Gone are the days when a bathroom was just for washing and shaving. Bathrooms are now designed to be places where we can pamper ourselves in luxury.

“The Romans and Greeks had a much higher bathing culture than we have today and now it’s coming back,” says head designer at Sieger Design, Michael Sieger, who is based in Munich, Germany.

“A major trend for bathrooms in the next decade in the Western European market is the concept of the private heaven.”
These luxury bathrooms will soon be merging with the bedroom, just like the trend in the last decade for kitchens and living rooms to be connected.

So how does this impact on the design of the bathroom and building materials?

“With the bathroom opening on to the bedroom, it will have to become warmer in terms of style and colors used,” says Mr Sieger. “It will need to be more comfortable and invite you to spend more time there.

“The challenge in bringing these two rooms together is in finding the kind of materials that work well in both rooms. The traditional bathroom uses totally different materials than the bedroom, but we still need materials that are water-resistant and easy to clean. The problem is that the traditional materials look so cold, so there is a strong tendency away from ceramic tiles, (especially) covering all four walls, which is neither comfortable nor cosy.

“We are looking for new materials that aren’t so cold and are more comfortable. More warmth can be achieved with the use of color, carpet and more natural materials like wood on the floors and walls.”

Future design will also factor in the possibility of sitting or lying down in the bathroom. “People usually do their pedicure and paint their nails on a closed toilet seat or on the edge of a bath, so there is a need for proper seating,” Mr Sieger says.

“Maybe even further into the future, the bathroom may open up to the living room as well.”

In the near future, Mr Sieger expects to see two main areas in the house: a public area, where the kitchen is the centre, and the private area where everything centres around the bathroom. “All other functions will surround these centres.

There are quite complex functions in the bathroom, more than the bedroom, where turning a light off and on is the main function.”

The blending of bathroom and bedroom is a trend you can also see in hotels, he says. “Maybe 90% of modern luxury design hotels in Europe break up the traditional separation between bathroom and bedroom, from putting a small window between the walls to putting the bathtub next to the bed.”

Mr Sieger argues that how we use the bathroom is becoming more important in design, and that we are concerned that more about the function of things. “We can also integrate products in traditional design, such as art deco, or have a modern minimalist bathroom.

“There are more interesting products around now. Before, you could buy a complete shower cabin with steam bath, but the cabins were manufactured using plastic or acrylic material, and they were very ugly.”

Electronics will also move into the bathroom, helping people to create their own personalized bathroom experience by programming lighting levels, and the temperature and amount of water they prefer – from a light spray to a waterfall.