GUEST BLOGGER Rose-Marie Hillier Gives her take on Emerging Bathroom Trends

Bathrooms have become the status symbol of the home in a way the kitchen could never be. Perceived as a place to luxuriate, relax and pamper, bathrooms are now featuring materials and finishes that were once taboo in this "wet" area. With the help of ever evolving technology resins and acrylics, timber, mirror, wallpaper and fabric are being used to set the scene for a totally inspirational bathroom. No single design style dominates anymore – something that was highlighted to me recently as I travelled around Sydney as a judge for the 2011 HIA/CSR Kitchen and Bathrooms Awards (to be announced this Saturday – October 22).

The sculptural freestanding bath continues to be a key feature though I was dazzled by elements as diverse as a Turkish hand-sculpted stone basin and a vanity crafted in glass and mirror. I saw some whacky bathrooms, too, where the designer was, sadly, caught in a time warp – surely Day-Glo red floor tiles, metallic painted finishes and coloured sensor lights belong in a disco?

I was interested to see painted timber cabinetry, wall panelling and stained floorboards (a feature of the East Coast American look) as a popular style option if you aren't into sleek contemporary which almost always focuses on stone finishes and hard surfaces.

The bathroom has opened up

The biggest difference though is the bathroom's floor plan – it hasn't necessarily become bigger, though it might allude to that. It's more that the bathroom now has "zoned" functions – the toilet is included in the bathroom but located behind closed doors (sometimes there are two toilets, his and hers). The shower area -with a rainshower fitting – is big enough for two and is screened in frameless or printed glass. The bath – the star of the area – has its own space. The vanity bench and basin are freeform, often separated from the other zones and frequently designed as furniture to complement the bedroom.

Vanity is a virtue
The basin in many aspects has become the hero and is more often included in, rather than mounted on, the vanity counter itself. On holiday recently in Italy, I saw a white basin as wide as the neat table it was placed on together with a small table lamp. So what's new with that? On closer observation you see that all elements were formed in porcelain as one unit, even the table lamp. The only contrast were the lamp and table, which were finished in chrome. Now, that was interesting!

Here are some other emerging design features:

  • Glossy white resin for an amazing seamless floor finish
  • Coloured polymer sheeting as an alternative to glass in wet areas
  • Printed coloured glass tiles
  • Organic shapes
  • Sensor lights installed in the floor
  • Mirror on mirror — very glam
  • Truly elegant wall flushes for concealed cisterns and narrow wall-hung toilets
  • Mosaics behind glass
  • Bridge-style tapware complementing uber-modern baths

And don't expect all baths these days to be oval

Rose-Marie Hillier is an interior design journalist and a former editor of House and Garden magazine. Currently, as one of the magazine's contributors and editor-at-large, she reports on design trends. She was also a judge in the 2011 HIA/CSR Kitchen and Bathroom Awards. Rose-Marie is also a qualified colour consultant and loves to dabble in photography.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the guest blogger and do not necessarily reflect the views of Kohler Co.

!