Although historically the last room in the home to be considered a designer space, the bathroom is no longer simply a functional room. It is now considered an important living space with its own interior design trend and a few will certainly challenge the lovers of a pure white, private, porcelain paradise.

Some of these trends are hotly debated and can have architects, interior designers, home decorators and homeowners sparring it out, but here are some of our favourites.

The dark side

Dabble in your dark temptations by opting for matte black taps, mixers, shower roses and accessories instead of the shiny chrome bling we are all accustomed to; or succumb completely and create a bold sensual space with dark colours on the walls and floor.

Image credit Bespoke Bathrooms

Or find some middle ground by creating a dark feature wall or installing dark shutters on windows and doors. “More and more of our clients are choosing our darker stained and coloured shutter ranges,” says Karina Palmer, interior designer and marketing director of AMERICAN shutters. “Our charcoal indoor shutters are a very popular choice for bathrooms because they are waterproof and give complete privacy and light control.”

Smoke and mirrors

If it isn’t big, make it bold. When it comes to bathrooms, the size, style and number of mirrors are as varied as their reflections; oversized, vintage, retro, tiled or full-wall, all that matters is that it makes a statement.

Image credit Victorian Bathrooms

A great design tip is to strategically position mirrors to reflect the best parts of your bathroom or an outside view. Mirrors can also help make a small bathroom seem big and reflect natural light to improve the overall lighting of the space.

Voyeurs welcome

Nothing divides opinions like the concept of an open plan bedroom-bathroom. Personal preferences aside, it is a fast-growing interior design feature.

“Shutters are the great mediator when it comes to open-plan bathrooms,” says Karina. “They provide a versatile room divider that can either be closed with tilted or closed louvres to give the shy folk some privacy or opened up completely for the exhibitionists amongst us.”

AMERICAN shutters’ Woodbury Waterproof Shutters are ideal for this application; 100% waterproof, durable and lightweight. They are available in over 30 painted colours and a choice of three louvre sizes, their louvres are operated with a secret tilt system that nullifies the need for obtrusive tilt rods, and they can be made to fit unusual shaped openings.

Feature show

Bathrooms can be playrooms. Have some fun in personalising the space to your taste, create a feature wall with tiles, wallpaper or marble, add spa-like luxuries and find space for some custom pieces.

Image (left) credit Victorian Bathrooms/Cara Saven Wall Designs

We did just that and put together our dream bathroom, see our mood board below:

• Shower enclosure – Victorian Bathrooms
• Light fitting – Victorian Bathrooms
• Towels – Volpes
• Bath – Victorian Bathrooms
• Marble – WOMAG
• Shutters – AMERICAN shutters
• Taps and mixers – Victorian Bathrooms