Today’s bathrooms may not seem much different from those of a few years ago; after all, modern minimalism remains the aesthetic of choice. But look again. Designers are streamlining shapes, honing textures and hatching smart storage ideas that are refining the way we live within our sleek retreats.
The result: a simple yet sophisticated space where function, form, and innovation combine to offer a soothing, even therapeutic, experience.
“People are looking for somewhere quiet, where they can kick back and relax and have the spa feel. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away,” says Nancy Boudreau, designer and owner of Nuenza, a custom kitchen and bathroom company in Montreal.
Perhaps this view of the bathroom as an oasis of calm accounts for the ongoing popularity of the freestanding soaker tub, the sculptural presence of which has come to define opulence. But where the shapes of bathroom fixtures used to be sharp and angular, they have become softer, with rounded corners and a more organic feel.
According to Jacques Farmer, senior product manager at Batimat in Montreal, the trend is to simplify the visual forms. “You’ll find collections of toilets, such as the Toto Neorest or the Kohler Numi that are rounded cubes where the seat matches exactly the shape of the toilet so that it doesn’t look like a complicated device,” he says. “Yet it can hide innovative tricks, such as a rinsing function or self-cleaning, that are increasingly popular.”
