19 country bathroom ideas (that will appeal even if you live in the city)
As with any room, in a country bathroom you should always start with what the house can give you. If it's a seventeenth- or eighteenth-century timber-and-brick construction, strip it back to expose some interior detail of its origin – whether that is a cross beam, an A-frame or a high, sloping window. Bathrooms don't have to have plumb walls, clean lines or overly neat junctions, as long as what you do is beautifully done.
'Roll-top baths are a classic component, but I'd advise against positioning one up against a painted or wallpapered wall. If you splish and splash, the water will permeate the wall and cause problems, and you'll end up having to repaint or repaper every 18 months. Instead, if you have the space, place the bath closer to the middle of the room. Underfloor heating and bathmats will protect the floor. If you want modern touches such as speakers, you can get them plastered into the ceiling so that they don't stand out in a bathroom with a classic style,' advises designer Sarah Stewart-Smith.
The most successful bathrooms are so much more than just spaces in which to perform your daily ablutions. Rather, they are lovely and inviting rooms, decorated to delight, but never at the expense of their practical requirements. A perfect recipe for relaxation. See below to get inspired by our pick of the most beautiful country bathroom ideas.
Country bathroom ideas
Christopher Horwood1/18Incorporating a walk-in shower in a traditional country bathroom can be tricky – you don't want anything jarringly modern. In this Hampshire house, Max Rollitt has installed a panelled partition between the main space and the shower, with classical detailing that feels appropriate for the 18th-century house. The panelling is painted in Papers and Paints’ ‘Quiet White’, with Douglas Watson Studio Delft-style tiles within. Outside it, a blind in Nicole Fabre Designs’ persian red ‘Marguerite’ linen sets off Catchpole & Rye’s ‘Le Grand’ bath by the window, with an antique Chinese lantern overhead.
2/18In this Cotswold house decorated by Caroline Holdaway, tongue and groove panelling plus wallpaper make for a classically country combination. Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Squid Ink’ paint was used on the Aston Matthews roll-top bath, beside panelling in ‘Salvador’ oil eggshell by the same company. A painting by Doris Hatt from Denys Wilcox stands out against Robert Kime’s ‘Sunburst’ wallpaper in green. The curtains are in ‘Sari’ linen by Raoul Textiles and the stool is from Paul Dunn Antiques.
Christopher Horwood3/18In our former editor Hatta Byng's house in Yorkshire house, Drummonds’ ‘The Wye’ bath, painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Yellow Ground’, is positioned to enjoy views from the window in this space created from a bathroom and a bedroom, which leads via a new jib door into the bedroom. Walls in ‘Wimborne White’ and woodwork and cornicing in ‘Pale Powder’, both by Farrow & Ball, showcase an Imaginary Cities painting from Udaipur, bought from Joost van den Bergh, which hangs over a previously boarded-up fireplace.
Tom Griffiths4/18How do we feel about baths in bedrooms? We know they have their detractors, but they can a practical solution if the bathroom is a bit of a tight squeeze. In this bedroom in a Suffolk house by Retrouvius, a bathtub from The Water Monopoly stands on a platform in front of the fireplace – the ideal place for a cosy winter bath.
Simon Upton5/18Panelling and antique artworks are surefire ways to create traditional character in a country bathroom. In this house on Exmoor, Farrow & Ball’s ‘India Yellow’ provides a pop of colour against ‘Blue Gray’ on the panelling, with a Georgian mirror adding further texture and patina.
Dean Hearne6/18For a truly rustic atmosphere, sometimes it's best to keep things simple. In the bathroom of this converted barn in Cornwall, the tiles are from Marlborough Tiles and the wall lights are from Pooky. Hannag had the basin unit made from a vintage console, and then she added marble from a local supplier. The freestanding bath is from Antique Baths of Ivybridge – Hannah chose the bath and then they restored it for her. The floor tiles are terracotta, from Ca Pietra. The windows and doors inside and outside the house are all painted in Farrow and Ball’s Green Smoke.
Boz Gagovski7/18Brandon Schubert has deployed a classic configuration for the bathroom of this Wiltshire cottage, using tongue and groove panelling around the bath, a pretty wallpaper (Scrolling Acanthus from Soane Britain), and a set of botanical prints from Pentreath & Hall.
