Design News

7 bathroom trends you need to know about if you’re planning a renovation

Get inspired for your next renovation with our round-up of 2020’s bathroom trends; the best benchtops, coolest cabinets and sexiest surfaces

Choosing cushions and rugs is lots of fun because it’s easy to swap them as the seasons change. But picking permanent fixtures like benchtops, tiles, taps and flooring is a more high-stakes pursuit. Choose well and you’ll love your new kitchen, bathroom or floor for years to come. But choose badly? You’ll be dying to redo it all again in another two years.

To make the tough choices easier, we’ve thrown in some of our own top picks. The results will make any renovation junkies out there drool at the selection on offer.

And if we were to identify an overarching theme that we’re moving towards? It would be taking inspiration from, and connecting to, nature – a timeless idea that can be a very helpful guide for what we choose to include in our homes.

1 Rhino EverCore Herringbone flooring, $119 per sqm, from Carpet Court. 2 Rimu cabinet handle, $14.98, from Mitre 10. 3 Knurl beam slide handle, $139, from Powersurge. 4 Elysian kitchen mixer, $319.99, from Abi Interiors. 5 Magma Malachite matte tile, $99.50 per sqm, from Tile Space. 6 The Water Monopoly Rockwell bathtub, POA, from In Residence. 7 Forbes & Lomax switch, POA, from Piper Traders.

1. Mixing materials

One of the great things about the current return to natural materials is the effect you can create by mixing them up. Pairing a low-cost natural material such as cork with a luxe bronze tap creates a really fun contrast that still feels warm and natural. Adding a plastered finish such as tadelakt (lime plaster) or Resene Rockcote to walls is another way to deepen your materials palette, especially when used to soften edges and corners for an organic, adobe-style look. Try some unexpected combos and see what effects you can create.

1. Meir kitchen traditional mixer in tiger bronze, $679, from The Kitchen Hub. 2. Cork flooring from Creative Flooring. 3. Resene Rockcote Marrakesh.

2. Fashionable flooring

Recreate the chic look found in heritage apartments of Europe’s cities by installing wooden floors in herringbone and parquetry formats. Darker colours add that moody, old-world vibe.

From Left: Wood Melbourne Otis square brass and timber shower head, $979, from The Kitchen Hub. Wood Melbourne Leo round brass and timber taps with backplate, $829, from The Kitchen Hub.

3. Wooden taps

Timber hasn’t often been used to create hardware in the past but the clever designers at Wood Melbourne are producing the most beautiful taps and bathroom fittings in this timeless material.

Laminex Formica in bayleaf.

4. Green

The trend for muted green kitchen cupboards is one we’re loving. Laminex’s new range of Formica finishes in a series of green tones is both beautiful and affordable.

From left: Briolette faceted glass vessel basin, from $1659, from Kohler. Marcel 30cm smoked glass pendant, $189, from Lighting Direct.

5. Glass

While handmade and hand-blown glass creates an appealing natural, organic look, glass also lends itself to going super glam. Pair your new natural stone benchtop with a statement glass light fitting, or opt for a faceted glass sink to pair with your bronze bathroom tapware.

Concrete Nation basins, from $899, from Plumbline.

6. Goodbye to white

The days of defaulting to white glossy sanitaryware are coming to an end with a wave of new colours and materials entering the bathroom market. We especially love these concrete sinks by Concrete Nation in tones of pink and terracotta.

Seratone Aqua black subway tile panel by Laminex.

7. Dark and stormy

Bathrooms are becoming spaces designed for rest, solitude and a break from the overstimulation of the outside world. Dark materials can create intensely soothing effects. We really like these black Seratone Aqua panels, which create the look of a tiled surface without the high cost.

From left: HPM vertical switch plate in gunmetal, $15.98, from Mitre 10. Marvel Nero Marquina Lappato tile, POA, from Atlas Concorde. Futura apex lever set in black, $99.39, from Mitre 10.

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This article was first published in Your Home and Garden. Follow YHG on Instagram, Facebook and sign up to the fortnightly email for inspiration between the issues.

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