If you’ve been inspired by the onset of autumn to bring more
wooden tones and natural themes into your bathroom, seeing you through the bare
winter season beyond, you’ll be loving the expanse of wooden bathroom furniture
that’s out there at the moment. From solid wood to wooden veneered MDF, oak to
walnut, traditionally styled to contemporary, there’s something for everyone –
and the wooden tones will really warm up your bathroom during the cold season.
To complement other, conventionally styled bathroom
furniture, try making a wooden side table. Perfect for burning candles or
holding jars of bath oils, one of these would look great next to either a
freestanding or wood panelled fitted bath, and is quite simple to make. You’ll
essentially be taking a good looking or interesting tree stump or section of
tree trunk, planing its top and base to create a level table surface, then
smoothing its sides and waxing the whole piece for a natural finish.
A beautiful bathroom can be as much about its accessories as
its bathroom furniture or sanitaryware. For a nature-inspired bathroom that’s
not too rustic, accessories like a natural branch towel rail, teamed with some
wooden bathroom furniture and old-style taps, will give your room a unique
look. Take a single branch that’s relatively straight, perhaps with a forked
end for interest, and at least 60cm long (the length of most towel rails –
though not the width of most towels) and sand it down to a smooth finish that
won’t snag your towels. Stain, wax, or varnish it, and fix it to a backing
board or directly some wall fixings with wooden or metal pegs.
Building your own hand-made washstand is perhaps a project
for the more adventurous or technically competent (I’m not including myself!).
Use rough sawn planks (of the kind used in rustic kitchen table tops, for
example) to put together a solid-sided cabinet with an internal shelf for
bottles and jars, or towels. This cabinet can be with or without doors,
depending on your preference; you could even create stained glass panels for
your doors for a more ornate finish.
