"We wanted a coastal bathroom. We just did not want blue tiles." Oliver and his partner were building a relaxed family home near the beach, and nearly every coastal bathroom they were shown reached for the same things: blue mosaics, shiplap, an anchor if you were unlucky. Their coast would be sand, texture and light instead.
Coastal by material, not by theme
The rule for the whole house was that nothing should announce the beach, it should just feel like it. For the bathrooms that meant sandy colours, natural texture, and finishes that hold up in hard western light, because both rooms face the afternoon sun.
Testing against the oak and the linen
The Adelaide ivory sample sat next to the white oak cabinetry and the paint cards at different times of day. The important hour was late afternoon: the ivory stayed warm and sandy instead of glowing yellow, which is exactly the trap a west-facing room sets. The white kit kat brought the texture without adding a colour.
How the rooms came together
The Adelaide Travertine Look Ivory runs across the main floor and walls in both the main bathroom and the ensuite. The Wilsons white kit kat appears behind each vanity and inside the shower niches, the same palette in two rooms with slightly different layouts. One combination repeated kept the house consistent and made the builder's ordering simple: two rooms, the same two products, batches ordered together.
West-facing rooms are exactly why we bang on about testing in your own light: the method is in how to test a tile sample at home.