While bathrooms are still full of shiny white, glass and mirrored surfaces, these are now being softened with a mix of textured materials. Meanwhile, stone, ceramics and vintage wood give character, and plants love steamy tropical bathrooms (or faux plants for the windowless).
These materials are a far cry from the clinical, glossy surfaces of a corporate hotel, says Wilson. Rather, they borrow from the boutique-hotel aesthetic. Watson-Smyth points to the fashion for “unkitchen-y” kitchens with open shelves and sofas. “That notion has moved into bathrooms,” and, she says, people are asking themselves: “How would I decorate if it was a living room?”. So instead of a fitted vanity unit, there’s a pretty curtain to hide your medical and cosmetic paraphernalia. Along with foliage, rattan wall lights, a free-standing bath, soft textiles like bathmats that mimic Persian rugs and curtains, and wallpaper – as long as it’s properly applied – all add to the non-clinical, sanctuary feel.
This atmosphere can be a challenge to pull off in the UK’s tiny bathrooms (some of the smallest in Europe, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects). Lighting plays a key role, particularly in windowless bathrooms. Those grids of unflattering spotlights are losing out to something more targeted and subtle. A single spotlight over the bath can give “a shining ripple effect”, says Watson-Smyth, with just one or two others to highlight colour or detail in marble, tiles or stone. Wall lights create atmosphere, while a dimmer contributes to mood changes.
As wellbeing continues to be front of mind, Wilson predicts the dawn of the “smart” bathroom within the decade. This would be “fully integrated with our optimised and digitised lifestyles”, she says, with built-in sensors measuring our biometrics, and syncing to our devices and health tracking gadgets.