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Collection by Alene Workman

Tips for Creating a Well-Designed Bathroom

Dwell-approved tips for designing a modern, functional, and harmonious home bathroom.

Great bath design succeeds when people think about how they want to live and function in their private sanctum. Everything is critical to the vision the owner/design professional wants to create in this very personal space. It is all about creating a wish list along with the basics that will allow you to create the outline to proceed. As with all good design, a great bath needs expertise, knowledge and planning. A functioning, well designed and beautiful bathroom is a true luxury. Here, we present ten tips from an interior design pro on how to deck out your bathroom in style.

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Barbara Hill's Dancehall/House in Marfa, Texas September 14, 2010 Misty Keasler
Barbara Hill's Dancehall/House in Marfa, Texas September 14, 2010 Misty Keasler
Whether it’s in the middle of the room or tucked away in a tiny corner, a bathtub is a key component of bathroom design. Designer Tom Givone mixed a raw pine vanity with a sleek Produits Neptune Zen bathtub, clad in planks salvaged from the demolition of his previous home. Photo by Mark Mahaney
Whether it’s in the middle of the room or tucked away in a tiny corner, a bathtub is a key component of bathroom design. Designer Tom Givone mixed a raw pine vanity with a sleek Produits Neptune Zen bathtub, clad in planks salvaged from the demolition of his previous home. Photo by Mark Mahaney
For the bathroom inside a renovated Hollywood bungalow, architect Noah Walker used a simple palette of gray and white tile, black countertops, and stainless steel fixtures.
For the bathroom inside a renovated Hollywood bungalow, architect Noah Walker used a simple palette of gray and white tile, black countertops, and stainless steel fixtures.
Bathroom A creative way of cutting costs is on display in son Nate’s bathroom, where the wall tiles are arranged in a whimsical, irregular pattern making use of slim sections of tile cut for transitions and corners. “We came up with a pattern that could incorporate random sizes so we were able to order the exact amount of tile that we needed,” Bischoff says. “It allowed us to get the most out of the tile price because there wasn’t that 20 percent that [would normally go] into the landfill.” The two-bowl sink is the Vitviken model from Ikea; it’s topped with a chrome Hansgrohe faucet and accented by Ikea’s Godmorgon medicine cabinets customized by MADE.
Bathroom A creative way of cutting costs is on display in son Nate’s bathroom, where the wall tiles are arranged in a whimsical, irregular pattern making use of slim sections of tile cut for transitions and corners. “We came up with a pattern that could incorporate random sizes so we were able to order the exact amount of tile that we needed,” Bischoff says. “It allowed us to get the most out of the tile price because there wasn’t that 20 percent that [would normally go] into the landfill.” The two-bowl sink is the Vitviken model from Ikea; it’s topped with a chrome Hansgrohe faucet and accented by Ikea’s Godmorgon medicine cabinets customized by MADE.
The sun cuts down into the upstairs bathroom through skylights, casting rhythmic shadows of roof beams onto the floor and walls. The bathroom includes a cantilevered toilet by Catalano.
The sun cuts down into the upstairs bathroom through skylights, casting rhythmic shadows of roof beams onto the floor and walls. The bathroom includes a cantilevered toilet by Catalano.
Wenes asked artists from Studio Simple to devise an imaginative storage solution for the bathroom. Starting at one end of the room and working their way across, the team assembled chests and cabinets found at a thrift shop and painted them all white. “It’s like a mosaic,” says Wenes. “It’s a very personalized concept—I feel like it’s my bathroom.”
Wenes asked artists from Studio Simple to devise an imaginative storage solution for the bathroom. Starting at one end of the room and working their way across, the team assembled chests and cabinets found at a thrift shop and painted them all white. “It’s like a mosaic,” says Wenes. “It’s a very personalized concept—I feel like it’s my bathroom.”
The master bathroom has a bamboo screen and a Deauville tub by Victoria + Albert. A vintage enameled metal sign from the London Underground is framed by the screen and a cactus that sits atop an African stool. Read more about the eclectic South Minneapolis residence here.
The master bathroom has a bamboo screen and a Deauville tub by Victoria + Albert. A vintage enameled metal sign from the London Underground is framed by the screen and a cactus that sits atop an African stool. Read more about the eclectic South Minneapolis residence here.
In the bathroom, the gray Carrara walls are offset by bright tulip-patterned wallpaper, circa 1970, from Secondhand Rose in Tribeca. The toilet is a Philippe Starck “jet action” model from Duravit.
In the bathroom, the gray Carrara walls are offset by bright tulip-patterned wallpaper, circa 1970, from Secondhand Rose in Tribeca. The toilet is a Philippe Starck “jet action” model from Duravit.
The leftmost cabinet above the Duravit bathtub (equipped with KWC fixtures) occupies the space where a doorway once lead into the living room, creating unnecessary traffic from the home’s public spaces through to the master bedroom.The new bathroom features a minimal palette of white and teak. “It’s able to hold up on boat decks so is good for a bathroom,” Klug says. It also makes the heated floor that much nicer to walk on in the morning. Photo by Eric Roth
The leftmost cabinet above the Duravit bathtub (equipped with KWC fixtures) occupies the space where a doorway once lead into the living room, creating unnecessary traffic from the home’s public spaces through to the master bedroom.The new bathroom features a minimal palette of white and teak. “It’s able to hold up on boat decks so is good for a bathroom,” Klug says. It also makes the heated floor that much nicer to walk on in the morning. Photo by Eric Roth
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