Bathroom Design Ideas — Tile, Tapware & Finish Pairings

This is Part Two of The Considered Bathroom - a bathroom design guide from Kachi Interiors, a London interior design studio. Part One covered the thinking: tile layout, grout tone, palette families, the logic behind hardware finishes and why every decision in a bathroom is connected to every other. This is the visual companion.

Five complete bathroom design schemes, each built around a different finish, a different material mood and a different kind of room. Every product is one I have sourced and specified. Tiles from Claybrook and Mandarin Stone. Tapware from Catchpole & Rye, CP Hart and The Qualis Collection. Lighting and mirrors from Vinterior and Lulu & Georgia. Paint from Farrow & Ball and accesorries from Kave Home and Ferm Living.

These are not aspirational composites. They are the kind of specifications I would put in front of a client at the start of a bathroom project in London - resolved, sourced, and ready to build from. Good bathroom design is not about a single statement piece or a finish that is having a moment. It is about every element reading as part of the same considered decision - tile, tapware, light, mirror, grout. The five schemes below are built on that principle.

S C H E M E 0 1 — A G E D B R A S S

Deep Glaze, Living Metal — The Bathroom With Atmosphere

This scheme starts with the tile and works outward. Claybrook's Mediterrano Molasses is a deep brown glazed brick tile with the kind of surface variation that makes a wall read as something material rather than decorative. No two tiles are identical. The glaze depth shifts depending on the light and the angle - darker in shadow, warmer where light catches. It is a tile I have specified and installed in a real project - most recently in Hyde Park Gardens, where it brought exactly this quality of depth to the space.

The Balzico Amber from Claybrook is used as the floor: a marble-effect porcelain with apricot-toned veining on an off-white ground. The warmth of that veining connects back to the aged brass tap without matching it, and the contrast between the dark wall and the lighter floor gives the room a sense of vertical drama it would not have if both surfaces were in the same tonal family.

The Catchpole & Rye Three Hole Basin Mixer in aged brass is the hardware decision that holds the scheme together. Three separate fittings rather than a single lever monobloc: a hot tap, a cold tap and a spout. The Edwardian capstan handles with crackle-glazed ceramic indices bring a crafted quality. Aged brass shares the warmth of the tile, the depth of the glaze, the sense of something that has been there for a long time.

The mirror is a Gio Ponti brass shield mirror from the 1950s, sourced through Vinterior. This is the decision that moves the scheme from well-specified to genuinely considered. A new mirror in the same brass would have been fine. A mid-century Italian piece with its own provenance changes the register of the room entirely.

The Pappin Sconce from Lulu & Georgia completes the picture: a warm, considered light source that sits with the brass and the dark tile without competing with either.

The Ferm Living Chambray shower curtain in sand brings the one soft element into the room. Linen-textured chambray, a warm neutral, floor length. Against the dark wall tile it reads as a deliberate contrast rather than an afterthought.

Wall tile	Claybrook — Mediterrano Molasses, brown glazed brick tile. Deep glaze with surface variation. Brick bond.
Floor tile	Claybrook — Balzico Amber Matt 30x60cm. Marble-effect porcelain, apricot veining on off-white ground.
Tapware	Catchpole & Rye — The Three Hole Basin Mixer, Aged Brass. Edwardian capstan handles with crackle-glazed ceramic indices.
Mirror	Vinterior — Iconic Italian mid-century brass shield mirror by Gio Ponti, 1950s. Sourced vintage.
Wall lights	Lulu & Georgia — Pappin Sconce. Warm light source, considered form.
Shower curtain	Ferm Living — Chambray Shower Curtain, Sand. Linen-textured, floor length.
Grout	Warm dark brown throughout. Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA in Teak or Tobacco. The grout becomes part of the wall's texture, not a line drawn across it.
Mood	Warm, layered, collected. A bathroom that looks like it has always been there.

 S C H E M E 0 2 — B R U S H E D N I C K E L

White Walls, Dark Furniture — Restraint With a Vintage Edge

This scheme earns its confidence through the tension between the pale walls and one piece of dark furniture. That contrast is where the character lives.

The wall is Farrow & Ball All White, a warm white with a slight yellow undertone, the floor is Claybrook's East Haven Basket Weave Mosaic: small-format marble pieces in a traditional basketweave pattern. The pattern introduces movement and craftsmanship at floor level without introducing colour.

The CP Hart Axor Montreux Wall Mounted 3-Piece Basin Mixer in brushed nickel is a significant tap. The Montreux is a classic cross-handle form - architectural without being cold, traditional without being period. Wall-mounted, it keeps the basin surface clear. Brushed nickel is the correct finish here: warmer than chrome, more restrained than brass, it does not impose on the scheme.

