The contemporary bathroom look – and how to get it

Our guide to contemporary design and where you need to go to make your bathroom stand out.

So – the time has finally come to get rid of that horrible old avocado suite and floral shower curtain. Instead you’re planning a gleaming modern bathroom masterpiece.

We suggest:

Round mirror with shelves. More details at:

But there’s a fine line to be trodden here: get it right and you will have created an exciting contemporary room that will enhance your home and give you enjoyment for years. Get it wrong and you’ll be lumbered with something only one step away from the stark functionality of an upmarket motorway services.

So what are the secrets to successful contemporary bathroom design?

According to Paola Antonelli of New York’s Museum of Modern Art: “Contemporary design is experimental in its use of materials and is often inspired by genuine necessity. Still, it sustains elements of surprise and deep intellectual beauty, because it relies more on invention than on the elaboration of styles.”

What that means in practice is that items are designed to get the job done simply and effectively, without fancy bells, whistles or twiddly bits. Dullness is avoided by their originality – perhaps they offer a clever new way to do an old job, or maybe they are made from an unusual material.

We suggest:

Cascata Rondo shower enclosure. More details at:

In a bathroom, that might mean a sink that consists of a coloured glass bowl instead of the usual ceramic construction, or a shower enclosure left semi-frameless to create a bright and airy space.

Contemporary colour

Think of contemporary design in some rooms, particularly active parts of the house like living rooms and children’s play rooms, and you immediately think of bold splashes of bright colour. In contrast, many people’s idea of contemporary bathroom decoration fails to extend beyond white, grey and chrome – but there’s no reason why a smart, modern bathroom shouldn’t also use colour, or even natural wood.

Blue often works well in a bathroom – modern or traditional – and it can work particularly well fading towards certain shades of grey or with some types of metalwork.

We suggest:

Ontario Round Countertop Basin. More details at:

To prevent the room becoming too stark, mix in some warm pale browns or some well-designed wooden bathroom furniture or flooring. A good rule of thumb is to make the breakdown between the three tones – white / metal, blue and brown – 60 per cent to 30 per cent to 10 per cent.

Of course, there’s another influence at work – budget. Contemporary design looks expensive, and its occasional use of unusual materials means that sometimes it can be. But it doesn’t have to be. There are many suppliers in the UK offering affordable pieces that can be assembled into a striking and stylish whole.

Up next is a round-up of some of their best products and brands.

Great names to visit

We’ve been impressed by these merchants or brands, and hope you are too. All links go to external sites and open in another window.

Ziggiziggi: Ziggiziggi is a high-end gift site that offers tasteful, contemporary products chosen for their quality and their stylish looks. Its bathroom section offers everything from soap dishes to towel rails.
Pozzi Ginori, at Bathroom Heaven: Bathroom Heaven has a wide range of suites but, for a contemporary look, the Italian designer Pozzi Ginori is hard to beat – try the easy, join or Series 500 ranges.
Architeckt, at Plumbworld: Great savings and a sophisticated minimalist design are the twin attractions of this range.
Apollo towel rails at HeatandPlumb.com: A wide variety of styles are on offer, from classic and traditional to contemporary, and there are bargains at the foot of the page. Look for the Siena and Venezia styles.

Suites, showers and tubs

We mentioned Bathroom Heaven earlier on the page, but they’re not the only game in town. Here are a few other retailers of suites who can help when you’re looking for that modern touch.

Trueshopping Modern Bathroom suite: Pretty much everything you need to kit out a stylish modern bathroom is included in this suite – an offset quadrant shower enclosure with a thermostatically controlled shower and head, vanity unit and basin, basin tap and toilet. With any luck, the wallpaper isn’t included.
Screwfix bathroom suites: Screwfix isn’t just where you go for very large bags of nails (or bags of very large nails, for that matter). Its crossover into trade supply means you can find just about everything there – including some rather stylish bathroom suites. Two to take a closer look at are the St Ives and the Padstow.
Cooke & Lewis at B&Q: There is, as you might expect, and extremely wide range of suites available at B&Q, especially in the Cooke & Lewis collection. Some of the more adventurously contemporary are the Portia (inspired by round pebbles), the curvaceous Lennox and the minimalist Clarence.

Some more ideas:

• Got some great thoughts about contemporary bathroom design that you’d like to share? Why not join our Yahoo Groups forum and discuss them? We’d love to see you there.