Modern Bathroom Design Ideas: Clean Lines, Smart Storage and Timeless Style

Defining Modern Bathroom Design: Core Principles and Visual Language

Having toured display homes and showrooms for thirty years, the question most commonly asked of me is, "What are modern bathroom design ideas?" Modern bathroom design isn't just about one product, it's a style. It's a combination of neutral bathroom ideas, a focus on clean lines and plenty of hidden storage.
Modern bathroom design means clean lines. A wall-hung vanity means that the floor can run beneath them, and that's important. Concealed cisterns are also a modern bathroom design detail because the cistern sits inside the wall and the toilet appears to be floating. Frameless screens create a modern bathroom look because there are no frames to get in the way. A minimalist bathroom style may just be what you're after.

The difference between a modern bathroom design and a minimal bathroom is whether or not it feels warm. You'll need a palette of neutral bathroom ideas, soft greys or warm white tones. You could use a stone look porcelain tile but then introduce a timber-look vanity unit for contrast in the material and the brushed gold mixer on a matt white basin. This is what contemporary bathroom ideas are all about: playing with material on material.

Material Selection: Stone, Timber and Concrete-Look Finishes

The trend right now is for 600 × 1200 mm porcelain tiles as they can look much bigger than when you use smaller tiles. Timber-look porcelain tiles look fantastic and you'll need to touch them to tell the difference from real timber. If you're looking for a contemporary bathroom style and need to use a timber-look floor or a concrete look porcelain floor, you can have all that warmth without the maintenance that real timber needs.

Concrete look surfaces in porcelain or microcement give your modern bathroom an industrial look and this is something I would mix with a timber look for the ultimate contemporary bathroom style. I like to pair a concrete-look wall tile with a plywood vanity unit and matt black tapware. I love the contrast between raw materials and polished materials for a beautiful, natural contemporary bathroom style. A word of advice about porcelain tiles though: they do need an absolutely flat wall or floor and they require expert installation. Be sure to budget for an experienced tiler to lay the tiles.

Spatial Planning for a Modern Bathroom Layout

Good bathroom design doesn't always photograph well. I tend to think about how people use space in a bathroom. A modern bathroom needs a wet zone and this will occupy one side of the room. I also have a dry zone which is where the vanity unit and the storage space are. I think it's good to position the toilet between the two, with about 200mm either side of the toilet and about 600mm in front. I also use wall-hung toilet because they take up about 150 to 200 mm less than a floor-mounted toilet and that's always welcome in a modern bathroom design plan.

I also like floating bathroom features because when your vanity is off the floor, it looks bigger because you have the space beneath the vanity that can be seen. Negative space is so important in a modern bathroom too; leaving one space blank between your mirror and shower screen gives your eyes somewhere to rest.

Smart Fixtures and Technology Worth Investing In

Bathroom fixtures have become more high-tech in recent years and they can be a fun way to add interest to your contemporary bathroom ideas. Bidet toilet seats have become really popular over the last decade. You can install a retrofit bidet seat, which provides a range of options including heated seating, adjustable washing and warm air drying. Attachments from around $80 are available, full-feature electronic seats are available up to $1,846, and complete smart toilet suites from around $1,619 up to $6,205.

A mirror cabinet integrates mirror, storage, and task lighting all in one space-saving unit that mounts to the wall. LED shaving cabinets with a backlit lighting source sit at around $390 to $1,096 and can come equipped with an anti-fog heater and dimmable brightness. They must be hardwired in by an electrician. A heated towel rail with an inbuilt timer is another handy bathroom upgrade. You can set the rails to come on half an hour before your morning shower and switch off the power when your time is up. ThermoGroup's range does this very well.

Achieving a Timeless Modern Bathroom on Any Budget

Modern bathroom design ideas which are timeless have one thing in common: a willingness to pay up front for the bones, layout, waterproofing, and dimensions, and make up the decor later in more affordable ways.

Starting off at the budget end, the 900 mm size PVC wall-hung vanity starts around $400. PVC is totally waterproof which, in fact, is beneficial in a wet room application. Add a ceramic basin to the PVC carcass and a matt black basin mixer, such as a Fienza or Lukka, and the result is a current look that doesn't require a heavy financial investment.

At the mid-range, consider plywood cabinetry for your vanity. A fluted vanity cabinet has great textural depth that changes depending on where the light falls during the day, so that is no plain finish. Fluted has gone from being a trend that will pass to becoming a feature that stays. The 900mm vanity is the most popular single vanity size for the Australian market, and it comes in a variety of material types ranging from budget to luxury — wide enough for comfortable daily use, compact enough to preserve floor space.

Matt black tapware continues to out-sell chrome in all the big categories. If the tap finish is more of a personal choice that won't wear too quickly then brushed nickel or even a gunmetal grey can be chosen as a more neutral finish which will not be as quickly dated when you see it again in 10 years' time. The finish chosen will then be mirrored across the basin mixer, the overhead shower, rail or spout, the towel rail and even any accessories, so having a cohesive theme is what differentiates a well-designed bathroom from a renovated one.