Products Bathroom ideas Dream bathrooms

Selecting the right design is the most crucial element for a dream bathroom. However, a glance at the “lifetime” of a bathroom shows that this is not always as simple as it sounds. Most people use one and the same bathroom several times a day for 15 to 20 years. The furnishing for a dream bathroom must therefore feature a classic, timeless design. Design classics such as the bathroom by Philippe Starck, which was celebrated both as a milestone in the history of bathroom design as a straightforward and, at the same time, ingenious concept, enjoy lasting popularity. However, design should never be an excuse for lack of function. Every designer product also has to be easy to assemble and of real practical value. 

Martin Bergmann: “We wanted to give the bath an additional new function so that people could use it in a greater variety of ways"

For the design of the Sundeck bath for Duravit, Martin Bergmann from the Vienna-based design trio EOOS helped to develop a fold-out upholstered relaxation deck. In doing so, he succeeded in creating that vital element that was still missing from a dream bathroom. “We wanted to give the bath an additional new function so that people could use it in a greater variety of ways", said the designer: “For example, you can quickly make the dirty mountain-biking outfit disappear into the bath or you can relax after taking a bath.” The bath area thus becomes an ensemble with a wide variety of different uses and the bath “isn't immediately recognisable as a bath". Bergmann: “A dream bathroom creates new possibilities for everyday use. The individual lives with the bath – even after the ritual bathing experience. At the same time, these functions can also be deliberately linked with the rituals of lying down and relaxing. It’s not the designer but the user who decides about the symbolic quality of the bath.”

A dream bathroom should evoke the holiday mood and attempt to preserve and restore this temporary sensation of deep relaxation. The aim is to have the greatest amount of enjoyment and fun in the smallest amount of space and to achieve a state of total relaxation. Whirltub, pool, steam shower and sauna are now also available for use in private bathrooms. Depending on the wishes and requirements of the bathroom users, wellness pleasure and relaxation are now making their way into the private sphere – and this is almost without restriction. Even in small areas, bathroom manufacturers such as Duravit are meeting a wide variety of wishes and requirements. The private bathroom continues to develop into an area for recuperation with room for healthcare and very personal bathing rituals. As part of an intimate living space, the bathroom is a room in which people can boost their energy levels and create a place for greater quality of life. In other words: take a holiday in one’s own bathroom.

“Light and colour are an important element of our quality of life and influence our sense of wellbeing to a high degree”, says Andreas Struppler.

“Light and colour are an important element of our quality of life and influence our sense of wellbeing to a high degree”, says Andreas Struppler, Duravit designer from Munich. This is why he sees light as being the key factor in the dreamlike quality of a bathroom: “In the bathroom, where the day begins and ends, the right light ensures a good start to both the day and the night." According to the experts, the lighting concept should be designed so that, firstly, on a purely functional level, it provides sufficient support for difficult visual tasks and, at the same time, facilitates orientation for older people and children at night. “Secondly, it has to be able to appeal to the emotions and generate feelings and atmosphere”, says Struppler. The latter, referred to by the designer as “emotional lighting”, is important for ensuring that the day draws gently to a close: “When the lights shine onto the surrounding ceilings and walls and bathe them in a soothing blue, stimulating red, uplifting green or a programme with all colours in alternation, the reviving effect of a relaxing bath is stepped up a notch.” For him, the bathroom only becomes a dream bathroom when light and colour interact to create a magical aura, when the bathroom is flooded with a profusion of colour, when every shade creates a different atmosphere – the scene is set for the next dream bathroom concept!