Side by side bathroom and shower room - decor

[WhoWhereWhatWhy]

We’re doing a reno and part of that will be creating a shower room and a bathroom upstairs, which will be right next to each other, accessible from the landing. I’m trying to create a cohesive look through the house with very muted blues, greens, neutral and a bit of light pink, but really, really don’t want it to be too matchy.

The shower room and bathroom will be small. The shower room is smaller than the bathroom. Both have windows. We’re going with the same white tile flooring for both and will have wall mounted vanity units to make the rooms seem bigger and easier to clean.

But how do I create a cohesive look without matchy? Will the same flooring be enough, or should I do some of the same tile in each? Same laying pattern? Same loo?

I was thinking a light green vanity in one room with white herringbone wall tile and some green tiles, should I go with a blue vanity in the other with white herringbone tile and some blue tiles in there?

For me, I’d make them different. Not even the same flooring. It’s not a hotel, it’s a home.

I’ve got 5 bathrooms and a cloakroom here and they are all different. It’s fun to design different vibes! I do like Duravit products and have used them in 2. Laufen in another and one has a more art deco feel (Bathstore) and another has glass basins and a large walk in glass shower. I would highly recommend large format tiles from Porcelanosa - very minimal grout lines!

Paint Colours - whatever you like but sleek vanity units and wall hung everything is a must! I use F&B paints and 4 rooms are different paints (DeNimes, Elephants Breath, Schoolhouse white and Mizzle) and two bathrooms are fully tiled. Just because the bathrooms are adjacent doesn’t mean they must be linked in a scheme. Have fun! Definitely accessorize as two rooms.

I would make them coordinated, because the doors to bathrooms are often left open and I’d prefer the look from the landing. Since they’re small I’d make them white with natural wood and just have different towel colours. Or, if you want some colour in tiles, I’d use blue in one and green in the other indeed, it will look lovely.

Good point about how they’d look from the landing. I hadn’t thought about that but it makes me even more sure that I’d like something co-ordinated but not matchy. I can’t do natural wood as our landing is walnut floor (amtico) and I don’t want walnut in the bathrooms (too dark for the small spaces) and I think another wood finish would clash when the doors are open.

If they need to match, do you match all rooms if doors are open? I don’t. I’d go for separate use, separate personality!

The same flooring is already doing a lot of the work to tie the spaces together. I'd also keep the sanitary ware, taps, mirrors, and tile format consistent, then vary just one or two elements, such as the vanity color and accent tiles.
For example, a soft green vanity with green accents in one room and a muted blue vanity with blue accents in the other will feel coordinated rather than identical, especially if you use the same white herringbone tile and grout. Keeping finishes (e.g., brushed nickel or matte black) consistent across both rooms also helps create a cohesive flow without making them feel like copies.

The shared flooring is enough to create continuity. I'd treat the rooms like siblings rather than twins—keep the same taps, mirrors and hardware finishes, but give each room its own accent colour. Your idea of a green vanity in one and a blue vanity in the other works well, especially if you repeat the same tile size but change the layout (for example, herringbone in one and stacked in the other). That keeps the overall style cohesive while giving each space its own character.