Michael Sinclair8/18Though over 300 years old, this Northamptonshire house had lost much of its character until its owners enlisted the help of trusted decorator Robert Young, who restored a sense of its past with a mix of antiques, folk art and rich distemper walls.
In the bathroom pigmented and aged distemper was used to create the look of limewashed walls by DKT Artworks, which blended the colour on the panelling to match a Georgian sample. The chair is Swedish, c1800.
Brent Darby9/18Dorian Bowen’s sensitive restoration of a dilapidated 18th-century hand-built rural farmstead acts as a living testimony to age-old Welsh architecture and simpler times.
Dorian gently and lovingly resuscitated the two-up-two-down property; conserving its original features and calling upon memories of the houses of his childhood to reintroduce authentic details. He converted the former cowshed into the current kitchen, adding a Rayburn stove for cooking and warmth, and turned the dilapidated dairy into a rustic bathroom.
The bathroom which was installed within the old dairy on the ground floor features a cast iron bath and – as all plumbing - is fed with a water supply from the cottage’s own borehole.
Simon Brown10/18With a clear colour palette lifted by occasional pattern and an eclectic mix of furniture, interior designer Victoria Gray has created a Cotswold retreat for her family that marries rustic charm with minimalism, and transcends modern trends.
Curtains in ‘Ete Moscovite’ from Décors Barbares draw the eye to the window in the bathroom, with views of the garden, while a CP Hart bath painted in ‘Hague Blue’ from Farrow & Ball nestles under the beams – which look different in this newer part of the house. A rug picked up in Istanbul and a chair from Robert Langford, with a cushion also from Istanbul, complete the scheme.
Davide Lovatti11/18In an ancient Italian town perched on a rocky outcrop and accessible only by foot, Paolo Crepet and Cristiana Melis, the residents of an art-filled former palace, have created a guesthouse that is truly one of a kind.
La Badessa, the principal room, is glorious, with an ornate iron four-poster taking centre stage in the bedroom, and a free-standing bath alongside, a quiet alcove of books and an open fireplace for the winter months.
Paul Massey12/18Some eye-catching interior design alchemy by Nadine Finnegan has transformed a charming old Oxfordshire property into a colourful and characterful family home. The blind and basin skirt in Molly Mahon’s ‘Trellis’ in grass/sky complement Kate Hawkins’ ‘Lucky Leaf ’ wallpaper from CommonRoom.
Paul Massey13/18Elswhere in the same Oxfordshire house by Nadine Finnegan, Fee Greening’s ‘Climbing Curios’ wallpaper from CommonRoom and her mural around the ‘Coral’ wall light from Balineum provide a unique backdrop to this bathtub.
Simon Upton14/18The main bathroom in this Wiltshire farmhouse, on the top floor under the slope of the roof, has a stripy flatweave rug brightening up the white walls and floors; the view from the window above the sink is across fields and copses.
Ngoc Minh Mgo15/18'It's mostly junk,' says designer Harriet Anstruther of the bits and bobs in her Sussex farmhouse. But her objets and framed pictures imbue otherwise all-white spaces with a sense of comfort. Signs of wear give this bathroom a lived-in feel, while a jar of flowers freshens the room.
Simon Upton16/18Combining classical proportions and traditional furnishings with the informal elements of family life, this house in Cornwall has proved to be the perfect acquisition for its owners. The main bathroom has curtains in 'Manon' by Jean Monro and a large mirror brought here from the owners' previous house, which adds to the feeling of light and space.
Paul Massey17/18Flowers on the bathroom sink bring the local bounty of the surrounding meadow indoors, while also freshening up the space, in a tiny barn decorated by antiques dealer Christopher Howe.
Paul Massey18/18Alastair Hendy was initially reluctant to view this Grade II listed 16th-century house in Hastings. From the beginning, however, the house took a grip on Alastair. He bought the house, not realising that it would be a five-year restoration project. After taking a crash course in 16th-century building practices, he returned the house to the glory of a simpler time. The bathroom has a rustic wooden tub with a handy shelf that fits across.
