Choosing The Right Colour Drain For Your Wet Room

Of all of the elements of a bathroom, the drain is surely the least inspiring. However, when it comes to both practicality and aesthetics, they are the feature.

After all, the water from a wet room has to go somewhere.

There is no reason for drains to be ugly, intrusive, or abrasive. With the correct blending, drains can be the understated feature that completes a wet room experience.

Here are some ideas!

Make it invisible

If you want complete wet room simplicity, opt for an invisible drain. The Scandinavians have this one covered, with linear drainage systems that blend into the surroundings. Gentle slopes and discrete tiled covers mean that the drain does not need to intrude upon the wet room space.

Tiled covers allow the drain to be matched to the bathroom aesthetic in a seamless blend. Opt for natural stone effect to augment the space and create an uninterrupted wet room experience.

Blend it

The emerging trend for 2019 is for coloured wet rooms. Whether that colour is oceanic turquoise, cloudy skies, or a field of unicorns is up to you. The important thing is that the drain blends effortlessly with the overall theme.

Modern wet room design enables drains to have porcelain covers, meaning that they can match the floor and wall tiles. This means that the colour can flow seamlessly with the rest of your wet room design.

Whether you want wood to blend effortlessly with the walls, to stir a colour theme throughout the room, or to have an uninterrupted seam of luxury marble, blending is effortless.

Make a statement

Whilst innovation in porcelain means that a seamless blend of colour can be achieved, some interior designers are traversing a different road. The re-emergence of brass and copper wet room drains as bespoke metals have influenced recent design.

Offering a rustic feel, copper drains and piping offer a warm, mute shimmer that offsets well against deep, brooding colours such as enveloping sooty black or dusky tonal lilacs. Wild darks do well with coppery enhancements, which glimmer without being intrusive.

Brass, on the other hand, is in its natural element when surrounded by watery blues. Optimising the reflective, space-enhancing spectrum of oceanic light, brass drains and piping are a statement of practicality and stability. A dash of light creates a natural juxtaposition with the deeper tones.

Copper and brass effects can be achieved either with natural metals or as porcelain with different finishes.

Take control

Wet room design has dispensed with past limitations. The days of avocado bathroom suits and pink carpets are, thankfully, resigned to history – for now.

Today’s avocado is bright, beaming, and likely to be a statement piece. Pink can be splashed as a twist of colour or an inset light. Control has been handed back to the imagination of the designer, and wet rooms are the ultimate playground.

When it comes to wet room design, drains are equally open to the imagination. From the invisible to the overt, there is no reason not to embrace the feature.

Thinking of creating a coloured wet room? Find out why you should opt for this increasingly popular wetroom design trend. For more information, take a look at our range of drains. Or, if you would like to speak to one of our team, get in touch.

Important update to the NHBS Specifications 2018

Backing surfaces for tiling should;

• Be moisture resistant, where frequent wetting occurs 

When Tiling; 

• Proprietary water-resistant grouting should be used in accordance with the manufacturer 

Grouting should be: 

• As specified in the design including mix and colour 
• Cement-based, epoxy resin or a proprietary product 
• ‘Waterproof in and around shower enclosures and where tiling can be saturated’. 

Gypsum plaster should not be used where; 

• ‘Repeated or persistent wetting may occur’