The vanity is the decision that gives this room its character. A dark mahogany antique chest of drawers, sourced through Vinterior, transformed into a vanity unit with a basin set into the top. The darkness of the wood against the white wall is the contrast that makes the scheme work - the sense of something discovered rather than specified is what stops it from reading like every other well-executed white bathroom.

The Anora Mirror in its woven seagrass frame and the Mahan Sconce - a brass backplate with linen-wrapped ribs - complete the scheme with natural material warmth against the white wall.

Wall	Farrow & Ball — All White. Warm white, slight yellow undertone.
Floor tile	Claybrook — East Haven Basket Weave Mosaic. Small-format marble, traditional basketweave pattern.
Tapware	CP Hart — Axor Montreux Wall Mounted 3-Piece Basin Mixer, Brushed Nickel. Cross-handle, architectural form.
Vanity	Vinterior — Freestanding antique mahogany chest of drawers with basin set into top. The furniture decision.
Mirror	Lulu & Georgia — Anora Mirror. Woven natural frame, organic form.
Wall lights	Lulu & Georgia — Mahan Sconce. Natural material, warm light source.
Grout	Warm off-white throughout. The basketweave pattern should read as texture, not as a grid of dark lines.
Mood	Quiet, considered, resolved. White that earns its confidence.

S C H E M E 0 3 — A N T I Q U E B R A S S

Natural Stone, Vessel Basin — The Organic Bathroom

This scheme is built around the Tetsu Stone Wash Basin from Kave Home: a hand-finished circular bowl in raw grey stone, no two pieces identical. It is the kind of object that arrives with its own material authority and sets the terms for everything around it. The tile, the tap, the mirror all need to answer to it rather than compete with it.

The wall tile is Mandarin Stone's Hoxton White Gloss Porcelain, a zellige-inspired tile with a gloss surface and handmade variation in its face. Against the raw stone basin, it offers a considered contrast: the roughness of the basin, the slight sheen of the tile. Neither dominates.

The floor is Mandarin Stone's Campione Tumbled Limestone, a natural stone in a warm sandy tone. Tumbled finish means the edges are slightly rounded, the surface slightly uneven, the tile reads as genuinely aged rather than newly installed. It connects back to the stone basin - both natural materials, both with surface variation.

The Qualis Collection Tempus Antique Brass Wall Mounted Basin Mixer keeps the basin surface clear so the full form of the stone bowl can be read. Antique brass at this scale, against this palette, is correct: warmth without the variability of unlacquered, weight without the formality of polished.

The Harlem Mirror in its warm woven wood frame and the Savita Sconce - a milk glass shade in a handcrafted bronze fitting - complete the material palette. Wood, stone, brass, gloss tile: four materials from the same warm, natural register.

Wall tile	Mandarin Stone — Hoxton White Gloss Porcelain. Zellige-inspired, gloss surface with handmade variation. Vertical stack bond.
Floor tile	Mandarin Stone — Campione Tumbled Limestone. Natural stone, warm sandy tone, tumbled finish.
Basin	Kave Home — Tetsu Stone Wash Basin 40cm. Hand-finished circular vessel in raw grey stone.
Tapware	The Qualis Collection — Tempus Antique Brass Wall Mounted Basin Mixer. Wall mounted, clear lever.
Mirror	Lulu & Georgia — Harlem Mirror. Warm wood frame, arched top.
Wall lights	Lulu & Georgia — Savita Sconce. Warm material, considered form.
Grout	Wall: warm off-white to sit within the Hoxton tile's ground colour. Floor: matched warm sand.
Mood	Organic, material-led, quietly extraordinary. A bathroom for someone who understands the difference between natural and natural-looking.

S C H E M E 0 4 — C H R O M E

Violetta Marble, Pedestal Basin — The Classical Bathroom

There is a version of a classical bathroom that dates: the one that mistakes formality for character. And there is a version that endures: the one that earns its confidence through material quality rather than period styling. This scheme is the latter.

Mandarin Stone's Violetta Honed Marble is a dramatic stone. Deep, dark, purple-black ground with thick white and gold veining that moves through the slab in broad, graphic strokes. It is not a quiet tile.

Farrow & Ball White Tie sits beside the marble rather than competing with it: a warm, slightly creamy off-white allows the Violetta veining to read at its full depth.

The CP Hart Dornbracht Madison 3-Piece Basin Mixer in chrome is precisely the right tap for this scheme. A traditional cross-handle form with contemporary proportions. Chrome here is deliberate - a warm brass finish would soften what should be sharp. The chrome keeps it architectural.

