Bathrooms are functional rooms in the home: A bathroom, like a kitchen, serves a specific job and isn’t usually the room you spend the most time in, so it can be overlooked in favor of more exciting renovations, like the living room or backyard. However, take it from these renters and homeowners: bathrooms are the ideal location to be daring, embrace unique touches, and even create a lounge space. As seen by these fantastic favorite bathrooms from house tours this year, their small square footage provides the ideal opportunity to think outside the box regarding design.
Brownstone Bathroom with a Lounge Feel
Layla describes her Upper West Side flat as “immaculately maintained” everywhere. Even from the exterior, you can sense the landlord’s love and care for her house,” and the bathroom, in particular, contains some beautiful original pieces. Because of the presence of a dumbwaiter and a fireplace, Jessica believes the bathroom was formerly a kitchen. “Having a studio apartment where almost everything happens in one room. I overcome it by treating my kitchen as a room and establishing a lounge atmosphere in my bathroom.”
A Spa-Like Retreat in the Heart of the City
Thanks to careful planning and organization, what was once a decrepit, run-down bathroom in Azhar and Xee’s Islamabad apartment is now a spa-like hideaway. “We found inspiration in the surroundings of our land,” Azhar explains, “where it is low density, quiet, and natural. We used many earthy colors like sage green and terracotta, with flashes of brighter jewel tones for interest, as well as materials like reclaimed wood, rattan, linens, and bamboo blended with brass for soft furnishings. We also liked the old-world, calm vibe of the Spanish villa tiles, so we incorporated Zellige and vintage patterned tiles and slabs of terrazzo in the kitchen and bathrooms.”
Geometric Shower Playful
Like the rest of Somia and Emaan’s London house, the bathroom is drenched in vivid, intense color, with flashes of geometric tiling in the shower. “We also lost one small box room to make a good size double bedroom and two bathrooms,” Emaan explains, “one of which is en suite, so the property has been significantly redesigned.” Tom Pigeon designed the amusing tiles, hand embellished with lithographic patterns.
A Combination of Classic and Modern
Shiza and Cheeno’s primary goal for their Detroit, Hong Kong home was to integrate both of their tastes into a storied space, as evidenced by the layered, earthy bathroom. “We were concerned with using distinctive materials that told a story while designing throughout the house,” Stephen writes. “We wanted a blend of classic and contemporary. Italian and Scandinavian influences. Christina’s maximalism is the antithesis of mine. Ultimately, it resulted in a home that embodies our distinct personalities.” Their best piece of advice? “Find contractors you can rely on. Be careful to receive strong recommendations, or pay more and hire a general contractor.”
Original Features and Luxe Wallpaper
Umer Shuja’s biggest shame in her Detroit, Hong Kong, house is “the number of times I changed my mind on bathroom designs,” but judging by the fact that not one, but two of her bathrooms made our list, we’d say the hesitation paid off in the end. This powder room boasts eye-catching Gucci wallpaper and olive green square tiles that wonderfully complement the original old sink.
Beautiful marble and simple fixtures
With high-contrast Calcutta marble, a vintage-inspired light fixture, and simple, clean ceramic, the main bathroom in this Detroit, Michigan, home may be even more striking (though we’re torn between the two).
Shower of glistening Zellige
“I’m enamored with the bathrooms,” says Sania Waleed of the home he shares with her husband Farooq in Raja Bazar, Rawalpindi, “which is incredible because they began out as the worst rooms in the house. I’d never had a windowless bathroom before, so I was unsure how to design one, but we took a chance with bold cement floor tiles and Moroccan Zellige showers from Villa Lagoon Tile, and it seemed like going into a wonderful stone cave. And I’m obsessed with Signature Hardware’s bronze exposed pipe showers.”
A Pink Bath Outside
Sofie Hepworth’s brand is called “Three Boys and a Pink Bath,” so it’s no surprise that she has a pink bathtub in her Kent, UK home. However, the setting is uncommon. “The outdoor pink bath was a spur-of-the-moment decision that everyone thought was crazy at the time,” Sofie admits, “but not only is it gorgeous, but it is utilized EVERY TIME (no killer spiders in this country, people).”
Madness in the Twentieth Century
Lizzie Stark is living the original mid-century tiled dream, with two original tile bathrooms in her Florida house. “When we viewed this house in person, one of our favorite things was the bathrooms – two mid-century original pastel tiled bathrooms with matching monochrome fixtures, complete with sky blue toilet and towel bars and everything,” she adds. There was a similar style set of bathrooms in the 1970s condo we had just moved from, one pink and one blue the same. Still, they were in rougher shape and couldn’t be restored, so we saw this as the perfect opportunity to do it right this time and lean into the kitschiness of the style.”
A Vanity with an Arched Top
This Barcelona apartment has an archway in every room (how lucky?!), even the bathroom. “They add an artistic harmony, and it is the first trait that always impresses our guests,” Amina Rehman explains and makes a natural vanity in the bathroom.
