bath of a Russian home designed by Gabhan O’Keeffe has walls clad in glass-mosaic tile and Carrara marble, with a jade-marble sink and onyx vanity doors.
An antique French chandelier, walls glazed in Benjamin Moore’s At Sea, and Fortuny fabrics enliven the master bath of jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke’s Virginia home , which was decorated by Alison Martin.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-01.jpg
One of the baths in an 18th-century Marrakech riad features green walls and a tiled tub.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-02.jpg
At an Adirondacks home by architecture firm Shope Reno Wharton, designer Thom Filicia employed a navy-and-red motif in the guest bath.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-03.jpg
At a handsome Georgian-style house in Richmond, Virginia, designer Bunny Williams used wallpaper by Peter Fasano and a 19th-century French iron-and-marble sink from Treillage to decorate a bath.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-04.jpg
Designer Kelly Wearstler clad this Beverly Hills bath with pink, white, and black inlaid-marble walls.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-05.jpg
The bath of Easton Neston ’s Empress Suite—named in honor of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who rented the estate in 1876—is anchored by a marble tub with Lefroy Brooks fittings.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-06.jpg
Olson Kundig Architects and designer Terry Hunziker collaborated on a boldly geometric oceanfront retreat in Los Cabos, Mexico , whose master bath features a Caesarstone counter.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-07.jpg
In the master bath of his New York City apartment , designer Jamie Drake covered the Venetian-plaster walls in Benjamin Moore’s Perky Peach.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-08.jpg
Decorator Miles Redd punched up a young family’s Connecticut residence with snappy colors, including this blue-and-white stripe in the master bath.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-09.jpg
With turquoise walls and sapphire-striped floors, the provocative Milan penthouse of Fiat heir and globe-trotting entrepreneur Lapo Elkann features a master bath with artworks by Damien Hirst (left) and Olimpia Ferrari.
dam-images-decor-2015-05-colorful-baths-colorful-bathrooms-ideas-10.jpg
A vintage chair from Trina Turk Residential and wall covering by Élitis enliven the master bath of decorator Emily Summers’s Palm Springs home.
Related: AD ’s Guide to Decorating with Color
A wall in the wife’s bath in a Rockwell Group–designed New York City apartment is embellished with gold-leafed glass-mosaic tile, and the tub features Dornbracht fittings.
A Katie Ridder wall covering and an antique mirror retro-fitted with elephant sconces lend pizzazz to a powder room in the designer's Millbrook, New York, home .
In a bathroom of an English manor house , a panel of circa-1730 Dutch scenic tiles decorates the wall above a Victorian tub. The cachepots are Chinese, and the handled vessel is 19th-century Italian.
A Manhattan bath designed by Janson Goldstein is painted in a deep maroon and the shower is sheathed in Ann Sacks marble and mosaic tiles.
In a Los Angeles home decorated by Madeline Stuart, a powder room features walls hand-painted to mimic decorative Islamic tilework. The 18th-century Italian marble sink is from Compas, and the stoneware vase and 1920s mirror are from Downtown.
Related: AD ’s Guide to Decorating with Color