The pedestal basin is the layout decision that holds the scheme together. Fitted joinery would have closed the room. It reads as an object in the room.

The Francisco Mirror in its carved resin dark wood frame and the Maylee Sconce - nested cylindrical shades woven from natural Saguran fibres - complete the palette. Two warm, textural elements that stop the scheme from reading as cold despite the chrome and the dark stone.

Floor tile	Mandarin Stone — Violetta Honed Marble. Deep purple-black ground, dramatic white and gold veining. Large format slab.
Wall paint	Farrow & Ball — White Tie. Warm off-white.
Tapware	CP Hart — Dornbracht Madison 3-Piece Basin Mixer 135mm, Chrome. Traditional cross-handle, architectural proportions.
Basin	Pedestal basin. Classical form, plumbing concealed within column. The layout decision.
Mirror	Lulu & Georgia — Francisco Mirror. Dark wood frame, arched form, warm contrast to marble and chrome.
Wall lights	Lulu & Georgia — Maylee Sconce. Warm material, either side of mirror at eye height.
Grout	Matched to Violetta ground where possible — dark grey or charcoal. The grout should disappear into the stone, not draw lines across it.
Mood	Classical, dramatic, enduring. A bathroom that makes its statement through material, not styling.

S C H E M E 0 5 — M A T T B L A C K

Pointing, Carrara and Warm Joinery — The Contemporary Bathroom

This scheme is built around a tension that most bathrooms avoid: matt black hardware against warm, natural materials. Done badly, matt black reads as a trend decision. Done well, it reads as a graphic element that sharpens everything around it - and that is the role it plays here.

Claybrook's Brookhaven Carrara Marble in 30x30cm format is used on floor: pale grey Carrara with the natural variation in veining that distinguishes real stone from a stone-effect alternative. The format is quiet, the material is classic. It gives the matt black tap the right backdrop - pale, calm, clear.

Farrow & Ball Pointing on the walls: a warm, slightly yellow off-white that stops the pale marble from looking cold. It is the combination of the warmth of Pointing and the warmth of the wooden vanity that stops this scheme from appearing cold and sterile.

The Lee Vanity by Sarah Sherman Samuel is a fitted unit in warm teak-toned wood with a white marble top and fluted base detail. Contemporary in form and warm in material - exactly the balance the scheme needs. The white marble worktop connects to the Brookhaven floor; the wood connects to the Pointing walls.

The Qualis Collection Satis Matt Black Wall Mounted Basin Mixer is precise and deliberate. Wall mounted, it keeps the marble worktop surface clear. Against pale marble and warm wood, the matt black finish reads as an elegant punctuation mark rather than a statement.

The Dija Mirror with its slim black concave frame and the Valdez Sconce - an organically sculpted warm brass fitting - complete the hardware palette: black and warm gold, two finishes that work together precisely because they are so different in temperature.

Floor tile	Claybrook — Brookhaven Carrara Marble 30x30cm. Pale grey Carrara, natural veining variation. Grid bond, fine grout joint.
Wall paint	Farrow & Ball — Pointing. Warm off-white on non-tiled surfaces. Prevents marble reading cold.
Tapware	The Qualis Collection — Satis Matt Black Wall Mounted Basin Mixer. Precise, contemporary, wall mounted.
Vanity	Lulu & Georgia — Lee Vanity by Sarah Sherman Samuel. Warm teak-toned wood, white marble top, fluted base detail.
Mirror	Lulu & Georgia — Dija Mirror. Fine black frame, gentle curved form.
Wall light	Lulu & Georgia — Valdez Sconce. Warm brass tone, either side of mirror at eye height.
Grout	Fine warm grey grout throughout. The Carrara marble should read as a continuous surface, not a grid.
Mood	Contemporary, warm, resolved. The kind of bathroom that looks effortless because the decisions were not.

Bathroom design in London and worldwide — working with Kachi Interiors

Every scheme in this guide began with a brief and a conversation about how the room is actually used. The products came after.

If you are planning a bathroom renovation in London - or any room, anywhere - I offer a complimentary mood board for new online design enquiries. A first look at what your space could feel like, before any commitment is made.

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Kachi Interiors is a London-based luxury residential interior design studio. We work with private homeowners in London and internationally - from full renovations to remote design packages.

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Disclaimer: Kachi Interiors is sharing these product ideas for inspirational purposes only. We do not receive any promotional benefit or commission from the suggested retailers or product types. We are not responsible for the quality, availability, pricing, or your satisfaction with any third-party products or orders you may place based on these suggestions. Always conduct your own research before making a purchase.