How to make the bathroom the focal point of your home
Have you ever thought about making your bathroom the focal point of your home? Thought not.
If you’re fortunate enough to own a barn conversion or loft apartment, you might be tempted by the transformation of this abandoned bakery in Liège, Belgium. The owners relinquished design control to architect Daniel Dethier of Dethier Architectures and that’s exactly what he did.
Highlight the unexpected
The bathroom takes centre stage in what is now an amazing loft apartment, but is cleverly concealed in an Airstream-style modular aluminium pod. Not only does it contain two bathrooms, but it also divides the open plan living space into zones.
Colour pop
The loft’s predominantly white and neutrally toned interior is subtly accented with little pops of colour throughout. The red dining chairs work well with the green and orange glow omitted through the bathroom windows.
The bathroom colours were chosen by commissioned artist, Jean Gilbert. Green is thought to be calming and balancing, whereas orange and red are thought to be invigorating and energizing, respectively.
Showered in green
The compact shower room, resplendent in green and white, features a contemporary, square counter top sink in white with wall mounted taps at one end. The other end is dominated by the shower with a generous circular ceiling shower head. Other bathroom essentials include a mirror, towel hooks and a shower shelf.
One of the shower room’s beautiful design details is how the frameless glass shower doors and floor echo the curved contours of the pod and the fluid Airstream-style. A high window complements the design and prevents the space from feeling claustrophobic.
Get the look: Soft Cube Rectangular Basin, Steamless Mirror Cabinet, Polo Robe Hook, Oyster Frameless Shower Door, Round Ceiling Shower Head, shower shelf
Bathed in orange
Both bathrooms utilise their limited space well. The orange and white bathroom features a contemporary, white bath with a wall mounted bath filler tap plus hand held shower attachment. A duplicate white counter top sink mirrors the shower room’s and high recessed shelving above the bath houses essential bath and shower products.
A low window allows the user to connect with the rest of the living space whilst bathing, but can be switched to opaque if privacy is required.
Get the look: Kayak Built In Bath, Florence Basin/Bath Tap, Boxer Wall Mounted Bath Filler Tap
And if you’re wondering where the toilet is, well, it’s also in the aluminium pod along with storage space and the cleverly hidden heating and ventilation system.
Zone out
The exterior of the pod which helps define the lounge area is also utilised to maximum effect. It houses a large TV which can be viewed from huge inviting sofas or concealed when not in use.
Clearly the ‘hidden’ bathroom works well as the focal point of this open plan loft. But if you’re not fortunate enough to live in a loft apartment or barn conversion, you can still take inspiration from the bathrooms and apply to a more traditional layout.
You’ll find everything you need to ‘get the look’ at Livinghouse.
(Photos © Serge Brison for Dethier Architectures – image source: http://www.dethier.be/en/projets/kempart-loft)