Brown hues are making a comeback: modern meets cosy

The bathroom increasingly feels like cosy living space andon-trend colours like petrol or ultraviolet can be used to reinforce that impression.But interior designers tend to favour natural colours, which are both warmer and more neutral – thekind of colours that are mainly found in the palette of brown and sand hues.However, the new shades of brown have nothing to do with the old familiar colour known as Bahama Beige – on the contrary: the browns available nowadays add up to a thoroughly modern world of colour.Because similarly to grey, there's just one simple rule: anything goes – as long as it’s not boring or devoid of nuance.The secret lies in the subtle tints and shades.Brown can contain hints of mud, clay or terracotta, olive, bronze or rust, pine forest or cedarwood, powder or taupe – the possibilities are endless.

But the classic browns, from chocolate to nougat to caramel, are also being used again, making an unabashed appearance alongside blackberry and petrol.Thanks to the 70s revival and a more open-minded view of this classic furnishing colour, living rooms and home offices are being decked out in colours ranging from winter-warm shades all the way to beach grass hues.When it comes to sofas, beige is the neutral on-trend alternative to bolder red, elegant green and warm to pastel coral shades.

Thanks to its wealth of nuances, brown is also ideal for tone-on-tone arrangements.It’s unbeatable for creating a snug and cosy feel.A brown ambience helps us unwind and feel secure.And as long as the muted shades don’t make the colour scheme seem too oppressive – splashes of orange, blackberry or white are a good antidote – there’s no reason why brown or beige can’t be used to create a modern interior.

There are two main options for interpreting brown in a contemporary way: either as a colour spectrum inspired by nature, often used in combination with natural materials to create a harmonious colour space, or as an artistic reference to historic styles.Matt surfaces are a popular choice for underscoring the fresh, natural look.And when it comes to materials, wood tops the list of frontrunners for creating a bathroom with a snug feel.Whether it’s used for the wall, the countertops or the floor, there’s a perennial favourite for conjuring up a pleasant, feel-good atmosphere: oak, preferably with a finish that reflects the current trend towards a light ambience.On the other hand, elegant arrangements featuring darker wood hues from cognac all the way to bog oak are coming in again, especially among the avant garde.In this case, the brown colour scale is used in an emphatically upmarket way to add a hint of art deco and luxury to the modernist bathroom.

Furniture that creates a natural ambience for use in the bathroom

Solid wood furniture doesn’t just create a snug and cosy atmosphere in the living room, it’s an ideal choice for the hallway and bathroom too.However, the fluctuations in temperature and humidity these rooms are subject to can have a negative impact on the furniture.To ensure the solid wood is perfectly protected, the surfaces of bathroom furniture are finished with an eco-friendly water-based varnish,which not only gives it a perfect look and feel but makes it resistant to high humidity as well.Alternatively, bathroom manufacturers also offer an abundance of innovative and top-quality finishes that imitate nature almost perfectly.Regardless of the specific style, the question as to which materials to use is often resolved by means of such simulations: from stone, marble or wood effects all the way to fabric textures, anything is possible – without looking the slightest bit artificial.

Shower trays, floor tiles or splashbacks printed to look like wood, fittings with wood inlays or countertops made of composites skilfully imitate nature and combine it with the positive material properties of the established product canon.Up-to-the-minute brown hues can transform any bathroom into a lifestyle space, especially when combined with suitable accessories in complementary accent colours – like the petrol shade mentioned above, turquoise, orange, a beige-tinted dusky pink (or Millennial Pink as it’s now called), ultraviolet or the odd dash of mustard, which looks great with olive and brown shades.