Awash with characterful touches and stylish furniture, living room-inspired bathrooms are making an entrance

Long considered a purely practical space, the bathroom is now coming into its own as a sanctuary from the stresses of modern life. There is no need for this place of ablutions to feel cold and uninviting. There is much more fluidity in the home today and this space becomes just as much a place for taking a long bath and getting ready for an evening out as somewhere to read and relax.

Emphasis is on the room being a space for the owners to creatively express themselves

Spanning all interior styles, today’s bathroom can be the vehicle for classic style as much as quirky aesthetics, projecting the personality of the homeowner like any other room. Influential 20th-century tastemaker David Hicks famously designed his bathroom to look like a library with shapely lamps, a stylish telephone table and cabinets of mementoes. Characteristically opulent, the master bathroom in Donatella Versace’s Milan apartment incorporates a reclining bronze Buddha and a black leather upholstered chair. The midcentury home of LA-based fashion photographer Steven Meisel features armchairs, a coffee table and an iconic, gilded Jansen desk.

Crucially, the living room-style bathroom is a well-being sanctuary, a place to escape and enter another realm. Emphasis is on the room being a further extension to the home, to be treated with as much visual style and flair as anywhere else. It is a space for the owners to creatively express themselves, displaying things they love, including holiday souvenirs and other intriguing curios.

Designed for you: characterful touches and stylish furniture give your bathroom an edge

‘Ideally bathrooms should be large enough to have some furniture – either a large armchair, a small sofa or better still a daybed for reclining and relaxing after a long day,’ says interior designer Philippa Devas. ‘If it has a chimney piece and fire so much the better – this makes a lovely focus for the room, enhances the atmosphere and makes it particularly cosy for winter evenings.’

Layer texture and wit alongside warm and engaging features such as a colourful rug, a verdant chandelier covered in plants, a decadent chaise or a small rattan sofa.

‘Interesting, less ordinary and quality rugs have replaced the old style bathmat and, with a larger bathroom, rattan chairs are used for both function and decoration,’ says Sally Bendelow, creative product director at notonthehighstreet.com. ‘Plant life is key to this trend, so accessorise with pots and plants. Ferns are ideal for a humid room. Upgrade the bathmat to a traditional runner and use shelves to display trinkets and items bought from your travels.’

Sit back and relx: escape busy day-to-day life and enter another realm

Soft furnishings bring a touch of luxury and soften the edges of often cold and austere bathroom suites. Purchases of statement rugs for the bathroom are on the up and here product innovation comes to the rescue with designs made to withstand lots of moisture, while retaining the look of a living room. Wooden floors, painted walls and bold wallpaper help to tell a more interesting story.

Sometimes the classic decorating devices are the most effective. Whether it is Nordic simplicity or opulent vintage chic, statement mirrors create the illusion of doubling the space. Using carefully chosen lighting to set the scene allows for different moods and emphasis. Crystal chandeliers, single pendants next to sinks, lamps on surfaces – all these add warmth, glamour and idiosyncratic style.

Designed for wellness

Searching for some respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life?

Telegraph Spark has teamed up with Geberit to show how important it is to restore the natural balance of our overworked senses and to create harmony in your bathroom.

To find out more about functional sophisticated solutions, visit geberit-aquaclean.co.uk/TG