Gone are the days of sterile, white bathrooms, with cold straight edges and a lack of imagination. With designs heading towards luxurious spa and hotel styles, 2014 has brought out lots of innovative ideas for bathroom designs. We’ve compiled a list of 9 of our favourite trends to inspire you.
1. Wet rooms
A wet room is an elegant and desirable solution for virtually any bathroom with its luxurious, contemporary feel and efficient use of space. Wet rooms look like walk in showers. They are normally not enclosed, and they are flush to the floor instead of being on a separate plinth like showers
Wet rooms have become popular over the last couple of years, and the popularity is increasing into 2014. Not only do they look incredibly modern and stylish, but they can also add a significant amount to the value of a property. Click here to view a gallery of wet rooms
2. The curves are taking over
2014 has seen an increase in more abstract, interesting and visually appealing curved shapes in installations and even room designs. Some of the most ambitious bathrooms have walls that slope in, or dividing walls with a wavy edge.
On a smaller scale, there are some great shapes in baths and basins that will fit any bathroom which you can view here.
Of course if you have a spare £20,000 and want something really opulent for your bathing experience, you could always buy one of 12 ‘Vessels’: Hammock Bathtubs created by British company Splinter Works.
3. Seeing clearly
You’ve just finished showering, and you’re in a rush to get your cleaning regime done – but, as is all too common, the mirror is steamed up and you can’t see anything.
It’s such a small thing that causes so much annoyance in bathrooms across the world, which is why one if the fastest selling products are de-misting mirrors. Heated pads behind the glass stop condensation forming while you shower which makes sure you have a crystal clear view in the mirror when you absolutely need it. As well as being entirely practical, a lot of de-misting mirrors look the part in modern bathrooms.
4. Black is the new black
Sterile, white coloured rooms are becoming less popular. Even with a cheery pattern of tiles, it’s hard to avoid a bathroom looking boring when it has white walls, white basins, white bath – white everything. If you want to liven your bathroom up, or make a statement, introduce aspects of black or other dark colours. Whether you have a completely black bath, or just settle on black basin units and small fixtures, the monochrome effect can really lift the appearance of a bathroom.
Grey is also becoming really popular with many designers, and if you don’t want dark colours, you can always settle on a bone or beige theme to get away from the sterile white.
And yes, avocado is still definitely out.
5. On the rocks
Carrying on from introducing dark colours into a bathroom is the trend of including slabs of interesting rocks such as onyx, slate or most commonly marble. All of these can give really appealing patterns of dark and light shades that echoes an extremely designed and opulent look. There are many options, including choosing between single large slabs, or small tiles, both of which give their own unique appearance.
If budget is an option, you can get artificial tiles and slabs that look exactly like the real thing.
6. Digital showers
You don’t have to live in fear of your shower’s sensitive taps anymore. 2014 has seen even more digital showers on the market. With a touch of a button, you can control the heat and even water pressure of your shower, making sure it’s perfect every time.
Once installed, digital showers also look really modern in a bathroom particularly if installed with a frameless enclosure.
If a plain old shower isn’t enough for you, click here to see the Wellgems Midnight Edition Steam Spa: a shower with a built in touch sensitive LCD screen, 19 water jets, 2 seats, MP3 player and – most sensibly– disco lights.
7. Heated floors
Stepping out of your warm shower or bath onto the cold tiled floor. Need we say more?
8. Look after the environment
There has been a big push recently to making bathroom products more eco friendly and socially responsible. Water wastage is the biggest problem, which is why most companies are now bringing out products that eliminate this. Whether it’s a shower or tap that regulates water flow, or you controlling how much water your toilet uses to flush, there are lots of ways you can eco your bathroom. Not only is it great for the environment, but you can also save money on your water bills.
9. Floating units
The last of our favourite trends of 2014 is floating units. Basins, cupboards and even toilets suspended on the wall off of the floor. Although at first you may be worried about using a toilet bolted onto the wall, they are very secure and not only do they look stylish and modern but can also be a great way to show off the interesting floor tiles or patterns you have put in.