Wood, green glass and stone-look tiles set the scene in this sleek bathroom

Clean-lined yet luxurious, this spacious master suite achieves the look of Mid-century Modern translated into a more 21st century design language

Wood and glass were popular materials for Mid-century architecture, bathroom, bathroom accessory, bathroom cabinet, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, home, house, interior design, plumbing fixture, basin, tap, tile, bath, Nar Design Group — Wood and glass were popular materials for Mid-century Modern bathrooms and were also used for this 21st century interpretation by designer Nar Bustamante. However, the space utilises several elements of this style in quite different ways.

An original Mid-Century Modern bathroom might have had architecture, bathroom, bathroom cabinet, vanity, floor, plumbing fixture, tile, gray, Nar Design Group

With a trough sink for two in a architecture, bathroom, bathroom accessory, bathroom cabinet, countertop, vanity, floor, flooring, tile, lighting, plumbing fixture, sink, tap, tile, wall, gray, Nar Group, bath

Part of a project by designer Nar Bustamante, architecture, bed, bedroom, bedroom, comfort, furniture, interior design, linen, textile, timber wall, Nar Design Group

On this project, timber floors run right through architecture, door, timber floor, flooring, furniture, glass, interior design, timber flooring, lighting, table, Nar Design Group

Mid-century Modern was typified by function, clean simplicity and integration with nature – attributes that are much to the fore again today. For this master suite, designer Nar Bustamante took the concepts celebrated in this once popular design style and gave them fresh relevance.

“The idea was to create a luxurious, spa-like Mid-century Modern master suite packed with today’s amenities,” says Bustamante.

“The challenges included having no existing plumbing in this part of the home; the bathroom being on a slab; and achieving dual wash basins, a private toilet space, a shower for two with seat, a tub and a makeup station in the one space.”

First off, the old floor slab was ripped up and a new one – with plumbing – installed. The vanity, with a trough instead of two sinks, is set along one wall while the rectilinear tub, shower stall and make-up station hug the opposite wall.

To evoke the spirit of Mid-century Modern design, Bustamante emphasised wood and glass and a crisp look. But while the essence of the style comes through, it’s with differences.

“Traditionally, a Mid-century vanity would have had walnut faces for a strong vein – here, however, we used quarter-sawn oak. The vanity also includes the contemporary advantage of two powered pull-out grooming stations. And while a mirror would have been expected in the past, setting this flush with the large-format wall tiles is a more modern design convention.”

These were only some of the accent changes from the original style in the luxury bathroom.

“Mid-century Modern dedicated makeup areas from the 1950s to 1970s would often echo Hollywood backstage rooms, with bulbs dotted around the mirror. But for this space, we designed a clean-lined affair, that opens to reveal a tilt-up mirror, storage and integrated lighting.

“And where an ornate shelf system or even full walls might have brought privacy for the toilet in a classic Mid-century bathroom, here we went with a frosted glass privacy partition.”

This features a slender medicine cabinet on one side and a magazine cabinet on the other.

Bustamante created the shower zone with a stall in the same aqua tone as the privacy wall. A freestanding cube element – straddled by the frameless glass of the shower stall – acts as a handy bench in the shower on one side of the glass and as a shelf for the freestanding tub on the other side.