Living Bathroom: How can a bathroom double as a living space?
Having been in evidence at the international trade fairs for some years, this trend is now entering the decisive round and changing the way private bathrooms are planned all over the world.
The Living Bathroom is a response to the still-growing demand for an individual, comfortable and cosy wellness retreat in one’s own four walls. The bathroom has undergone a continuous upgrade in recent years. Cosiness, zeitgeist, fashion and style are very much in demand as the cornerstones of a professionally planned bathroom, as are modern usage concepts that enhance the quality of the space and permit health-related activities. The Living Bathroom features more furniture and more fabrics, is more flexible and more attractive – and there’s no shortage of old bathrooms that are waiting to be kissed awake.
Frank A Reinhardt
Trend researcher and design journalist, Owner - FAR Consulting
“There are all sorts of stories a bathroom planner can tell, from sustainability or a smart bathroom all the way to a highly individual interior design. The increasing degree of cosiness people want in their bathrooms is the common denominator.”
In a video statement, bathroom, spa and interior design specialist Torsten Müller called for bathroom planning to be rigorously human-centred: “We’re living in such fast-moving times that the bathroom has become a place of retreat, a kind of haven – a place that we should be able to experience with all five senses.”
Christian Wadsack, an interior designer, planner and speaker at the firm ho.w Innenarchitektur, emphasised that it’s not only the furnishings and sanitaryware that need to be designed accordingly in a Living Bathroom; ideally, the planning should include the layout of the bathroom and the positioning of rooms within the floor plan as well. “For years now, when it comes to the evolution of the Living Bathroom, we’ve been observing that the space allocated to the bathroom in standard buildings is still far too small.”
Jens J Wischmann
Managing Director of the German Bathroom Sector Association (Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft e.V. [VDS])
“A Living Bathroom has to be based on a holistic approach to planning. The many different requirements a planner has to meet when creating a private spa call for the involvement of a corresponding number of different talents.”
With the right planning, however, a cosy bathroom can be created even in a small space, as demonstrated by interior designer Andrea Wirges-Klein (Wirges-Klein Architekten). She presented a project in a 19th-century house where the space couldn’t be increased because of the building’s heritage-protected status. “When you’re planning a Living Bathroom, the feel-good factor plays a crucial role. Finding the right combination of functionality, materials and emotionality is the biggest challenge – but it’s also what makes planning a modern lifestyle bathroom so incredibly interesting.”
Host Jens J. Wischmann, Managing Director of the German Bathroom Sector Association (Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft e.V. [VDS]), was impressed by the level of complexity and cooperation between different trades that this kind of project involves. He said, “A Living Bathroom has to be based on a holistic approach to planning. The many different requirements a planner has to meet when creating a private spa call for the involvement of a corresponding number of different talents.”
Andrea Wirges Klein
Interior Designer, Wirges-Klein Architekten
“When you’re planning a Living Bathroom, the feel-good factor plays a crucial role. Finding the right combination of functionality, materials and emotionality is the biggest challenge – but it’s also what makes planning a modern lifestyle bathroom so incredibly interesting.”
Denis Jäger, Editor-in-Chief of SBZ, a trade journal for the HVAC and bathroom sector, pointed to the increased requirements the sector’s trades have to satisfy: “The ‘universal genius’, the multitalented, all-round bathroom planner, is like a little Leonardo Da Vinci – they know their materials and tools, they know all about colours and the relevant technology, and they have to be capable of getting customers on board. Our sector’s bathroom planners have to be able to meet all those requirements – otherwise, customers will just opt for an off-the-peg bathroom.”
Trend researcher and design journalist Frank A. Reinhardt’s (owner, FAR Consulting) enthusiastic comment on the diverse topics involved with bathroom planning: “There are all sorts of stories a bathroom planner can tell, from sustainability or a smart bathroom all the way to a highly individual interior design. The increasing degree of cosiness people want in their bathrooms is the common denominator.”
Christian Wadsack
Interior designer, planner and speaker at the firm ho.w Innenarchitektur
“For years now, when it comes to the evolution of the Living Bathroom, we’ve been observing that the space allocated to the bathroom in standard buildings is still far too small.”
Colour expert Dr Hildegard Kalthegener (Farbstudio Dr K) provided some interesting insight into trend colours. “The wonderful colour blue that expresses the power of water as a natural force is nowhere to be seen in most bathroom showrooms. Black is being propagated as an on-trend colour for the kitchen and bathroom, but to me, it seems more like a marketing gag than a genuine sales driver. There’s so much more you can do with colour in terms of generating an atmosphere and emotions,” she said, appealing to bathroom planners to make more active use of colour.
Torsten Muller
Bathroom, spa and interior design specialist
“We’re living in such fast-moving times that the bathroom has become a place of retreat, a kind of haven – a place that we should be able to experience with all five senses.”
Asked by Jens J. Wischmann how to inspire confidence when it comes to colour, the expert responded, “I can only encourage every bathroom planner, tradesperson or architect to try: using colour is something you can learn. You don’t have to experiment; you just need to address the theme of colour in the early stages of a project.”