Homeowners often favor tropical décor because it gives the sense of escaping to your own island paradise. Such décor often blurs the lines between the indoors and outdoors, and the bathroom is a natural space for tropical décor.

Below are some ideas for using glass and mirrors to promote the tropical style in your bathroom.

You'll likely opt for a glass shower enclosure. Whether you choose framed or frameless construction, you're going to have a wide expanse of glass through which you can see the shower stall itself. This situation allows you to promote a strong tropical theme in the shower itself.

A shower in a tropical-themed bathroom calls for a rain showerhead. If your plumbing permits, consider having the showerhead mounted to the ceiling to better simulate the look of natural rain.

For the surround itself, you have different options. One option is to create a neutral background with sand-colored tiles, and add plants inside the stall. Another option is to echo the color of plants outside the stall with green tiles.

You can also choose glass and ceramic tiles in an ombre of aqua to simulate a tropical waterfall.

Recreating the tropics inside your shower stall may feel a little complicated. Consider patterned glass for your shower enclosure.

One style of patterned glass is textured. You can choose a rainfall pattern, which gives the look of raindrops dripping down clear glass. With a green or blue surround behind the pattern, you can create the illusion of greenery or a waterfall through a rain-kissed window.

Etched glass is another style of patterned glass. The picture options are almost unlimited. You can opt for panels that recreate tropical images, such as those with large foliage. You can also take a whimsical approach with a panel featuring a large parrot or other animal.

Another design method is to actually bring tropical plants indoors. Use a garden window, which protrudes out from your wall, and can act as a miniature greenhouse. While these windows are often located above kitchen sinks, you can also have one fitted into a bathroom wall.

Plants get a lot of light in garden windows. When the window is located in the bathroom, they'll often get a lot of humidity, too. The natural choice for your bathroom garden window is most species of palms since they love sun and humidity. Papyrus is a good option, too. Look for any plants with large foliage that love humidity and sunlight.

A well-placed mirror is great with any décor, and this is true for your tropical bathroom as well. However, a bathroom can be a trickier spot because of privacy issues. Be mindful of what bathroom tasks the mirror is reflecting.

What you do want the mirror to reflect is foliage to get that sense of tropical fecundity in your bathroom. If you are getting a garden window installed, look for a way to reflect some of the foliage with a well-placed mirror; the mirror doesn't have to reflect the entire window, especially if you end up with too much light reflection.

If you don’t have a garden window, you can still have the mirror reflect plants. Your tropical bathroom will need to feature some plant life. You could even place a large plant, such as a palm, in front of the mirror. Such a placement is ideal if the mirror will otherwise reflect a private area.

Recreate a tropical ambiance in your bathroom with the help of glass and mirrors. Let Monterey Glass Specialists Inc. provide for all your custom glass and mirror needs.