Curvaceous invitation

Creating a new bathroom from scratch? What can you do to make it a welcoming and relaxing space? Here's a bathroom with some fresh ideas

This stunning symmetrical tub is made all the gray, white

A large inoperable window in this master ensuite gray

The twinkling mosaic wall behind this master bathroom's gray, white

Marble-look walls and a wood veneer vanity together gray

Floating the vanity in this contemporary master bathroom white, gray

A black floor-mounted tub pourer connects with the white, gray

The long walk-in robe in this master suite gray

Wood flooring in this master suite corridor connects white

A fixed window brings light and views into gray

Curved tub, curved mosaic wall and curved light gray, white

Designed by Wolf Architects

From the architect:

What's your favourite part of your planned renovation? This master suite forms part of a wider home renovation and extension and is also one of the owners' favourite part of the design – and the architect's too.

The house was built in the 1970s but the renovation by architect Taras Wolf has completely transformed it into an architectural exciting 21st century residence. As illustration of its expansion, the new bathroom occupies space originally taken by a dilapidated carport.

“The master suite comprises a new master bedroom with a corridor leading through to the light-filled new master ensuite. Turning off halfway along this corridor at right angles, there is a generous walk-in wardrobe.”

The owners wanted a strong feature to lead you into the bathroom – something in keeping with the bold architecture of the wider renovation – so Wolf designed a beautiful curving wall to match the selected round bathtub.

“A smooth feature like this has to be created with the utmost skill and care, and builder TSP Developments as with all complex aspects of the renovation, created the eye-catching wall with the utmost precision.”

Alluring as the tub and its backing wall are in aesthetic terms, the curved wall also plays a practical role as a dividing/privacy wall.

Behind the curve on one side is the generous shower stall, while behind it on the side nearest the entry is the toilet.

Opposite these three zones is the double wood laminate vanity.

Set in its own wide niche, this is cantilevered to optimise the feeling of spaciousness and add to the room’s light, airy feel. The contemporary benchtop basins echo the form of the bathtub.

The vanity’s wood finish brings a natural warmth to the space. In fact, choice of materials is an important part of the look and feel of the bathroom generally.

The feature wall is finished in twinkling mosaics and while these are tiny, the scale of the marble-look veined porcelain sheet panels on the surrounding walls is massive.

And these pale surfaces are contrasted with dramatic dark slate floor tiles.

Then there’s the jewellery of the room. The floor-standing tub pourer, vanity taps and shower system are also all black, connecting with the slate floor and standing out from the predominating pale surfaces.

The new master bathroom also includes a floor-to-ceiling window looking out to the backyard.

At first, it was considered making this an operable door, but with the lack of need plus the potentially costly negative of having one more entry point to secure, this was changed to a fixed window.

Read the full house story here