A modern bathroom with a long-life design: grey is a colour too!

The common colour denominator in the bathroom right now is grey.As a composite colour, it’s not only suitable as a unifying background for all colour chords and accents or for making white sanitaryware gleam, it’s also perceived as a colour in its own right and can be emphasised accordingly.

And it’s actually no newcomer to the bathroom: like fashions, colour trends come and go in waves, and we encountered it back in the 80s in the form of Manhattan Grey sanitaryware.Now grey is back again – but this time in several different shades with a more modern, timeless appeal.

From ultramodern all the way to a nostalgic, patinated feel: you can’t go wrong with grey

Grey inhabits in-between worlds and it’s precisely this “impure”, blended character that gives it such vividness.Grey is extremely popular as a background colour for the vintage style because it makes even good old white look radiant without destroying the patina.All the negative associations with transience and bad weather seem to have been set aside: grey is a fashion colour with a long shelf life. That’s because the blend of black, white and a dash of mystery is a genuine all-rounder that can complement virtually any colour family.Besides light grey in all sorts of chalky variations, shades tinted with blue, green and brown are also very much on trend, for instance in the blend known as greige, which is somewhere between sandstone and concrete.A feminine shade of grey tinted with pink is conducive to day dreams, a muddy elephant grey triggers exotic associations and the addition of a hint of violet conjures up a comfortingly melancholic November mood.You can actually create any kind of ambience with grey – from ultramodern all the way to snug and cosy.That’s why grey can be recommended more or less unconditionally as the ideal starting point for a neutral bathroom design.

White sanitaryware looks just as good with grey furniture surfaces as colour-coordinated washbasins do,and fittings with a standard chrome finish also go well with grey.With trendy accessories in gold or loud colours like red, yellow or turquoise, it’s easy to create fresh contrasts and paint a whole new picture, so to speak.As a result, it’s safe to say that grey has everything it takes to become the new white in the bathroom.

White and grey: a duet in perfect harmony

Grey’s popularity is evident from the wide variety of sanitaryware available in this colour range.Bathroom planners and architects particularly appreciate the creative possibilities it opens up, because grey provides an excellent starting point for an interior design that’s as stylish as it is timeless.Whether it’s a vanity unit or a tall cabinet, a piece of bathroom furniture in grey makes a clear statement.It’s an especially popular choice for products with a minimalist, understated design language.Monochrome surfaces predominate.As for finishes, there seems to be more of a tendency towards matt right now: although high gloss is also common, matt finishes reinforce the upmarket impression made by understated shades of grey.

In the heyday of Manhattan Grey sanitaryware it was usual to select all the other products in the same shade, right down to the toothbrush cup, whereas this uniformity of colour is no longer desirable in today’s lifestyle bathroom.Instead, the bath, washbasin and even the tiles create a neutral background that makes the greys stand out.Trims and accessories in matt brushed stainless steel create a harmonious combination when paired with grey furniture, and courageous interior designers can even opt for a tap and fittings in a suitable colour – either to create an additional accent or in one of the new and innovative metal-look finishes.