Following the grid

A bathroom becomes more than just a simple utilitarian space when the experience of using it moves into the realm of being a relaxing and pleasurable activity.

In this new home, the owner wanted the master bathroom to look and feel like a private, resort-style retreat. The room is very spacious, and dominating one wall is a large floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks a nearby park and lake.

"I wanted the whole space to have simple, clean lines and surfaces and to require as little maintenance as possible," says the owner.

As with the rest of this home, the bathroom follows a grid of squares and rectangles. To keep within this design theme, small and fiddly details, such as taps and drawer handles, have been eliminated where practicable.

"I loved the simplicity and beauty of the big, square Kos bath, but I did not want to have a floor-mounted tap, which is the normal way of filling it. Instead, the supplier has redesigned it to combine the water spout for filling the tub and the overflow. Now, all the plumbing is concealed inside the framing of the bath, and the water inflow is operated using a lever on the wall beside the shower," the owner says.

Behind the bathtub is a large square shower enclosure. A high, horizontal window has been included in one wall to ensure the morning sun streams into this area. Niches in the wall provide storage for soap and shampoo.

The vanity adheres to the square theme, and to keep the lines clean and simple the kickboards around the base of both it and the bathtub have a mirror finish.

Designer Leon House says the effect of this is to cause both the vanity and bath to look as though they are floating above the bathroom floor.

"When you look down, the floor appears to extend seamlessly below them," House says.

On the vanity, the double-sided mirror is mounted on a single, square-moulded, stainless steel post. To maximise storage opportunities, the mirror doubles as a bathroom cabinet. The mirrors on both sides swing open to reveal shelving space. Power points are concealed in drawers in the vanity so electrical equipment can be kept plugged in and ready to use. Even the heated towel rail on the wall beside the shower recess was made to order in square stainless steel tubing.

The colour scheme of the bathroom dark chocolate-stained doors, white CaesarStone benchtops, white lacquer, and light ash veneer echoes that of the rest of the house. Drawers in the vanity and one wall of the bathroom are clad in ash veneer. This feature wall then wraps around into the bedroom, where it forms a wall unit for a television, DVD and other storage requirements. This unit, too, is designed on a square grid.

"The ash adds extra warmth and softness to the bathroom, and makes it feel more like a welcoming living space," the owner says.

Story by: Mary Webb Photography by