Hyper-expressive interior design characterises these bathrooms, with colour, pattern play, and contrasts in sheen and scale defining their aesthetics.
COMPILED BY Martin Jacobs PHOTOS Dustin Halleck, Atelier Photography, Lance Gerber; Greg Cox; Elton Rocha; Claire Gunn; Stephen Paul; Alecia Neo/Neon Studio
Inventive tiling and arresting wallpapers are key to a winning look, with dramatic basins, and tapware and fixtures in luxe metallics, equally hardworking. The secret to success? Visual cohesion.
Chicago interior designer SuzAnn Kletzien opts for over-the-top maximalism in this guest bathroom (above), combining Milton & King’s Cranes wallpaper with high-gloss metallic tiles, hexagonal floor tiles and a marble vanity. The look works not only because she’s chosen a contained colour palette, but because she pairs matt and reflective surfaces. suzannkletzien.com | miltonandking.com
“Don’t be afraid to mix different textures and finishes – both in colour and in sheen,” says Australian interior stylist Tim Neve. “Three is the maximum for a balanced bathroom.” Working with a restrained colour palette in this guest toilet, he’s paired matt encaustic cement tiles with glossy hand-painted Moroccan bejmat tiles. “If all the surfaces had the same finish, the space would’ve felt flat, lacking the interplay that makes it engaging.” timneve.com
A large-scale fl oral wallpaper is just one bold element of Los Angeles-based Another Human’s principal designer Leah Ring’s more-is-more approach in this bathroom. A shell- shaped basin echoes the forms of the scalloped cabinetry, creating a visual narrative. Locally, Cara Saven Wall Design creates waterproof wallpapers suited to moisture-heavy rooms. anotherhuman.la | carasaven.com
Pattern on pattern adds interest to another Leah Ring bathroom. To replicate the mood, select monochromatic patterns in the same tone. Her choices work well here because she’s off set Cole & Son’s Villandry wallpaper with structured mosaic tiling. Source Cole & Son wallpaper from St Leger & Viney. anotherhuman.la | cole-and-son.com | stleger.co.za
Colour is central to hotelier Liz Biden’s decorating. In this bathroom at Franschhoek House – a new private villa at La Residence – she demonstrates that bold use of complementary colours need not be intimidating. The trick? She’s paired primary and pastel shades of postbox red and offset them with pastel green, introducing white to soften the clash. Source tapware and customisable bathtubs – like this Victoria + Albert Cheshire tub – from Victorian Bathrooms. theroyalportfolio.com | victorianbathrooms.co.za
Interior designer Irene Kyriacou’s solution to a high-traffic bathroom – in this case at Marble Cape Town restaurant – is to opt for a densely and irregularly patterned tile. The advantage of doing so is that water and soap splatter won’t easily show. Above hand-washing height, where water drops are less likely, painted walls in a flat colour are given interest by ornate mirrors. Source similar tapware at Flush. oniroco.co.za | flushbathrooms.co.za
Spanish interior designer Noé Prades counters the symmetry of the basins and mirrors in this bathroom by instructing his tiler to lay the half-moons and bars in the tile design in irregular patterns. He also suggests painting walls surrounding the tiles in a matching colour. Source similar tiles from Stiles. noeprades.com | stiles.co.za
In this playful take on colour drenching, Another Human studio has covered the walls and floor of a bathroom in the same tiles. While this isn’t unusual, it’s the irregularity of the pattern – created by using various shades of blue – that makes for an exciting result. anotherhuman.la
For a calmer look, do as Singapore-based interior designer Elizabeth Hay has done in this children’s bathroom: opt for a single surface that’s heavily patterned, and keep others neutral. Laminate flooring is an easy-clean way to achieve an intricately patterned look. Elizabeth has repeated yellow in the shower doors and mirror, and has had fun repeating the shower’s wavy tile edge in the mirror frame. elizabethhaydesign.com
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