11 Breathtakingly Beautiful Black Bathrooms

Going dark in the bath amps up the drama and lets metallic finishes shine

Becky Harris13 November 2019

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.

I wanted to see how a mostly black colour palette can turn out when applied to the bathroom. Going dark in a bath creates a dramatic experience for all those who enter, and these designers have proved it can work with a range of styles: Chinoiserie, Mediterranean, steampunk and minimalist.

Daniel Ash Architects

1. In this Australian bathroom by Daniel Ash Architects, the walls fade to black in order to highlight the views from the window. From the black-kitchen comments, Australia’s beautiful bright light is what makes dark rooms successful there. Here the room itself lets the view from the large window, reflected in the large mirror, take centre stage. It’s a great balance of light and dark.

Browse through these images of all-black bathrooms

Charmean Neithart Interiors

2. When the clients proposed using this chinoiserie vanity they had found online, interior designer Charmean Neithart embraced it, adding details to make the room interesting, custom and unique. For example, the walls are not paint but rather a dramatic black strie wall covering. She also wanted the room to fit in with the glam-rustic vibe of the rest of the house, while amping up the drama behind the closed door.

“My advice for using black in a room is to pair with metallics,” Neithart says. “Gold, silver leaf or copper are a natural pairing and result in elegance.” The designer likes to have some fun with powder rooms and provide a “mini experience” for guests. At a recent dinner party at this home, she noticed as many as four people standing in the small room admiring its walls and commenting on the “theatre” of the dark space.

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Andre Rothblatt Architecture

3. Architect Andre Rothblatt and Ragnar Boresen at The Sink Factory maxed out the idea of pairing black with metallics, using ready-made copper pipes to create steampunk style in this San Francisco bathroom. A hammered copper sink basin picks up on the pipes, while black tile and a Victorian-style wallpaper complete the look.

Camilla Molders Design

4. Interior designer Camilla Molders opted for brass fixtures to highlight a black palette in this powder room, which is enlivened by an iconic Florence Broadhurst wall covering.

Donna Dotan Photography

5. Traditional trim and mouldings run throughout this transitional Tribeca townhouse, but perhaps nowhere more than in this little jewel box of a powder room. Coating them in not-so-traditional black lacquer and adding classic-style portraits of dogs are offbeat and fun ways to make the most of the tiny space.

LUX Design | Interior Design Build

6. Black walls allowed for a subtle personal detail in this Toronto powder room. Because the homeowners liked to travel, the designers at LUX wrapped the walls in a custom-printed black and grey map of the world. As we’ve seen elsewhere, striking metallics lighten the space, here in the form of a gold faucet and mirror. Note the cleverly balanced contrasts too: The sharp angles of the faucet and sink versus the curvaceous mirror, and the rustic countertop versus the luxe gilded finishes.

Take a look at this guide for the best bathroom faucet finishes

Ryan Street Architects

7. This powder room in Austin, Texas, is a dark take on the home’s Mediterranean style. “We used contrasting colour and texture between walls, mirror, sink and plumbing fittings to achieve a moody and dramatic spatial quality,” says architect Ryan Street.

There’s a stark and clever contrast between the rustic concrete sink and the ornate gold mirror. An intriguing treatment of charcoal burnished plaster on the walls and the mix of metals help create that “experience” Neithart spoke of.

Orange Coast Interior Design

8. A glossy black door with a glass knob foreshadows what awaits inside, but there’s probably no preparing for the drama in this glamorous powder room. The team at Orange Coast Interior Design upholstered the walls in a velvet damask fabric. (Note: While this works well in a powder room, it’s not recommended for a full bath.) Glass lighting, a large beveled mirror and an elegant grey countertop complete the scene.

Martin Gardner Photography

9. The sharp contrast between black and white enlivens this minimalist bathroom. The designers balanced the two extremes – the relationship between the white ceiling and floor emphasises the height of the walls and ties the stark fixtures and shelves into the design.

Check out these 6 ways to play with ebony and ivory

Esther Hershcovich

10. This is the bathroom in artist and furniture designer Luc Sergerie’s live-work loft in Montreal. The combination of minimalism and the dark background means one key detail will stand out properly: The quote crafted from white tile, which translates as “Art is emotion without desire,” from The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Hancock Architects

11. Going dark helps mitigate tight proportions. The designers at T01 Architecture & Interiors brought in a different graphic tile touch: A latticework pattern that emphasises the proportions in all the right places. The height of the pattern and dark paint above it prevent the room from feeling fenced in. Instead it’s a modern take on a secret garden.

This story was last published in 2017 on Houzz India.

Read more:
The Allure of Monochrome Bathrooms

Tell us:
Some of us may remember (or even still be stuck with) bad black bathrooms from the 1980s and think “No way!” But I wonder if checking out these stylish bathrooms may have changed some minds. Would you consider a black bathroom for your home? Share your thoughts and pictures in the Comments below.