We asked six designers for their style predictions.
“Bathrooms are often the only place where people regularly have time to themselves,” Sydney interior designer Sarah Davison says. For that reason bathroom design should “create a refuge of serenity and personal luxury. The trends I embrace are for natural materials and unique, layered textures,” she says.
Recent bathroom trade shows in Paris and Milan showed that 2016 trends will focus around natural materials, designer Katrina Malyn, of building design company Design Projector, says.
“We will move further away from artificial materials,” Malyn predicts. “Natural stone and timber will appear in more and more bathrooms. Timber vanities, seats and accessories showing timber grain will become more prevalent. Timber will be more often used for bathroom floors and even in taps.”
Timber will continue to be a prominent feature in our bathrooms, television personality and interior design blogger Katrina Chambers agrees. From wall features and open shelving, to hardwood floors and even timber vanities. “Make sure you bring in some earthy elements to balance the space out,” she says. “Greenery, whites and a patterned tile work beautifully with tactile timber surfaces.”
“Black and white remain timeless,” Clare Barnes, an interior decorator at Freedom, says. “Whether you are freshening up with new towels and soap dispensers, or completely changing the space.”
Matt black is in, she says. “Consider a gorgeous pendant over the vanity or bath. Change your tapware to matt black for a sleek, classy look.”
White freestanding baths will also be very much in demand in 2016, Barnes predicts. “Linked with black velvet ottomans and a sexy crystal light fitting, they give the bathroom an air of elegance and a sense of pampering.
“The white Carrara marble look, but in a porcelain tile, is incredibly popular and will continue to do so for 2016,” Melbourne-based interior designer and decorator Jane Gorman says. “The beauty of the porcelain tile is that it doesn’t absorb like marble and is maintenance-free. It will give you the luxury and glamorous look without the price tag.”
“Brass is really on trend this season,” Barnes says. “With either a beautiful light fitting, candle or even a shower caddy. Injecting metallics into a bathroom gives off such a glamorous, warm feel.”
Sydney interior stylist Lisa Burdus, of Rooms By Design, says she too is now using black, pewter, brass or aged brass tapware in most of her designs and very little chrome.
Burdus loves the personality of a pattern and predicts Moroccan-style patterned floor tiles with plain tiles on the walls will be big in 2016.
After travelling to Marrakesh, Davison says she is “a bit obsessed with Moroccan Tadelakt in bathrooms. This is a seamless waterproof render you can use in showers and even form baths from. The result is soft and luminous, a bit like the inside of a seashell. I find it creates a much more relaxed feel than tiled walls with grids of grout.”
“Patterns are becoming richer,” Malyn says. “We are slowly going away from minimalist all-white simple form. As always happens in times of economic stagnation and downturn, people resort to brighter colours and busier patterns to introduce some variety and movement into their daily life. We will see playful combinations of materials, patterns and sizes.”
Instead of bath mats use small rugs such as small kilims or cow hides for an adult en suite, Burdus suggests.
Another trend that will clearly dominate this year is the hexagonal tile, Malyn says. “From small mosaics to larger and bolder hexagons used for feature walls, they will be bringing freshness into our bathrooms this year. The success of hexagonal tiles comes from the organic shape that catches the eye and creates various associations, from animals’ carapace and skin patterns to snowflakes and minerals.”
Davison says: “A balance of natural, task and mood lighting is important in bathrooms for functionality and atmosphere.”
In a recent project seen here, there is a circular skylight above the shower. “There’s nothing better than having a shower in sunlight,” she says.
Niches with low-voltage lighting are also another trend that will continue in 2016, Gorman says.
You may not think of your bathroom as an art space but Burdus does. “I always hang art and style the room so it feels inviting to spend time there rather than just somewhere to shower and brush your teeth,” she says.
For more great ideas go to http://www.designprojector.com/
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