Happiness is a luxury bathroom

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With colder weather approaching, you might be feeling an urge to cocoon. And where better to do so than in a gorgeous ensuite bathroom? From tiles and fixtures to soaker tubs and heated floors, you have lots of options for making this private space a relaxing retreat. 

Off the top, it’s important to ensure ample storage for towels and toiletries, and lots of natural light, says Mallory Ivall, a designer at Ottawa’s Artium Design Build and Just Basements. Beyond that, your bathroom choices are almost limitless.  

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For many homeowners in recent years, sprucing up their morning spritz has been a priority. “Large expansive showers, equipped with built-in quartz benches, wall niches and multiple shower heads have been popular,” Ivall says. 

Sometimes, those big showers replace a traditional bathtub. However, if your space and budget allow, you can also add a deep, stand-alone tub. Ivall notes that jetted tubs are not as trendy as they once were, with sleek soaker models taking their place on homeowners’ wish lists. 

If you want both a big shower and a big tub but your bathroom isn’t enormous, you can create a “wet room,” says Ivall. “The shower and tub share the same space and often have a large glass door separating them from the rest of the ‘dry’ area, where the toilet and vanity are located.” 

Speaking of the vanity: Double sinks are as popular as ever, Ivall says. However, you don’t have to settle for the plain white basins that came with your house.  

Jane Son, co-founder and director of Toronto-based Casson Hardware, sources distinctive products from small Canadian suppliers such as Mudd Concrete, whose workshop is located in tiny Burgessville, Ontario.  

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“They make these really beautiful concrete basins, and they come in all sorts of different shapes and forms,” explains Son. Instead of being simply utilitarian, your bathroom sink can be “like a piece of art in your bathroom,” she says. 

Even that most humble of bathroom fixtures, the toilet, offers an opportunity to invest in luxury. Some of Ivall’s customers are installing high-tech toilets with heated seats, bidets and automatic lids. (No more fights about who left the seat up or down!) Some of these futuristic loos are even self-cleaning. 

The tiles surrounding all these bathroom focal points are another area where you can unleash your creativity. The 12-inch-by-24-inch tiles that have been everywhere in recent years are on their way out, Ivall says. In their stead, clients are opting for larger tiles on the walls beyond the shower and bathtub surrounds, sometimes installing them from floor to ceiling.  

Those tiles are no longer necessarily plain, white and regimented anymore, either. “Patterned floor tiles, geometric shaped mosaics and hand-crafted irregular wall tiles, installed in both contemporary vertical installations or in interesting patterns, are having a moment,” says Ivall. “There are a lot of opportunities to introduce interest and colour through tile selections.” 

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For a little bit of extra luxury on cold winter days, more and more customers have been requesting heated towel bars and in-floor radiant heating systems, says Ivall. 

Towel bars also give you a chance to inject some cutting-edge style into your ensuite. Solid metal is a great choice for bathroom hardware that can stand the test of time, says Son. 

“When you have real metals, they age. There’s a patina,” she explains. That sheen can give your ensuite a prized heirloom quality, she adds. “Showing age is something that a lot of people are drawn to right now.” 

Both Son and Ivall note that homeowners are moving away from a uniform finish for all of their bathroom hardware, instead venturing to mix and match materials. “It has a much more elegant and current look,” says Son. 

If you have a good eye, you can try this yourself, but you might want advice from a designer before investing in a range of pieces, Son adds. There’s a fine line between artfully blended and haphazardly mismatched. The key is to ensure that the base tones of all the items are similar.  

For instance, you can pair antique brass with warmly toned nickel pieces. If you want to add black items to that mix, says Son, opt for blackened bronzes or brasses, rather than powder-coated black items. Over time, the black finish will wear off the bronze or brass items, revealing the warm undertones of the metals beneath. 

Even a small item, such as a light switch cover or door handle, can give your ensuite bathroom a touch of opulence, says Son, because it’s something you see and touch every day. She likens these items to fashion accessories, such as shoes and purses, that make a big difference to the overall look. And when it comes to cocooning, every little bit of luxury counts. 

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