BATHING IN LUXURY

With bathrooms becoming more and more an extension of the bedroom—one-for-one and en suite —it is little surprise that when the tendency is towards a luxurious and elegantly comforting bedroom, as we saw on pages 76–9, the bathroom follows suit. Bathing can be an excuse for luxuriating in elegant surroundings, and this pervades every material and detail, from timber panels in Chinese elm, exquisite mosaic tiles, elaborately shaped bathtubs, in one case at far left an innovative use of brushed and curved metal, and an expanse of travertine stone and Chinese marble. The allusions are to both comfort and visual elegance. At the same time, the use of ‘light’ materials, such as glass and translucent panels for walls and ceilings, helps to create a calming serenity, visual neutrality and, in the case of mirrors such as those below, a gentle animation created by the effects of reflection. Mirrors can even enhance the sense of bathroom luxury by interacting with carefully designed lighting.

In the constricted space available, this small bathroom achieves a sense of space and style by the use of curved sheets of stainless steel on the wall and on the side panel of the bathtub.

In this design by Anderson Lee, a glass wall encloses the bathtub. The adjacent vertical shelved display niche is lit with a recessed downlight.

In a bathroom designed by collector Elisabeth de Brabant, the washbasin bench is enhanced with a silvered woven bamboo basket.

A make-up mirror with lighting set into its frame is hung on a glass wall above a freestanding washbasin.

A strong sense of luxury is created in this large bathroom dominated by a round bathtub, by the mosaic tiles on the floor and the sweeping circular surround to the tub, all reflected in angled mirror sections covering the curved wall.