Napoleon Complex: Black and White Patterned Bathrooms

Sometimes small spaces beg for bold decoration. After falling in love with the daring drama of black and white striped hallways, we've been on the look out for other petite places that could handle a big dose of the classic color combo. However, even though we usually like bold bathrooms, we can't decide whether these high impact small baths would wake us up in the morning or make us want to dizzily crawl back into bed...

This was a DIY project from a Domino reader. The contrasting silhouettes caught our attention immediately, but made us wonder if we could live with it day to day. It might work best in a powder room bath.

The creators of this tiny bath did not let the size factor cramp their court jester vision.

We LOVE the tub, but the word's still out on the stripes....

The large sprawling floral pattern and the balance of white space opens up the room more than smaller patterned the previous black and white baths. Maybe the bigger the better?

There is a lot going on here with the busy black and white toile, the soapstone vanity, and show-stopper mirror.

Over the top or done right? What's your take?

(Images: 1: Metropolitan Home, 2: Domino, 3: Better Homes and Gardens, 4-6 Elle Decor)

Comments (14)

A dizzying array...

posted by outonalimb_2008 on March 25th 2009 at 11:29am
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#5 is nice, maybe #1 - but the others are way too overwhelming, in my opinion.

posted by dewgirl on March 25th 2009 at 11:41am
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I totally want to do black and white in our new bathroom and I'm trying to decide between stripes or a pattern like the top one. Wondering if that would be too much? hmm

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

posted by jessimarie33 on March 25th 2009 at 11:43am
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hey! I recommended the 1st one last week or the week before to someone doing a bath remodel! (Good Question on what to do with a vintage bathroom with dusty lilac tiles).

posted by mschatelaine on March 25th 2009 at 11:55am
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I think these bold statements are fun for a small powder room, but the look would be too much for me in a main bathroom.

posted by J on March 25th 2009 at 11:56am
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too busy for me

posted by jooly on March 25th 2009 at 12:14pm
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I agree, save this for a lavatory. Preferably with a window.
(I think the first would be the easiest to live with because the overall design kind of reads as a texture rather than a strong pattern. Stripes might be interesting in the right environment. The others just seem kind of kitsch to me.)

posted by SherryBinNH on March 25th 2009 at 12:37pm
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J'adore the first bathroom. Would look great in one of those tiny NYC bathrooms

http://myexitrow.blogspot.com/

posted by sassifrass on March 25th 2009 at 12:59pm
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I am currently doing b/w stripes on part of my penny floor bathroom. It's totally over-the-top... I love it.

posted by teeze on March 25th 2009 at 1:33pm
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I think a tiny bath---especially a powder room---just begs for bold. I love ALL the black and white designs, which work very well to hide flaws and other goofy things that occur in bathrooms (think how handsome a man looks in a tuxedo ;-)

posted by SunnyBlue on March 25th 2009 at 1:38pm
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i like boldness in a small bathroom, but most of these kind of make my eyes hurt.

posted by thirtyeight20 on March 25th 2009 at 3:29pm
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#1 and #3, step forward. You have been chosen finalists for our competition.

And someone, anyone, quick, go steal that copper bathtub and bring it to me. There'll be a handsome reward.

posted by AustinSarah2 on March 25th 2009 at 10:56pm
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I just painted my master bathroom glossy black with all white art and I have found it to be totally relaxing. It also surprising how much more calming it is in the morning. Before when I woke up in the morning, I always felt like the stark white with big bulbed vanity light were blinding me. But by changing it to a chandelier that plays off the blend of black and white - it has made it very boutiquey and warm.

The last one is the only one I couldn't live with. I can't stand small black and white patterns for some reason - it is so distracting.

posted by elizadesigner on March 26th 2009 at 9:06am
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elizadesigner - we'd love to see pics of your bathroom, it sounds gorgeous. I'm always suprised by how much I like black walls.

posted by LeahDC on March 26th 2009 at 4:40pm
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