Seamless Bathroom: An Overview Of The Options

The interior designers at HONEYandSPICE, like many others, have understood what is important in modern and luxurious bathroom design. Bathrooms or showers like this example of a seamless bathroom immediately make us think of a wellness area in a 5-star hotel—memories of our last vacation come back and we start the day much happier.

Of course, you're wondering: How much will a seamless bathroom cost? As with all other bathrooms, the bathroom without tiles “depends”. You can get a realistic assessment from interior designers or bathroom planners. In the case of a bathroom without tiles, the most important thing is the plaster for the bathroom, as this will have a significant impact on the costs.

This hanging shelf is particularly suitable for a shower with a glass wall for your shampoos and shower gels. Sponges etc. can also be stored and displayed in a particularly beautiful and space-saving manner.

It is not surprising that seamless bathrooms are finding more and more fans and supporters, as they bring with them numerous advantages. On one hand, they are visually convincing across the board and make the bathroom appear much more modern, spacious, tidy and stylish. Another plus point is the lower maintenance effort: seamless surfaces are much easier and less complicated to clean. This leads us straight to the next aspect, the improved hygiene standard. Because where there are no joints, neither discolouration nor dirt nor moisture and mould can settle. In addition to all the inconveniences related to care and maintenance, the impact on health is also significantly reduced if there are no joints and vulnerable gaps between tiles. But of course seamless is not the same as seamless. There are many different methods, materials and techniques that can be used to design a bathroom without tiles. Below we list some of the most popular and well-known of these—for an initial overview of the tile alternatives available in wet rooms.

A stone filler consists of natural materials of different grain sizes, which are bound with resin. This composition is ideal for the bathroom as it is breathable and tolerates moisture optimally. Visually, this variant impresses with its versatile colour design palette, fine structures and a particularly lively appearance. Applying stone filler works similarly to plastering, although even the old tiles underneath do not necessarily have to be removed. A professional can easily apply the filler over it. This not only eliminates a lot of dust and dirt caused by removing the tiles but is also a major cost factor. In general, however, the installation requires appropriate skill and experience, so it is better to let a professional do it. As far as the budget to be planned for such a redesign of the bathroom is concerned, the information naturally varies depending on the quality of the material, the amount of work, the region, the specialist company and the size of the bathroom. The average material costs for a 12 square metre bathroom are around 200 euros, which is a little higher than the price of average tiles in the middle segment. Then there is the actual filling work.

The lime plastering method, which scores with its naturalness and has proven itself over thousands of years, is also very popular in seamless bathrooms. In particular, the so-called Tadelakt, a vapour-permeable shell lime plaster from Morocco, is a tried, tested and respected process that works similarly to the stone filler mentioned above. The plaster is applied in several thin layers to an appropriately prepared surface and then polished and compacted with a hard, smooth stone. Finally, the surface is coated with a smoothing soap made from olive oil, which makes it water-repellent and resistant to any kind of dirt. Tadelakt is a 100% natural product and therefore very healthy, sustainable and ecological. The disadvantage: The method is very time-consuming and the wall later has to be cared for regularly and treated with special soap. If you want to design your bathroom seamlessly using Tadelakt yourself, you should plan on material costs of around 20 euros per square metre, or around 240 euros for a 12 square metre bathroom. In addition, there are the costs for polishing stone, olive soap, smoothing putty, etc., which, roughly speaking, should amount to around 100 euros. If you get an expert to help you make the bathroom seamless using this lime plastering technique, you also have to plan for the (quite high) amount of work involved.

The bathroom also becomes seamless, easy to care and robust with synthetic resin, which is suitable for both floor and wall design. The synthetic material is particularly easy to clean, waterproof and hard-wearing and – just like lime plaster and stone filler – can even be applied to existing tiles. However, if you have no experience with processing synthetic resin, you should hire a specialist company to redesign your bathroom, as this material is very demanding to process. If you want to do it yourself, the pure material costs are roughly in the range of the two variants already shown, i.e. for our example bathroom with 12 square metres from around 200 euros just for the synthetic resin, exclusive tools and other materials.

Beton Ciré is particularly popular in modern and industrially inspired interiors due to its exposed concrete-like appearance. However, it is not concrete, but rather a polymer-modified fine plaster, which is applied in two steps and is completely waterproof after sealing. This makes the material perfect for damp rooms such as the bathroom. Another advantage: It can be applied to almost any solid surface and is available in numerous colour variations. Including sealing and tools, depending on the manufacturer, desired surface treatment, colour variant, etc., pure material costs start at around 300 euros for the 12 square metre bathroom. If you hire professionals to do the work, you have to expect 120 to 180 euros per square metre, so plan on a total of at least 1500 euros.

If you want to avoid joints and tiles in the bathroom, you can also choose a completely different route and use wallpaper—as in the living room and bedroom. However, only special wet room wallpapers that are specifically suitable for the bathroom may be used. And it should never be wallpapered directly in the spray area, because even water-resistant and washable wallpapers with a special coating cannot cope with extremely high levels of moisture. Important: The wallpaper paste used must also be resistant to moisture. The advantage of wallpaper in the bathroom primarily concerns its visual changeability. There are a variety of design options available with different colours, patterns and structures. And if you get tired of a certain look, a change of scenery can be done quickly and easily—even without professional help. The costs are also quite reasonable with this option. Of course, there are no upper limits, but appropriate wet room wallpaper including paste is available for around 60 euros for 12 square metres.

Another alternative to classic tiles in the bathroom is large-format decorative panels. These are available in various materials, such as glass, acrylic or aluminium, and can be glued directly to the walls in the bathroom. Old tile backsplashes disappear under a stylish, new surface in no time. As with wallpaper, the selection of decors is almost limitless and the panels can often even be printed individually, for example with your photos. This variant is particularly popular in combination with the wallpapers mentioned above. These are then used outside the spray areas, while the decorative panels function, for example, as a shower back wall. Depending on the material, print, size, etc., the decorative panels are available for around 100 euros.