Tiled bathroom collection by architect Linda Brettler, including Art Deco bathroom

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Tiled bathrooms by Linda Brettler include blue Art Deco bathroom, Moorish powder room and sea-green mosaics

Powder rooms provide an opportunity to be a architecture, bathroom, ceiling, estate, flooring, home, house, interior design, real estate, room, wall, brown — Powder rooms provide an opportunity to be a little more adventurous. This Moorish powder room in the architects own home, includes a Gothic carved niche.

The family bathroom in architect Linda Brettlers own architecture, bathroom, blue, ceiling, floor, flooring, home, house, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, tile, gray, teal

Mouldings and window frames are painted in the bathroom, blue, estate, floor, home, interior design, leisure centre, property, real estate, room, teal, gray

Architect Linda Brettlers work is defined by the bathroom, countertop, floor, flooring, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, sink, gray

A double Ikea sink sits on a custom bathroom, home, interior design, real estate, room, gray, teal

Many homeowners don't hesitate to call in a designer because they believe their bathroom is looking a little dated. But the solution isn't always to follow the latest trends, because these too will date often sooner rather than later.

Architect Linda Brettler takes a different approach to her work. She prefers to design bathrooms that respond uniquely to her clients' wishes and the architectural style of a house. And her signature is easy to spot it's the innovative tile work that defines all her projects.

"Bathrooms provide an opportunity to do something really interesting with tiles," Brettler says. "Using tiles of a different scale, for example, is always effective. The size of the tiles, and the way they are laid, is also important. I have even used as many as 20 different tiles in a single master bathroom, but they all work together."

Brettler ensures every project is different. She does not like to repeat a look, and even prefers bathrooms in the same home to stand alone.

"A home is such an individual thing. I try not to even use the same tile in another bathroom. This way, every bathroom in the same home has its own personality, yet they can still come together as a whole."

The architect says the word "fashionable" has no place in her work.

"I stay away from looks and products that will date, including pricey, intricate laser-cut tiles. I want the bathrooms I design to still look good in 10 to 20 years. It should be impossible to tell when they were designed."

Brettler says there is now a great variety of tiles at all price points to cover all budgets. And the enormous range is encouraging, although it can be overwhelming.

"I often get clients to choose one particular tile they love, and use this as a starting point."

The architect's work is also defined by the attention to detail that characterizes every project. This applies to the craftsmanship, as well as the design. Trims and corner pieces are always precisely executed.

"A good finish is essential. Bathrooms are subject to a lot of wear and tear, and need to be as low maintenance as possible," she says. "This determines every part of the design, from containing splashes from the shower to the position of the towel rails and meeting storage requirements. Most families require plenty of storage in a bathroom."

For this reason, many of Brettler's projects feature custom mirrored medicine cabinets. The architect will also customize other fixtures and fittings to get the right look. In the blue bathroom shown on these pages, for example, the vanity sink is supported by a custom chrome metal base that evokes bathrooms from the '30s.

"Every detail, from the tiles to the lights and fixtures, needs to work with the overall style."