10 Bathroom Design Ideas With and Without Tiles

What are 10 Bathroom Design Ideas with and without Tiles? The bathroom is a haven for every person. The functional wet room is increasingly becoming a hallmark of wellness. Today, even the smallest rooms offer many options for individual bathroom design.

Bathroom design: 10 ideas with and without tiles

Bathroom design used to be pure luxury

Even in the 1970s, not every home had its own bathroom. Wet rooms in flats were often used by several families. Statistically speaking, since the 1990s, only one household has really had its own bathroom – although the trend is now towards several bathrooms in one house. Having your own bathroom was a real luxury until the 20th century.

Whoever had it was usually so grateful that they only thought about bathroom design to a limited extent. However, individuality is now key. The simple guest toilet already offers the functionality expected from previously fully-used bathrooms. Design is no longer just about standard ceramic products from the hardware store.

Individual bathroom design with or without tiles, with shower or bathtub (and beyond) is a topic of course today, as is the question of how to design a living room. Consumer electronics and even seating groups are increasingly finding their place in wet rooms that were previously purely practical. Often, more space is given as part of the modernization of bathroom design. A wall is removed – and you already have room for all your ideas to be realized. The urge to get more comfort from the time spent in the bathroom is understandable.

After all, people spend an average of 40 minutes on personal hygiene – this value includes both a quick shower in five minutes and intensive use of the bathroom for two hours. It is striking that Europeans spend more time on damp walls according to statistics – this may also be due to the fact that modern and more beautiful bathrooms have been installed in many places. After the fall of the Wall, many private individuals took advantage of the new opportunities offered by the hardware shopping paradises in the West, and of course, large investments were made in new buildings.

Even in the 1970s, not every home had its own bathroom. Wet rooms in apartment buildings were often used by several families. (#01)

Life hacks for bathroom design

Hanging hooks can be a particular challenge in bathroom design. If you have a tiled bathroom, you will be reluctant to use a drill and dowels. That's why the following life hack presents itself.

With adhesive hooks for the bathroom you get rid of ugly holes in the tile mirror. Only a special adhesive is used here that does not damage the tiles:

Today you have more options in bathroom design

Even in the 70s, sanitary shops were mostly stocked with standard products. Standard sizes, standard colors (who doesn’t remember the dull shades of bright orange or green that were the peak of variety compared to the usual hygienic white) and fixtures, bathtubs and showers that were more functional than beautiful met the needs of that time. Today it could (and should) be more. But desire and reality diverge.

Fifty-two percent of Germans have not renovated their bathrooms since they first moved into their own house or flat, and more than 44 percent of all bathrooms will not be renovated within a 15-year period. A total of four million bathrooms are said to have not been renovated for over 25 years. Bathroom design also has practical implications, especially in families where several people have to share a bathroom (often at the same time in the morning). If showers, sinks, toilets and other facilities can be used in parallel or even in different bathrooms without violating mutual privacy, all the better.

The numbers prove that bathroom design is an important but neglected topic:

• 26 percent of households are not satisfied with their bathroom design
• Nearly 6 million households are planning new bathroom purchases in the next two years
• 87 percent want easy-to-maintain, functional bathrooms

These values ​​speak a clear language: The time has come for modern and efficient bathroom design. What options do you have to adapt the guest bathroom, the color scheme and the bathroom furniture individually and keep them functional and easy to maintain? Finally, affordability plays an important role. Looking to the future also makes sense: Especially in homes that serve as retirement homes, accessibility and age-appropriate fittings should be taken into account when designing bathroom furniture.

What options do you have for customizing the guest bathroom, color scheme, and bathroom furniture and keeping them functional and easy to maintain? (#02)

Basic decisions in bathroom design

For many homes, only the classic variant with floor and wall tiles is considered, both for the mini bathroom and for the family bathroom. After all, it is a damp room that must be hermetically sealed in terms of moisture damage and mold formation. In principle, of course, this is correct. But the idea that this can only be done with wall tiles is wrong.

In fact, the trend is increasingly towards tile-free – or at least joint-free variants, because jointing is an aesthetic and hygienic limitation that can lead to design freedom and frustration during cleaning.

Thanks to modern materials, there are some alternatives today:

• Design floor made of PVC with various decorations
• Cork – traditional building material with high living comfort
• Stone carpet – sounds strange but it really is available in a wide variety of colors and shapes
• Wood – despite the prejudices, when properly sealed, is also ideal for damp rooms
• waterproof plastered walls instead of wall tiles
• Cement for modern bathroom design
• Marble for high demands
• Colorful and affordable design options by painting on tiles
• Special wallpaper for bathroom design

In fact, the trend is increasingly towards tile-free – or at least grout-free variants. Because grouting is an aesthetic and hygienic limitation that can cause frustration during cleaning as well as design freedom. (# 03)

How do you get rid of space in the bathroom?

