Sprucing up an 80s bathroom: tips and tricks

Characteristics of an 80s bathroom

It is above all the dominant colours in the bathroom that give a reliable clue to the decade of the last renovation:

In the 1980s, bathroom ceramics were dominated by mustard yellows, strong browns and beiges and a muddy green: colours that today's owners of a bathtub can no longer bear to look at.
The colours for plastic accessories such as mirror cabinets or towel and toilet roll holders came from the same palette, as did wall paint, wall tiles and soft velour carpet tiles for the floor.
The hand-knitted woollen toilet roll covers, first sighted around the mid-1960s, did finally disappear from the shelf, but a typical 1980s bathroom welcomed you generously with new fluffy attacks. Cosy terry towelling sets were especially popular, consisting of a toilet lid cover, a pedestal mat and a bath mat. Even the bathroom scales were dressed in fashionable, skin-friendly terry towelling.

Even if the bathroom fittings and wall surfaces from the 1980s are well preserved and still work, thanks to high quality and good care, the bathroom design, now around a quarter of a century old, feels oppressive with its gloomy, old-fashioned look. So a guide to making the bathroom more attractive is needed, just like our tips and tricks for the 70s bathroom.

brown 80s furniture

What can you do?

Unattractive wall surfaces have been identified as the number one obstacle to a modern, feel-good bathroom. For keen DIY enthusiasts, painting over tiled walls with tile paint has proved its worth: this comparatively inexpensive modernisation gives excellent results and can be done in around two days.

First, the wall surface needs a thorough clean, paying particular attention to grout joints that are intact and free of residue. The first coat of primer prepares the surface for the tile paint, which often completely covers even strong colours in a single coat. If the old tiles have textured surfaces, the texture remains visible after painting, which is a visually appealing effect of this straightforward painting technique. Specialist shops can mix the water-repellent, easy-care tile paint in almost all colours of the RAL system.

An alternative to classic wallpaper or wall paint that is worth considering is liquid wallpaper (cotton plaster), which is applied with a trowel. It is available in many colours and finishes that stylishly emphasise the room concept you have in mind.

A fibre mix of silk, cotton and metallic glitter elements, for example, creates a textured surface: with comparatively little effort, you get a wall covering with a glamorous touch. With a sealant, liquid wallpaper can even be used directly in the wet area. Unlike wallpaper, lining corners and recesses requires no special craft skills.

Liquid wallpaper also offers good thermal and sound insulation, is easy to care for and easy to remove. A plus for the indoor climate: as a breathable material, liquid wallpaper helps prevent mould and mildew stains.

Adding more accents in an 80s bathroom

Moving away from a purely functional room for personal hygiene towards a comfortable high-tech bathroom with a wellness atmosphere: many different interior styles invite you to linger and feel at ease. The owner of a 1980s-style bathroom will find creative ideas among the new interior styles, but should say goodbye to concepts that cannot be achieved with outdated bathroom fittings without major investment.

A bathroom in a purist style, for example, requires straight-lined basic fittings: a vanity unit with a minimalist countertop basin and slim taps would be a typical style element. A maritime bathroom, for example, is based on a white and blue colour scheme with red accents. The typical 1980s bathroom does not provide basic fittings that can be developed in either of these directions.

A modern bathroom looks bright, friendly and tidy. These qualities can be achieved in a 1980s bathroom with modernised walls by drawing on styles such as these:

Whether bamboo, holly, orchid or an undemanding cactus, the same applies to every bathroom: real plants bring the individual bathroom design to life
Retro: the weight of brown, ochre or green can be toned down with white wall cladding. This most neutral of all colours should also be used consistently for the bath panel and all bathroom textiles. Clever accessories such as toilet lids with a motif, waterproof wall stickers or ceramic bath plugs add a lighter touch
Mediterranean: walls, bath surrounds and bathroom accessories in pebble, putty and similar shades can go well with the curved fittings in 1980s bathroom colours. Towels with a floral border underline the natural style. Charming eye-catchers such as a bath mixer tap with a simple antique look, a natural stone rug or a rattan laundry chest in vintage style add nostalgic accents

2021-03-10 00:22:00