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Choosing Colours For Your Washroom Project
When planning a new washroom project or refurbishment, choosing the right colour scheme should be a key consideration in your design process. Carefully chosen colours can create an inviting atmosphere and compliment the feel of your four walls.
Most commercial buildings provide functional washrooms. The colours used tend to be stark or dark, creating clinical or oppressive atmospheres. The décor is often an afterthought rather than an attempt to enhance the existing environment. While the washroom may not be the place to while away the working day, it can still be a pleasant place and have a positive impact on those who use it.
Wake Up Your Washroom
Clever use of colour can refresh the feel of a washroom without requiring a complete redesign. A small, gloomy space can seem considerably larger with a clever colour change. Colour can affect people’s moods in much the same way as exposure to natural light. Green, for example, is generally employed to create a calm and relaxing environment and is often used in medical settings. Whereas, yellow is renowned for its uplifting, mood-boosting benefits. Always make the most of natural light available. However, for spaces with limited natural light, lighter colours can be used to create the illusion of a brighter interior. Strategically placed wall mirrors will reflect carefully chosen colours to help make a small space seem larger and lighter.
Who’s Frequenting Your Facilities?
It’s important to assess who uses your washroom when considering design and colour changes. Once upon a time, washrooms and coffee areas were considered to promote counter-productivity. Nowadays, such facilities are revered as facilitators for sociability and communication. A well thought out washroom can offer a rewarding experience for staff and customers. Good facilities can affect staff engagement, brand performance and customer satisfaction. In a commercial setting, the right washroom can reflect the status of a business. Woodgrain can be used to provide a premium feel for the corporate environment. Similarly, corporate colours can be used to create a cohesive interior design and reflect the business’ overall branding strategy.
From the boardroom to the playground, carefully chosen washroom colours can play an important role. The use of Dunhams Grafix range, for example, is proving increasingly popular in school washrooms. Bold, bright colours and fun graphics will make the washroom an inviting and less intimidating environment for younger children. Clever colour and design will ensure using the loo is less of a worry for little ones when they start school.
The Grafix range also offer an effective design scheme for secondary school washrooms. It’s a sad fact that toilet spaces often provide a platform for bullying and vandalism. If toilets are easy to keep clean and offer an open circulation space, the washroom environment will contribute to reducing bullying in those areas. Similarly, as the cost of vandalism in schools continues to present a problem, it makes sense for educational institutions to consider investing in these areas. Washrooms that appeal to children and are specifically designed to meet their needs will not only make them feel more comfortable but also encourage better hygiene and an increased care for their environment. By working collaboratively with the education sector, Dunhams has created Colour Riot, a ‘Graffiti’ graphic design for schools that has helped to reduce washroom vandalism.
Toilet Traffic
While washrooms can be fun and inspirational spaces, they should still function effectively and complement the existing environment. Bold, bright colours add interest and appeal in the right setting. Similarly, neutral colours and woodgrain finishes make an ideal choice for commercial environments where washrooms are required to blend in with the rest of the building. Wood is an effective choice for more natural environments. Holiday parks and campsites benefit from a more natural approach to washroom design, with the use of wood colour schemes blending seamlessly with the natural surroundings.
Similarly, holiday parks present a prime example of washrooms that experience high levels of daily use. Toilet hygiene and the cleanliness of washroom facilities is an important issue, particularly for the prevention of the spread of infections. Highly used areas need to incorporate functional designs that are easy and efficient to maintain and keep clean. Consider darker colours to reduce the impact of heavy traffic on washroom wear and tear.
Contact our team today to discuss your washroom project or download our colour selector brochure from the downloads page. You can also use our washroom design tool to visualise your next washroom project.