Let’s take a closer look at these alternatives. In general, of course, the same care and expertise should always be taken during planning and execution. Although you can learn a lot these days with DIY tutorials at home, you should always keep in mind that questions like tiling and how to do this type of work correctly mean that mistakes in bathroom design can have expensive consequences.

Improper work can lead to water damage and mold growth – which also leads to liability law issues in apartments or rental properties. Nevertheless, do-it-yourselfers should not be put off by doing many things themselves. It is striking that many proposals for bathroom design today do without traditional grouting. There are both design and practical reasons for this.

Disadvantages of the joint in the bathroom:

• Lattice patterns pucker in the mini bathroom
• Joints are difficult to clean
• Joints are often affected by color changes
• Joints are problem areas when it comes to mold growth
• Damaged joints are a gateway to moisture damage

It is noteworthy that many proposals for bathroom design today do not include traditional grouts. This has both design and practical reasons. (# 04)

Tile alternatives in bathroom design

Many want to do without joints from the very beginning. However, wall tiles and floor tiles are not automatically out of the race, because now you can also lay tiles – just like wallpaper – in a lump. As with the installation of wooden floors, no joints are left between the elements. They are only available in the form of silicone expansion joints at the edges. This gives you the advantages of simply cleaning the tiles without having to accept the disadvantages of joints. Overall, the bathroom looks quieter and larger without the typical joint grid.

Smooth surfaces are easier to clean and do not cause wear on the edges of tiles, as dirt accumulates between the joints. However, this procedure is only recommended for relatively large-format tiles. They also need to be cut to size. Similar effects can be achieved with less effort if other materials are installed on the walls or simply plastered.

The water-resistant plaster, specially designed for bathroom design, also offers a largely free colour scheme and can then be painted or stained relatively easily. The surfaces offer individual structures and colours, feel very different from normal tiles and can even be glued to old tiled walls. We would also like to highlight some of the other alternatives.

Designer floors for bathroom design are PVC elements with a carrier layer. (# 06)

Design floor made of PVC

In designer floors for bathrooms, the design consists of PVC elements provided with a carrier layer. A decorative layer is glued to it (similar to laminate). Thanks to this, all possible surfaces, from stone to wood and metal, can be displayed inexpensively. The decor is protected by a transparent and easy-to-care protective seal. Such floors are very thin and therefore can be used for renovation in old rooms without any problems.

Bathroom renovation with cork

Cork is a natural raw material that is very durable when processed correctly and above all keeps the feet warm. Many people find this extremely pleasant, especially if they do not have underfloor heating that can heat their old tiles. However, it is important to lay them properly, including sealing and edge protection so that water does not get under the covering.

Stone carpets are modern and original

You can apply a very special bathroom design with stone carpets. These are real stones poured into a bed made of acrylic or resin. There are different design options according to the nature of the stones. Surfaces, colors and grain sizes are especially popular for wall coverings. However, the wall or floor should be primed appropriately before laying.

Few people would consider wood as wall cladding or flooring in the bathroom. But why? (#05)

Is there no place for wood in the bathroom? This was once

Wooden surfaces do not have a good reputation in damp rooms. Although wooden ceilings were also trendy in bathroom design in the 80s and 90s, they were often poorly prepared for wet conditions and therefore caused many problems. Few people considered wood as wall coverings or floor coverings in the bathroom. But why?

Ships made of wood have sailed our oceans for centuries. Thanks to modern sealing and sealing methods, this building material can be used in the bathroom for a long time. However, professional installation is even more important to avoid swelling or other problems. Especially the edges must be given a waterproof seal.

As we have listed before, there are other materials suitable for wall covering and/or flooring in the guest bathroom as well as in the master bathroom of the house. (# 07)

Conclusion: Many alternatives make bathroom design easier today.

As we have already listed, there are other materials suitable for wall cladding and/or flooring in the guest bathroom as well as in the main bathroom of the house. Cement is an extremely popular building material, often used in conjunction with special bathroom plaster. Both models offer design freedom that makes the usual tile mirror unnecessary. Resin can also be smoothed on walls.

Bathroom wallpaper is also a new trend. These are of course special wallpapers that are suitable for use in the bathroom and are as easy to maintain as tiles or other surfaces. Finally, a tip: If you do not want or want to spend a lot of money on your own, you should take a look at the color scheme. Many surfaces (including tiles) can be easily painted with special paints and varnishes.

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Photo credit: © Shutterstock cover image: ImageFlow _- #01: Felix Mizioznikov – #02: Beyond Time – #03: Photographee.eu- #04: archideaphoto – #05: Petinov Sergey Mihilovich – #06: gamespirit – #07: Dmitri_st