Whether it is designed to complement a rose-covered cottage or as an escapist retreat from urban reality, the country look always works well in a bathroom setting. Easily created, involving inexpensive materials and simple techniques, the effect is pretty, fresh and appealing. The classic country look is perhaps best associated with sprigged floral wallpapers and flowery fabrics, which, together with accessories such as bunches of dried flowers, are readily available and have a timeless appeal.
The country-style bathroom furniture, ceiling included, is often entirely decorated with floral wallpaper, complemented by the wall – hung flower-patterned plates or prints. A window curtain decorated with spring blooms might be matched with a basin fill in the same material or, for an original touch, a curtained canopy around the bath. The scheme can also be extended to fixtures and fittings: Victorian basins and toilets were often decorated with fresh blue floral designs and though the originals are much sought after and difficult to obtain, reproduction models are easily available.
\/ariations on the gingham theme, with one colour or multi – colour checks, work just as well in a country-style bathroom as in a classic country kitchen. Try simple and uncomplicated curtain treatments with gingham fabric hung from a painted wooden pole or tied with bows onto a wrought-iron one. The country style implies a certain nostalgia and fittings usually follow a traditional theme: large, old-fashioned washstands with brass legs; cast-iron baths with the ball – and – claw feet; high-level toilet cisterns worked by pull-chains; wooden toilet seats and towel rails. Walls and floors should have a rustic feel. Plain white paint, evoking traditional whitewash, creates a crisp, fresh background while natural matting, painted or stained floorboards or terracotta tiles might cover the floor.
Stencilling allows a decorative motif, perhaps taken from the curtain fabric, to be repeated on walls, cupboard doors, floors, and the sides of the bath. Cupboards and shelves are in rustic pine – sanded and sealed rather than painted e with doors and windows to match, evoking the wooden beams of old country cottages. Wicker baskets, filled with soaps and potpourri, add an inviting touch.