Baroque Bathroom

The baroque culture was born in Italy at the end of the Renaissance, that is, in the period from the 17th to the 18th century. At this time, representatives of power and nobility in the country began to lose their positions due to the strong influence of France and Spain. To maintain at least a semblance of their power and prosperity, the church and aristocrats demonstrate their wealth by displaying outward signs of their prosperity. Never before have the Italian nobles' outfits been so opulent, and the interiors of homes so defiantly luxurious!

The expressiveness and dynamism of the Baroque style is reflected in art. Baroque literature, painting and architecture are still perceived as some of the most striking and memorable phenomena in the history of world art.

Modern Baroque has largely retained its original features, so Baroque interiors still impress the imagination with their richness and beauty. In this article, we will talk about how to decorate a bathroom baroque style.

Baroque style has its own unique features that allow you to allocate it in a separate direction in interior design:

• Compliance with the principles of symmetry;
• a minimum of straight lines and angles, with preference given to rounded shapes and smooth curves;
• furniture and building constructions are decorated with abundant decorations;
• stucco on walls and ceilings as an obligatory element of decor;
• columns, fireplaces and sculptures;
• Use of expensive materials;
• A large number of decorations which signal luxury: gilding, crystal pendants, incrustation, etc;
• Wall and ceiling paintings: predominantly floral ornaments;
• Large-scale frescoes as an indicator of luxury;
• contrasting color combinations;
• a rich palette of colors;
• the use of peculiar pieces of furniture, such as ottomans and canapés;
• works of classical art as decorative elements.

Classical Baroque is a very decorative style with a lot of excess and ostentatious luxury. Not everyone will be comfortable in such an interior, but there are a lot of fans of this direction in design.

You should choose the Baroque as the dominant style in the interior if:

• Your apartment has spacious rooms and high ceilings, so you're not afraid that the columns, sculptures and stucco on the ceilings simply "eat up" all the space. In addition, do not forget that the furniture in the baroque style is quite massive, and therefore you should be prepared for the fact that wooden sofas, chairs and chests of drawers will take up all the free space.
• Your ideas about comfort are in the beautiful and comfortable furniture (upholstered sofas, spacious chests of drawers, etc.), a large number of decorations, heavy curtains and expensive finishing materials. In this case, the interior in the Baroque taste will certainly appeal to you.

The traditional Baroque interior features bright, saturated colors. Darker shades - red, blue, green, bronze - are clearly preferred. Modern baroque (also called neo-baroque) offers a more tranquil color scheme.

Today in baroque interiors designers actively use light shades - pearl, ivory, champagne. Red, as well as gold, are still the most popular colors for decorating rooms in the Baroque style.

Baroque is exactly the style in which there should be a lot of furniture and it should be everywhere - even in such a small room like a bathroom. Baroque bathroom furnishings are not limited to a cabinet under the sink and a towel rack. It also includes an elegant table, a small carved dresser, a couch on curved legs - and everything that only the size of the room allows.

As for the color and pattern of furniture, it can either retain the natural wooden texture or be painted white, black, beige, brown or other dim shade. In a modern baroque interior looks very effective furniture with a glossy finish.

Baroque was originally a style of very wealthy people, so the materials used for finishing rooms were the most expensive - marble, precious woods, ivory, gold, etc. An interior made in such a style, even today, will cost a lot, so to recreate an authentic baroque in the bathroom (and in any other room) will be quite problematic.

The optimal solution for finishing the bathroom, regardless of its style, is ceramic tiles. Today manufacturers of finishing materials use modern technologies of production and the latest raw materials, as a result of which in construction stores there are collections of tiles, which are the real masterpieces.

Tiles that are used for finishing floors and walls in the baroque bathroom should be if not expensive, then certainly look expensive. The design is welcomed, imitating the texture of marble, classic floral patterns, metal trim, bas-reliefs, etc.

Lighting fixtures - this is one of the main elements of the interior of the bathroom in the Baroque style. It is necessary to choose the right lights, which will contribute to the overall sense of luxury and splendor. If the height of the ceiling allows, then the central place should be given to the classic chandelier - massive, multilevel, with lots of decorations. Very appropriate will be the ceiling lamp, made in the form of an antique candelabra. Of course, you will have to give up real candles, but today it is easy to find bulbs in the form of flaming candles.

Lighting in a baroque interior should not be too bright - it is better if the light is slightly muted, as if it comes from burning candles. A similar effect can be achieved by placing wall lamps - sconces - in different places. In the baroque bathroom will look harmoniously metal lamps with bronze or gold plating. Preference should be given to glass or textile lamps of classic shape.

The abundance of all kinds of decorative elements is one of the main signs of the interior in the Baroque style. Even in the bathroom, in which usually there are only the most necessary interior items, accessories and decorations take quite a significant place.

An important role is given to the mirror. It should not be rectangular, but round or oval. Choose mirrors in a lush, with curls frame made of wood or metal, necessarily with gilding or other decorative coating.

Baroque "loves" the decor of textiles, so drapery of heavy, expensive fabrics, such as gold and brocade, are present in this style in large quantities. In the bathroom it can be curtains on the window (necessarily fastened with tassels) or upholstery of upholstered furniture, such as a couch or armchair.

Decorate the interior of the baroque bathroom can be works of fine art, because the Renaissance was incredibly rich in artists, sculptors and other representatives of artistic professions. Therefore, the imitation of frescoes and reduced copies of sculptures of masters of the time will be in such an interior just right.

Baroque abounds with all sorts of architectural excesses, and this applies not only to the facades of buildings, but also to the interior decoration of the premises. Marble columns, moldings on the shelves, bas-reliefs on the walls - if the means allow the customer, all this can be present in the Baroque bathroom.

The choice of plumbing for installation in the bathroom in the Baroque style should be paid special attention, and on this point it is hardly possible to save money. Standard sanitary equipment has no place here. Instead of acrylic bathtub, it is better to buy a bathtub made of artificial marble of round or oval shape. Another suitable option - this cast-iron bath on legs, styled like an antique.

Accessories for sanitary ware must match it in style. Forget about chrome-plated single-lever faucets - choose "aged" models, with a coating of bronze or gilding. Very effective will look models of unusual forms, for example, in the form of heads of animals.

• Designing the interior for the bathroom in the Baroque style, remember your visits to the opera house or museum of classical art - the majority of such institutions are furnished exactly in this stylistic direction. In search of inspiration, study the interiors of the palaces of European monarchs who ruled in the 17th-19th centuries. Perhaps some of the design solutions you will be able to repeat.
• Arrange the furniture and sanitary equipment in the baroque bathroom should be in accordance with the ideas of beauty and harmony that prevailed at that time, but do not forget about your own comfort. It is not necessary to try to put all the items on the perimeter - it is better if the central place will take a font. In the furnishings, try to maintain symmetry - so take care to buy paired interior items.
• Contrast is one of the favorite stylistic techniques of Baroque. It manifests itself most vividly in the choice of color combinations. Black and white colors are quite often used together in baroque interiors. This can be a combination of black walls and white furniture or black and white tiles on the floor, laid out in staggered order.