In our resolute quest for sanctuary, this is a space that feels increasingly vital. Perhaps now is the time to ask more of your bathroom, championing bolder, braver design, innovative materials and colour that calms or invigorates. Here, we’ve highlighted seven current trends that have transformative power, and handpicked the tiles, taps and more to help you master every metre.
MINIMALIST FOLK
Balancing decorative tiles with block colour is a more modern take on a bohemian style – a way to inject pattern without overwhelming a small space. Finnish firm Studio Joanna Laajisto has limited patterned tiles to the lower half of this bathroom in Helsinki’s Jackie bar (above), while an extension of Claybrook’s ‘Old Havana Bauta’ tiles (below) creates an interesting transition from floor to wall – and offers a pragmatic substitute for a skirting board. Both are tempered by the simplicity of utilitarian sinks and globe lights.
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PENCIL TILES
This skinny, more versatile style, sometimes called a finger or kit-kat tile, is proving a worthy challenger to the ubiquitous subway shape that dominated the last decade. A vertically stacked configuration is the contemporary choice – it feels graphic and helps highlight the height of a space.
Its slim form lends a unique practicality – a project by Gardiner Architects (top) deftly utilises petite ‘Yohen Border’ tiles by Inax (available at artedomus.com) on a curved wall, while the same style in a speckled grey elevates a monochrome bathroom designed by fellow Melbourne practice Mim Design (above).
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ONYX SURFACES
A chalky, delicate stone similar in makeup to marble, onyx has a translucency and luminosity that lends itself to restful spaces. Elizabeth Roberts Architects has utilised two shades of the stone in the bathroom of this New York home (above): a pale, almost pearlescent onyx offsets the heaviness of a monolithic sink, while a panel in blush pink adds a freshness.
A wet room clad in green onyx veined with gold threads by Parisian practice Liaigre (above) is a decadent take on the trend. If fragility and future maintenance are a concern, ‘Mimica Onyx’ tiles by materials expert Mandarin Stone (bottom; mandarinstone.com) capture its ethereal quality in more practical porcelain.
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ROSE-TINTED TEXTURE
Gentle blush hues are a clever way to temper bold displays of texture in the bathroom. The swirling grain of CDK Stone’s ‘Crema Violet Onyx’ (above) is anchored by a matt concrete floor in a similar shade in a space conceived by Decus Interiors, while Greg Natale has lined this bathroom with his ‘Moire’ glass mosaic tiles for Bisazza (below), which nod to the undulating grain found in wood.
Tones that err towards terracotta have a warm, organic feel – see the carved chevrons of Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao's rough-hewn wall in this hidden forest home (below).
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TERRAZZO REVISITED
Terrazzo’s signature flecks can be made from myriad materials, lending it serious flexibility in scale, shade and application. Design practice Resident Avenue has used a wall in Bauwerk’s ‘Cucumber’ paint to frame striking vertical panels of the material (above). Its lush tones are one of the most compelling ways to incorporate the modish composite mix into the bathroom, also seen in the punchy, high-contrast colourway of Otto Tiles’s ‘K-12 Terrazzo Tile’, which is bolstered by black and white chippings (below).
Meanwhile, pops of richly pigmented terrazzo in the form of two shower lights and a shelf, punctuate a tiled wall in this tonal space by Angela Harry (below).
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BLACK AND BRASS
A clear departure from the Scandi whitewash look that has so far epitomised the wellness-led bathroom, this grown-up combination is nonetheless decidedly sleek and spa-like – look to the sauna-esque bench enclosed by striking ‘Chain Inlaid Siyah’ marble from Fameed Khalique (above).
The cocooning feel is continued with slices of speckled charcoal stone – alongside weighty square slabs – by Mandarin Stone (above), which benefits from warming brushed brass ‘Union’ hardware by Crosswater.
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SUPERSIZED MIRRORS
The ever-popular round mirror is being scaled up to statement proportions. The usual benefits are maximised – the reflection of light around a room, the illusion of extra space – but this bolder silhouette doubles as an impactful focal point, too. A project by OnMo group (above; @on_mo_) proves a clean, curved line is key; this backlit mirror neatly frames a minimalist cylindrical basin from Nic Design’s ‘Ovvio’ range against a burgundy backdrop where ornamentation would overwhelm.
This clever iteration by Kiev-based design studio Art Partner (above) is intersected by a sink and extended ledge, while Tomshi & Associates’ riff on the trend (below) sees an inspired pairing of grey terrazzo and peachy textured paint reflected back by a half-circle design.
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A version of this article appeared in the March 2020 issue of ELLE Decoration.
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