Dreaming in colour: Villeroy & Boch

There are a variety of reasons why colourful bathrooms have generally tended to be the exception rather than the rule. The role of colour in influencing mood was for a long time simply underestimated, while for many, there also exists the fear that the joy provided by a splash of bathroom colour might end up being short-lived: What if I ‘get fed up’ with that vibrant turquoise blue or that summery lemon yellow? The question may be justified, but it ignores the fact that even sterile white can also easily become too monotonous, too cold for us. And that we expect our bathrooms to provide an extra degree of comfort and cosiness – something we don't demand of some other spaces in the home – need also be remembered.

As designer Gesa Hansen puts it: ‘Colour can evoke so many emotions and change almost everything: the mood, the dimensions or the definition of a room.’ Two years or so ago, Hansen developed a palette of ten colours for Villeroy & Boch's Artis washbasin collection, as the German brand took a bold step into the field of colour design for the bathroom by designing the washbasins in BiColour.

This means that they are classically white on the inside, but for the outer surface, there is a choice of colour tones including the dark Deep Ocean Blue, the strong Bordeaux Red or the rich Forest Green as well as the somewhat calmer Sage Green or the fresh Indian Summer Yellow. But there is also the warm French Linen Grey and an elegant Coal Black to choose from.

In line with each of these colours, the manufacturer proposes its various cabinet furniture in matching wood variations and lacquer finishes. On request, the bathtubs can also be dipped in a favourite shade using the colour-on-demand service. In this way, the focus is on the accent, which can either be integrated in harmony with the wall and floor design or deliberately create a contrast. A good example is the mystical Nordic blue-grey shade Frozen, which can serve as a counterpart to terracotta and walnut wood. Whatever works for the user (including tones to satisfy periodically recurring bouts of wanderlust) is allowed.

And speaking of wanderlust, who would have thought that five bathroom ceramic colours could transport us – in the imagination, at least – to some of the planet's most desirable places? If the bathroom should sparkle in the style of a Moroccan temple, an oval countertop washbasin in Graphite grey against a rhythmic tile mosaic is the perfect choice.

Combine a similar basin in dark grey Ebony with a veneered vanity unit and a wall design of vertical wooden strips, and you can imagine yourself in Kyoto. Such journeys are provided by the Loop & Friends collection, proving that it is often small nuances that can turn a bathroom design into a reminiscence of a feeling or a place.

Loop & Friends is based on a colour selection for the washbasins of Stone White, Alpine White, Almond, Ebony or Graphite, in combination with three installation variants: countertop, built-in or under-counter mounting. Three shapes are available: oval, rectangular and round, while the solid-coloured TitanCeram represents a timeless choice, precisely because Villeroy & Boch has opted for soft neutral colours here. The Loop & Friends composition is completed with one of the matching basin mixers from the collection, optionally in Chrome, Matt Black or Brushed Nickle Matt, with matching bath and shower mixer taps also available.

When designing with coloured instead of white bathroom ceramics, it makes no difference whether the project relates to an old or a new building, whether it's the renovation of a large family bathroom or whether the guest bathroom just needs to be made a little more inviting. For example, the matt black Hommage an Hommage collection – for which Villeroy & Boch is reviving the beginnings of the 20th century in the form of exclusive character pieces in its anniversary year – would make a big statement in the bathroom of an old villa, while the Almond and Morning Green colours from the Antao collection, designed by kaschkasch for Villeroy & Boch, are more natural.

The wide spectrum of colourful bathroom design choice offered today – outstripping that of even the seventies and eighties – brings with it broad possibilities for creating depth in smaller bathrooms, adding vibrancy to dark ones and structuring large ones – just like Gesa Hansen said. The tools are here; all that's required is the firing up of those imaginations.

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