We make our shower panels in four finishes, and knowing which one to pick is harder than it sounds. A stone on a screen is very different to the same stone on your wall at seven in the morning with the fan on. But, we know most people are choosing from photos.
So, here is how we would think it through when choosing one of our four shower panels.
Start with the light, not the colour
Bathrooms are the smallest and least naturally lit room in the house, often without any windows. That matters more than the colour you want. Lighting is key in bringing out genuine stone features. The variation and depth you are buying with Cladrok only shows up when there is something to light it up.
Before you look at any samples, check the following:
- How much daylight does the room get?
- What time of day do you use it most?
Someone who showers before work in a well-lit bathroom should choose differently to someone who baths in the evening under warm lighting.
It is also worth checking the temperature of your lighting. Cool white LEDs feel surgical. They can pull warmth out of a stone and leave a golden finish looking muddy, which is a common reason people are disappointed by the flat feel of their bathroom. But it can all be fixed with softer lighting.
Arctic Wave
The palest in the range, with soft directional veining running through a white and grey stone. This is the one for people when a bathroom has little or no natural light. It reflects most of the light back into the room, rather than absorbing it.
It suits chrome and brushed nickel, and sits comfortably in a room that has a lot going on, since the veining is gentle rather than dramatic. If you want the room to feel calm and larger than it is, start here.
Black Shale
The darkest finish we make, with the depth and split texture of slate. We know that dark walls can shrink a small bathroom, but with Black Shale, that rarely what happens. A single dark shower wall gives depth rather than reduction, particularly when the other walls stay lighter.
It does a need strong lighting setup. In a room lit by one bright ceiling fitting, Black Shale can go flat. Given warm, lower light and something reflective nearby, it becomes atmospheric.
Autumn Gold
Warm, with gold and rust running through the stone. Autumn Gold often decides the rest of the room, because it pulls your palette towards oak, linen, and aged brass.
Be considerate with brass. Polished brass tends to compete with the veining. Brass that has been allowed to dull sits alongside it much more comfortably, and carries on changing over the years. Combining the two gives you a bathroom that evolves over time.
Silver Volcano
Our coolest grey and most versatile panel. It carries a natural gradient across the sheet, running from a deep wet slate at one end to a paler tone at the other. A wall of Silver Volcano is never a flat block of colour.
That movement is why it holds its own against matt black fittings, which look stark against a uniform grey. If your scheme is built around black brassware, this is the answer.
Should the panel match or contrast the rest of the bathroom?
There is no rule, here but Cladrok panels are built to create seamless statement walls. Let the panel be the room's point of focus and try to keep other features from competing with it. Patterned floors and heavily veined worktops will clash with each other and the shower panels.
If you are unsure, look at the fittings you have already committed to. Warm metals point towards Autumn Gold. Cool metals and black point towards Silver Volcano or Arctic Wave. Black Shale works with both, as long as you get the lighting right.
What if you still cannot decide?
Order samples, and then be more patient with them than most people are. Prop them against the wall where the panel will actually go rather than holding them at the window. Look at them in the morning and again at night with the bathroom lights on. Stone changes considerably in different lights. The version you like at all times is the one for you.
Samples of all four finishes are available at cladrok.com.
