Bathroom

Bathrooms are small, wet and full of things that cannot move, which makes them the room where design has the least room to manoeuvre and the most to gain. A bathroom that has been thought about is obvious within two seconds of the door opening.

The leverage is in a short list: tile that isn’t fighting the room’s proportions, a vanity that gives you real storage rather than a pedestal and a wish, mirrors placed where they actually double the light, and lighting at face height rather than only overhead. Materials matter more here than anywhere — this is a room where the wrong finish shows water spots forever. Ideas here run from full renovations to what a weekend and a tin of paint can do.