Inspiration
Designing a luxury bathroom
A luxury bathroom is not a matter of size. The choices that make a bathroom feel luxurious also make it more comfortable to use, and they work in a small room as well as a large one. Below we go through them in order: colour, materials, the shower, the bath and the furniture.
Inspiration
Colour in the bathroom
Start with colour. Earthy tones read as luxurious almost by themselves: brown, taupe, sand, cream, beige and terracotta. These soft colours combine well with timber and natural stone, and they bring calm along with the luxury. Dark colours work too, black, grey and deep blue, especially next to metallic elements such as copper and gold. The effect grows stronger when you choose one colour theme and apply it in several tints, an approach known as ton sur ton.
Inspiration
Materials: matt against gloss
Material does as much as colour. In our own work we like to set glossy surfaces against matt ones: the contrast keeps the room in balance and gives it a rich feel. Natural materials such as timber and natural stone belong in a bathroom too, and they bring the same calm they bring elsewhere in the house. And then there is tiling, which can carry a lot of the character on its own. Options include:
- Herringbone tiles
- Marble tiles
- Hexagonal tiles
- Concrete tiles
- Mosaic tiles
- Béton ciré
For the floor, large natural stone tiles work well, and so does béton ciré. Carry the same finish up the walls and across the ceiling and the room starts to feel like a hotel bathroom, or a private spa.
Inspiration
The shower: rain heads and sunshowers
If you have the space and a busy household, a double shower is worth considering. A walk-in shower with an open layout makes the bathroom look larger than it is. A luxury shower needs a rain shower head: it turns washing into a way to unwind after a full day. Choose thermostatic taps, so the water is at the temperature you want from the first second. And if you are fond of the sun, a sunshower is worth a look: an infrared or UV panel built into the shower.
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The freestanding bath
If the room allows it, a freestanding bath is worth the space it takes. Placement is half the effect: in this bathroom we set the bath on a raised platform, which gives it a stage of its own and makes it the first thing you see. Most baths are white or cream, but a bath in black, concrete grey or a marble look changes the character of the room, and so does a black bath with a white interior.
Shape matters as much as placement and colour. A square bath, or one shaped like an egg, sets the room apart from the standard catalogue. And for the full spa effect there is the whirlpool bath: come home after a long day and let the warm water and the bubbles do the work. Light a few candles and the day is done.
Inspiration
The toilet
Where the floor plan allows it, we prefer to give the toilet a room of its own, separate from the bathroom. Where that cannot be done, it joins the bathroom and deserves the same attention as the rest. A luxury toilet area comes down to two things: a comfortable toilet and accessories that match the room.
That can be a design toilet with a soft-close seat, or a shower toilet. Accessories do the rest: choose a toilet brush, roll holder, bin and guest towels in colours that match the bathroom, and keep the balance between matt and gloss you chose earlier. The room stays coherent that way.
The bathroom furniture
Furniture sets the tone of a bathroom. A vanity unit in an unusual colour, or one with a worktop of solid natural stone, changes the room on its own. A black unit with a freestanding basin and matching black taps holds up well too. Bespoke joinery goes furthest: made to measure for the room, it gives the bathroom a look you will not find in a shop.
The extras
Then the extras. Audio and video can be built into the bathroom: speakers for music in the shower, or a screen so you can watch a series from the bath. And if the floor plan leaves room for it, a built-in sauna is worth considering. It turns the bathroom from a place where you get ready into a place where you stay a while.
Inspiration
Two examples from the studio
We made 3D visualisations for two bathrooms that show how differently the same principles can land. Take this en-suite bathroom: a dark colour theme, gloss set against matt. The bath in the suite stands against the bathroom wall, and that wall carries the same tiles as the bathroom itself, so the two rooms read as one and the space gains depth.
For this bathroom the brief was rest, so we worked with natural materials and colours. The shower enclosure is the piece we would point out: vertical timber slats on the outside, smoked glass on the inside. Seen from the room it is a piece of furniture rather than a cubicle.
Inspiration
Help with your own bathroom
Perhaps you want a luxury bathroom but do not quite know where to begin, or you have ideas and no way of knowing whether they will work in practice. That is what a first conversation is for. We know from our projects which materials sit well together and how a chic effect actually comes about, and we design the bathroom with you rather than for you. You are welcome to make an appointment.
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Curious what we could do for your home? We are glad to meet, with no obligation.
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