Choosing between a black or white toilet for our renovated downstairs toilet? I've weighed the options carefully based on real-world experience and share my insights here. Ultimately, I selected white for practical reasons—read on to see if these considerations help your decision.
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Our home renovation has reached the smallest room: the downstairs toilet. The walls are painted, new PVC flooring is installed, and the toilet is now mounted—though finishing touches remain.
Before starting, I researched black toilets extensively, reviewing countless examples. A sleek black toilet adds a modern, industrial chic to bathrooms and toilets—something refreshingly different from the standard white. Initially hesitant, I grew to appreciate it through photos. My partner, Frank, was fully on board with installing one.
Yet, after careful thought, we went with white. I have one compelling reason, revealed below—keep reading.
Drawbacks are more numerous, and opinions vary widely. Enthusiasts overlook them, but many regret the choice. Here's why, from my research and observations:
Our home water softener eliminates limescale concerns, but another factor swayed me: monitoring stool and urine for health indicators. A quick visual check in a white bowl is easy and informative—color, consistency, and urine hue reveal potential issues. In black, details vanish.
It's not prolonged inspection—just a glance before flushing. This health check outweighed aesthetics for me.
Does this resonate as a reason to avoid black for you?
We chose white for downstairs; upstairs renovations may revisit black later. Beyond the toilet, I painted walls black with concrete-look paint matching our living room. Existing white tiles stayed per our plasterer's advice to avoid demolition hassles—he plastered over them instead.
One wall features photo wallpaper, awaiting a new vanity and wooden shelves. A stylish new door and window treatments are pending too. Five months in, it's progressing—the white toilet is now in place.
