I took a risk and painted my bathroom red – a year on, this is everything I wish I'd done differently

My partner and I are in the midst of a slow renovation of a 1700s cottage that had been extended with a single-storey addition in the 80s, which housed the bathroom and three tiny bedrooms. Due to the bottom-heavy nature of our house, we knew the main bathroom would have to remain on the ground floor, and we would simply build a mid-sized en suite for the upstairs bedrooms to use.

After the messy building work had finished, I was itching for a bold colour to give the layout some personality. I was frustrated with the off-white colour we had chosen for the main broken plan living areas that adjoin the bathroom, so I took a leap of faith and chose a deep terracotta red for our bathroom colour scheme.

My partner and I both loved Red Earth by Farrow and Ball, so we took the plunge and chose the terracotta red colour to cover the bathroom walls.

As we are reaching a year on from this decision, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with our red bathroom to inspire - or warn! - others who might be considering a similar style.

Why I painted my bathroom red

I love a bold colour and have never been a fan of dipping your toe in with just a feature wall. For me, if I'm going to paint a room a colour, I'm going all in on every wall, and that's what I did with the bathroom.

I was also reassured by interior design experts that red is one of those unexpected bathroom colours that can have a huge impact.

‘Red is such a bold and energising colour, and it brings real drama and personality to a bathroom, especially smaller cloakrooms or guest loos, where you can afford to be a bit braver,’ explains interior designer, Laura Stephens. ‘People often see bathrooms as clinical spaces, but red flips that narrative completely. It’s warm, cocooning, and full of character. It can feel decadent, romantic, or playful, depending on how it’s used.

‘I tend to favour earthier, muddier reds, like terracotta, brick or deep raspberry, as they feel richer and more timeless. These tones are easier to live with than something overly primary or candy-bright, and they work beautifully in both period homes and more contemporary spaces. If you're going for a high-gloss red lacquer or tile, balance it with natural textures elsewhere to stop it feeling too slick.’

What I wish I had done differently

While I am still happy with the colour, I do have some regrets. I chose a safe tile option for our bathroom walls in case we didn’t like the red and wanted to repaint - a white high-gloss zellige tile in a herringbone pattern to give some visual interest. I do wish we had been a little bolder in our bathroom tile ideas, or even just the grout - cleaning white grout from a shower in daily use is time I will never get back.

Laura Stephens agrees that it pays to be a little bolder. ‘Red pairs surprisingly well with patterned wallpaper or decorative tiles, especially those with a touch of gold, cream or even a deep green,’ she advises.

We also played it safe with our choice of fittings - a polished chrome for the shower enclosure, taps and radiator. It looks fine, if boring in my opinion, but I think we could have warmed up the space a little with a brass or gold metal.

‘Red loves warmth, so I often lean toward brass, aged gold or even copper when pairing fixtures’ adds Studio Raff founder and interior designer, Sophia Ayrton-Grime. ‘They echo the richness of the red and bring out its depth. If you want a more contemporary contrast, matt black can look incredible too, especially with darker reds. Avoid anything too cool or shiny like polished chrome, as it can jar with red’s natural warmth.’

I'm so glad we chose to mount our DIY vanity unit with a quartz offcut because it brings such a luxury to the space that pairs really well with the red. Seeing that our bathroom was lacking in depth, we added matt black fittings for the wall light, door handle and picture frames.

Will I keep it for another year?

Surprisingly, yes! I get the most compliments on this room than any of our more ‘universally appealing’ colour choices elsewhere in the house.

‘Red is an emotive colour and it stimulates the senses and makes a statement,’ explains Sophia Ayrton-Grime. ‘In a bathroom, it can feel unexpected and daring, which is part of the charm. It’s also a colour that flatters the skin, so it can work beautifully around mirrors or vanity areas. Done right, it feels warm, confident, and a little bit indulgent, exactly how you want to feel in a well-designed bathroom.’

I definitely agree with Sophie here, and I think the balance of bathroom lighting types we chose emphasises the colour. The downlights for getting ready and the fluted glass wall light for cosy bath times both have warm-temperature bulbs and make the wall paint more interesting at different times of the day.

I also absolutely love that we learned from our mistakes of being too hesitant with our colour choices elsewhere and committed to having our windows replaced with a light blue-green timber and painted the cill to match (Mizzle also by Farrow and Ball).

I don’t think I found a single designer or palette that paired these two together but it absolutely works. The window receives loads of light throughout the day so it warms to both colours without it looking too red-and-green Christmassy.

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