Chiaroscuro Design Elements in a Bathroom
Today are looking at a particular bathroom that has a somewhat unique aesthetic style. It’s built with an overall darker color tone and pallet. They’ve essentially used colors that are a bit darker than we typically see in average or more common contemporary bathrooms. This looks good but it is a little bit different. At a glance, from this angle, as shown in the picture below, it looks like the walls are clad with a wood surface.
It’s actually wallpaper though. The aesthetic design style of the remainder of the bathroom is reciprocated by the particular wallpaper. Today we start a two-part series looking at this particular bathroom. In the coming week we’ll talk more about the specific wallpaper which happens to reflect artwork by Hugh Ferris. Ferris was an artist that specialized in what some people might refer to as architectural portraiture. It isn’t exactly architecture and isn’t exactly portraiture as we know it. Instead it’s a bit of a hybrid crossover. He looked at Urban cityscapes and illustrated and created artwork based around those thematic impressions.
If you look at the dark color of the sink top and the faucets and the surrounding walls and other design elements of the finishes, you can see that there’s a continuity between these dark elements. We may often refer to this particular aesthetic as Chiarascora. This particular design style is used in bold architecture and interior designs. Although it’s not a highly common style, we see it from time to time and we generally appreciate its dramatic elements. It uses bold light and dark surfaces to create elements of high contrast.
The flooring happens to be a medium format, earthtone color ceramic tile. It’s a moderate or light earth tone color. Some earth tones are relatively dark. They generally have a bit of brown or reddish color in them and reflect the things you might find in sand, dirt, and stone in raw nature. The medium format size refers to the tile being larger than the most typical 12-inch x 12-inch size. Small format tiles are generally mosaics. These small tiles can also be set individually, piece by piece, without a mosaic backer.
When a mosaic backer is used, it holds the individual tiles together in a particular configuration. Generally the backer will help with even spacing, but in most cases specific and individual modification or nudging of tiles may be needed to ensure even spacing throughout. The mesh backing can help, but it doesn’t do all the work. In most cases when a mesh backing is used, you’ll also have to work carefully to make sure the entirety of the mosaic stays within a consistent plane. The backers help align the pieces close to a particular planar consistency, but they don’t keep them perfectly positioned and they need to be pushed and positioned individually as well.
In contrast, large format tile is generally 24 in or larger in at least one dimension. These large tiles may appear to make the work go faster, on the surface. However, when you really understand what’s required for installation, you may recognize that they don’t necessarily make everything complete the easy. Look best when they’re set with a relatively small grout line unless the substrate surface is highly consistent and very close to perfectly planar, it’s very difficult to install large format tiles with a comparatively small grout line. The more inconsistency or undulation in the substrate, the greater the need will be for modifications in or extra space in the grout lines.
As you can see in the picture above, although the countertop is a relatively dark color, it actually looks like natural stone. Natural stone is not uncommon, but generally it’s polished before it is cut or installed. Here instead, it has more of a leather type of texture to the surface and looks more like what you might expect to find in nature.
Here, you can see that the largest stone block-looking countertop butts right against the wall. As we mentioned above, although the wall looks to be clad in a wooden surface, it’s actually just a wallpaper with this artistic design. The artistic design happens to have that type of brown color you might expect to find in stained woodworking.
Dupont Kitchen & Bath Can Help
As dedicated and local DC metropolitan kitchen and bath builders and installers, we pride ourselves on turning your visions into reality. Your kitchen and bathrooms can reflect your unique style and be designed with personalized aesthetics. It can be a process from creative designs to the realization of your dream space. Specializing in kitchen and bath construction, we bring expertise and skills to every project. If you’re contemplating a renovation, upgrade, or modernization in the local market, we’re happy to be your team. Consult with us, and we can start together on a path to redefine and elevate your DC living experience.
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