Blue and Yellow Bath

We'll look at how the décor of this beautiful cheerful yellow and blue bath works through the Sheffield Guidelines to Interior Design: function, mood and harmony. These are the Guidelines we use for analyzing rooms throughout the Sheffield Course in Interior Design, and we've found they can be used to analyze every space, whether it's a formal dining room or a garden gazebo.

Let's look at the function of this room first.

We all know that the primary function of the bathroom is to help us attend to our basic needs, and this bathroom clearly has the facilities necessary for that. Beyond that, however, this room also serves the function of providing a "powder room," the section of the room in the foreground of this photo.

This is a room in a home that's used by more than one person, and therefore there's a need for the room to be able to serve several people at a time. Hence, the pocket door separating the powder room from the bath proper - with tub (to the left of the door) and toilet. And, in the powder room, you'll note there are two sinks, one to the left, and one to the right. Several family members can easily share this bathroom without sacrificing privacy or getting in each other's way as they get ready for work or school in the morning.

Of note, this room is also accessible for a wheelchair. See how there is all that space under the counter to the left? It allows a resident using a wheelchair to pull up to the counter, use the sink, and shave or put on makeup. If this house is later sold to someone who doesn't need the additional room to accommodate a wheelchair, it can be nicely used for laundry hampers or wicker storage baskets.

The lighting here also serves the function of the room. The high, bright ceiling lights, and the lights over the mirrors, allow for premium visibility, something important in the bath.

The mood of this room is clearly modern and cheerful. The white walls in both rooms add to the brightness, which in turns contributes to the cheerful feeling. Bright yellow and pale blue are the perfect seaside colors to combine to pick up the mood of any room, and here the colors look particularly good on the glossy tiles.

The fresh flowers to the right, and the bright, painted wooden ones to the left also add to the fresh, cheery mood.

Finally, we look at how everything in this room harmonizes. It's simple, in this room, as there aren't many furnishings. Here, it's first a matter of noting that the towel colors, the tile colors, and the flower colors all match. In addition, this is a modern bathroom; you wouldn't want an elaborate, scrolled ceiling lamp, for example. Here, the simple lighting fixtures, and the flat white cabinets with the simple brushed steel drawer pulls, fit right in with the rest of the room.

Finally, an important thing to notice is the tiled backsplash in the powder room; the designer has continued the tile from the bath proper, creating unity between the two separate parts of the room, and creating a cheerful, summery bathroom even in the depth of winter months.