Elegant design for your bathroom

The Bathroom: the trends

If you’re in the mood for renovations or need to build your bathrooms from scratch, you can consider these contemporary trends to create a fresh look.

1. Minimalism: It is still on the wave and in the bathrooms ‘design, this style gives a sense of tranquillity. You don’t need covering all the walls, or using only light coverings, such as enamelled paints or resins.

2. Elegance: There is a coming back of marble. You can use many essences (or marble effect) with a shiny touch, combined with concrete floors.

3. Colour: You have a plenty of choice among brightly coloured bathroom fixtures, adding wallpaper in even bold shades of green, blue, pink and many more shades or artworks, why not?

(Photo, Cielo ceramics)

Elegant materials

Marble effects (and real marble, of course) are all the rage these days. The final result is very elegant, provided however that a large slab is chosen, equal to 60×120 or bigger than 120×240.

The problem with having a small-format marble facing is the repetitiveness of the pattern, which creates a rather boring (and surpassed) texture on the wall, especially when you choose a white marble or a Calacatta one with a very light or opaque background.

Marble porcelain-effect stoneware is still one of the most popular materials because it brings back a material that has always been prized, eliminating the problems of handling real marble.

It is a very versatile material which is available in many variations, some of them very realistic, and which makes it possible to create a chic bathroom with reasonable costs.

Marble is always well combined with black, gold or copper accessories and fittings or with coloured ceramics.

3D surfaces

This is a trend that is not yet very popular yet, but it will take shape in the coming months. These are ceramic (I love the Rombini of MUTINA ) or wood coverings that have vertical or horizontal strip grooves, which create a vibrant chiaroscuro effect on the wall.

The most obvious objection is the lack of practicality with regard to dust: they are actually non-absorbent ceramics, so if you place them in a shower with vertically placed grooves, they are as practical as any other covering material.

I like them a lot!

Wallpaper in the bathroom?

The visual decoration trend is also the trend of next year 2022. On the one hand there are fibreglass wallpapers on the market, and on the other hand there are stonewares, even in extra-large formats, which are becoming more and more pictorial and wallpaper-like, while remaining ceramic materials.

This approach is perfect for those who always want a colourful surprise effect.

Here too, choose a large format slab to avoid the endless repetitiveness of a small pattern.

Nowdays, people want to be identified by their own spaces, they want to feel different and have bespoke touches, colourful ceramics or unique settings that create a break from the past.

Like in a jungle

A touch of green in the bathroom has always appealed to many, let’s face it. Whether it’s a “real” green, with real plants or flowers, or a jungle effect using wallpaper or tiles, the idea of having a bathroom inspired by the settings of Far East gives a sense of tranquillity and escape, especially at this time of year.

The jungle appeals to both the more romantic followers, with large printed flowers, and the younger ones, who will find themselves totally projected into a sort of earthly paradise, even though they are only in the bath tub.

The jungle cladding goes very well with the textured woods on the washbasin tops, with the punctual suspensions and the large mirrors reflecting flowers and leaves on all the other sides of the room, which extends definitively the space.

Contemporary classic

The classic touch can be achieved either with the marble effects we have already seen, or with a “terrazzo” design, or even with repeated small tiles, as an exception of the rest.

Classic accessories with beautiful shapes and soft, elegant colours harmonise well especially when there is a contrast between a light (e.g. bathtub) and a dark (e.g. floor). For a sense of grandeur, introduce at least one ‘wow effect’ feature: a mosaic or a huge mirror.

Copper and gold in the bathroom fittings give a spark to your interior taking hold in exploring your glamorous side in the bathroom.

(Photo Antonio Lupi design)

Tactility

Wood is an excellent starting point for natural, textured bathroom design. Natural finishes offer the right respite from the hard, cold surfaces commonly found in bathrooms. And it gives warmth.

Select darker woods or concrete elements on a rough surface. The idea is that there should be at least one textured finish to recreate the tactile factor lost with overly polished or glossy surfaces.

Although colour is key to creating a personal space, fans of natural, monochrome interiors need not to be afraid thanks to an emerging trend coined Japandi, defined by a combination of minimal Japanese style and simple Scandinavian accents.

Natural minimalist styles are perfect for an essential look, through wood, stone and many tactile textures.

“So, what is your favorite bathroom which represents you the most?”

Maria Elena Fauci of MEF architect

I am an architect + interior designer, specialised in villas, interiors and renovations.

Elegance, functionality, bringing together different colours and materials are the core brands of my projects. I don’t have a fixed style and I don’t want to have one. Each design is a story of different elements that reveal something unique about my clients.

I like to design iconic furniture for a home. This is where my Italian origins come to the fore.

Would you like to follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration?