Renovating your bathroom can be an exciting opportunity to create a space that’s both functional and stylish. But without the right planning and knowledge, it’s easy to fall into common traps—like underestimating timelines, overestimating your DIY abilities, or overlooking key design details. In this guide, we break down the most common bathroom renovation myths and mistakes in Australia and share expert tips to help your project run smoothly, stay within budget, and deliver lasting results
Bathrooms are places that should be relaxing, calming, and inviting. And while you may often think of bathrooms in terms of black and white, utilising shades of grey can have the same effect.
When used properly, a grey colour scheme can be elegant and full of character. It creates a space to play with, using a neutral palette to make any pops of colour really stand out, and giving you lots of scope to add your own personality around the design.
And while it may be neutral, it’s certainly not boring. Here are some of our favourite grey bathroom design ideas.
Go with the classics
This small, modern bathroom draws the eye inwards. Utilising clear glass around the shower, the crisp, bright white wall tiles play off well with the grey stone look floor tiles. This combination creates a good sense of space by using contrast.
It’s a bathroom that feels luxurious and elegant, while still using grey to its full effect. If you’re after more inspiration for maximising style in compact spaces, check out our more of our small bathroom ideas.
Create a home spa feel
This is one of those grey bathroom ideas that you have to fully commit to in order for it to work. The different greys used in the subway tiles around the mirrors and basins deliver a texture that draws the eye. The polished cement of the benchtop and the natural cut bathroom basins create an earthy, yet elevated, experience. In addition, the white cabinetry and basins help soften the greys used extensively in this bathroom.
There’s a pleasant mix of gradients in this bathroom. Coupled with the eye-catching pendant lights and backlit mirror lighting, it’s a bathroom that feels like a spa, or luxury hotel, while still in the comfort of your own home.
If you’re looking for more inspiration on how to recreate the spa feel at home, check out our blog here.
Play with different shades
You definitely don’t have to use one shade of grey throughout your bathroom. Mixing and matching cooler and warmer greys can also achieve excellent results. Here we see two different shades used in a complementary fashion. Not too far off each other in their shading, the lighter wall and floor tiles offset the darker wall recess, creating a sense of balance. It also allows the other highlights and fixtures to really stand out.
Grey can be bright and airy
Unlike some of these grey bathroom ideas, we can see here that grey doesn’t always have to be dark and moody.
This is a bathroom lightly inspired by the Hamptons aesthetic. The strong grey tiles frame the room, allowing for the other colours utilised to stand out. It works to draw the eye to the striking white feature bath standing out in the corner of the room, as well as double above-counter basins.
When you can go dark, go dark
Alternatively, grey can be used for serious, dramatic effect.
The overall grey palette here is presented in different shades. The mosaic bath tiling offsets the dark stone walls, with the even darker grey sink really standing out. This allows the backlit mirrors and single white bath to shine. Moreover, the white cabinetry helps to soften the dark greys used extensively throughout this room.
Moody and sophisticated, this is a fantastic example of how to use dark shades to their full effect.
Utilise subtle greys
In complete contrast to our previous grey bathroom design ideas, here we see a grey and white colour scheme used in such a way that the grey itself is almost hidden. Not that it’s invisible—instead, it’s subtle.
The grey patterned tiles draw the eye to the pattern, rather than the shade. The light grey painted walls above create a border that moves the eye towards the vanity, rather than attracting attention.
The wood-look cabinetry and the pot plant also help to create contrast, as well as a point of reference inside this generously sized bathroom.
Make it a feature
You can use grey to create feature spaces that would be overbearing if done in brighter colours, with a strong, medium-dark grey serving as a background for the rest of your bathroom. Offset it with a feature mosaic floor tile pattern in the bath recess, grey fixtures, and a marble look counter.
Grey provides excellent neutral flooring
As we’ve seen so far in these grey bathroom ideas, grey shades don’t have to be drab. Even when it comes to flooring, when used right, grey tiles can create a sharp, succinct bathroom design.
Paired here with all white, it’s a monochrome design that’s elevated by the single bright green plant and wooden stool to provide character. The simplicity and austerity of the grey flooring create a canvas that allows every other element to make itself known. For more inspiration on finishes that elevate a space, explore our tile flooring ideas
Dark grey marble
This dark grey marble scheme won’t work in every home. But in homes with a sophisticated, modern design, it’s going to suit your space to a tee. Dark grey marble all throughout gives some visual texture with the subtle use of differently shaded subway tiles. The black and white fixtures add pops of contrast, creating a pleasing harmony.
Use a calming grey stone
The soft grey shade of this tile is what really sets the mood. It’s calming, creating a place to unwind and relax. Marbled grey stone like this, with shifting, composite patterns, works to create an organic feel, while the crisp black shower head and fixtures pull the space together.
Black highlights
This is another example of using a simple grey tile as a no-nonsense, yet grounded, flooring option. By itself, it wouldn’t be much, but partnered with the rich, warm wood cupboards and crisp black highlights, it creates a space that feels functional and friendly, a dichotomy of utilitarian and elegant.
Pair it with colour
A grey bathroom design idea can really help to highlight any colour it’s paired with. Here we see a dark grey marble matched with textured blue tiles. The muted blue and use of different shades work to match the tone of the grey, with the white highlight stones around the base of the shower creating a border that adds interest and shape to the space. Gold accents bordering the mirror and gold-plated fixtures further elevate the look and feel of this bathroom.
Simple designs are timeless
There’s a reason that we recommend timeless bathroom designs over trending, soon-to-be-forgotten ones. Classic designs not only provide more bang-for-your-buck in their longevity, but also provide an elevated, luxe feel to the room. The monochrome bathroom below – with grey floor tiles and various shades of grey working cohesively to create this luxe finish – is a perfect example. Once paired with wood-look cabinetry, this timeless bathroom design is an excellent choice.
And the best part, it’s going to continue looking and feeling fresh and functional, no matter what trends come in the future. For more inspiration, explore our guide on timeless bathroom renovation ideas.
Get in touch with us to talk grey bathroom design ideas
As you can see, there are more shades of grey—and more potential for exquisite bathroom designs—than you may initially realise with these grey bathroom ideas.
So if you’re thinking about a neutral, calming colour palette for your bathroom renovation, get in touch with us. Our team can organise a complimentary in-home consultation, estimate, and discuss how a grey bathroom design will fit your home
