Modern vs Traditional Bathrooms: Which one and why?

The bathroom is the most private part of anyone’s home, the place where one is most vulnerable, and picking the right decor to suit your personal taste is never easy. When designing or renovating your bathroom, you can decide to do it the modern way, or the traditional way.

Identifying a modern bathroom is pretty easy; it’s sleek, simple, usually white and minimal. It may seem cold to those who prefer a traditional style, but a modern bathroom is basically classy. But what makes up a modern bathroom? Modern bathrooms are nowadays made possible with technology and bathroom devices such as an electric shower and heater. Modern bathrooms usually have a marble, wood or stone countertop. They also use free standing sinks, which are sinks that are not fixated in the countertop but instead are standing out from it. These sinks, like the countertop, can be made from wood or stone. If your budget allows, you can use darker woods like teak or have a tub made of polished stone, fancy right? For the shower, a walk in shower stall with transparent doors and a stone finish is usual in a modern bathroom.

If you decide to add a bathtub, a modern bathroom’s bathtub is a rectangular tub rather than the clawfoot tub used in a traditional bathroom, and these tubs are free standing such that you can sit or stand in them, depending on what you’re doing. A modern bathroom is not complete without towel hangers, although they are usually placed out of sight beside the tub. Metal is better for your towel hanger, because it seems shiny and polished. A modern bathroom does not use bright colours, and so we’re looking at neutral colours like black, grey or preferably white. The shapes in a modern bathroom also rhyme; when your sink is rectangular, your bathtub is the same too. That way it gives it uniformity and the sleekness that it’s supposed to have. If you’re thinking about renovating your bathroom into a modern style, this article has some great tips.

Traditional bathrooms on the other hand are generally the opposite of modern bathrooms. They are not sleek or simple, and they have a more Victorian or colonialist look. The furniture in traditional bathrooms, like modern bathrooms, are made with natural materials. But it mostly made of wood, like the benches, chairs or sink cabinets. The sink and countertop is usually made with porcelain or stone, and the types of sinks are usually basis, consoles or pedestals. For the bathtub, the Clawfoot tub  is perfect and to make it more traditional, it is usually polished porcelain. Traditional bathrooms use a lot of metal in accessories like faucets, lamps or hardware. Some of them use iron, copper or bronze. Traditional bathrooms use a lot of linens like towels, shower curtains, window shades or mats. Instead of a neutral colour, it uses more traditional colours like red, blue, green or even brown.

The choice you make ultimately depends on your personal preferences. If you’re looking for something old school, bright and comforting, a traditional bathroom is ideal for you. But if you need something classy, white and technologically powered, then go for the modern bathroom. All in all, choose the one that is best for you.