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    Ten tranquil bathrooms with timber-clad interiors

    Our latest lookbook features ten bathrooms where timber cladding has been used to create interiors with a luxurious, warm feel.

    While bathrooms with ceramic and stone interiors can feel sterile and spartan, using timber creates a cosy and enveloping atmosphere, as demonstrated by these ten projects.
    Ranging from cypress to spruce and cork, the materials used here illustrate how using wooden cladding can elevate even the most basic bathroom into a peaceful sauna-like refuge.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing statement windows, cork-covered walls and board-formed concrete.
    Photo is by Stephen Kent JohnsonAce Hotel Kyoto, Japan, by Kengo Kuma and Commune

    For hotel chain Ace’s first Japanese edition, it recruited Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Los Angeles design studio Commune to convert a 1920s building into a modern hotel.
    Inside, Commune added wooden panelling and furniture designed by local Kyoto-based craftsmen. In the bathroom, a wooden sink with a stone top and wooden storage spaces give the room a harmonious, organic feel.
    Find out more about Ace Hotel Kyoto ›
    Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenLondon townhouse, UK, by Studio Hagen Hall
    A north London townhouse was given a 1970s-style makeover by Studio Hagen Hall, which added a bathroom with decorative cork tiles – a natural material sustainably harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree.
    Here, it was used for the floor as well as part of the walls and to clad the bathtub itself. Soft pastel-coloured peach and pink hues create a peaceful environment for the bathroom.
    Find out more about London townhouse ›
    Photo is by Fionn McCannPortobello House, Ireland, by Scullion Architects
    The bathroom at Portobello House in Dublin, Ireland, has views of an enclosed plant-filled courtyard, lending the space a feeling of zen.
    The ground and first-floor extensions to the house feature large glazed areas and wooden cladding, including in the bathroom, which was designed to offer a “sense of retreat and withdrawal”.
    Its dark-timber detailing contrasts with a rough-hewn wall and minimalist bathroom furniture.
    Find out more about Portobello House ›
    Photo is by Joe FletcherSurf House, US, by Feldman Architecture
    American studio Feldman Architecture clad Surf House in Santa Cruz in salvaged cypress wood to evoke a “casual Californian aesthetic.”
    The interior of the weekend house follows the same theme, with an interior by Commune that uses wood throughout.
    In the bathroom, a large white tub sits in front of windows that overlook the Pacific Ocean, and wooden sculptures and furniture add to the laid-back bohemian atmosphere.
    Find out more about Surf House ›
    Photo is by Marc Goodwin, ArchmospheresNiliaitta, Finland, by Studio Puisto
    Studio Puisto’s Niliaitta cabin has a black exterior and a dramatic design – it balances on a single slender column. Inside, the studio kept the interior simple to focus on the views of the surrounding forest.
    In the bathroom, a spacious shower is surrounded by light wooden panels. These were used for the floor, the walls and the slanted ceiling, creating a simple design that feels thoroughly Scandinavian.
    Find out more about Niliaitta ›
    Photo is by Spyros Hound PhotographyWooden Cave, Greece, by Tenon Architecture
    Over 1,000 pieces of hand-cut spruce were used to create the Wooden Cave hotel suite in Greece. The space lives up to its name, featuring sinuous spruce-wood walls in the entire space.
    Interior designer Tenon Architecture also used wood in the bathroom, which features a tub next to a window that gives guests views of the nearby mountain peaks.
    Find out more about Wooden Cave ›
    Photo is by Alan TanseyHouse 23, US, by Vondalwig Architecture
    Vondalwig Architecture’s design for House 23 features a blackened-wood exterior and an interior that has white brick walls and pale wood floors.
    One of the house’s bathrooms has been completely clad in timber, making it resemble a sauna. Even the large built-in tub, which sits beneath a window overlooking a nearby forest, is made from wood.
    Find out more about House 23 ›

    Mountain Refuge, Italy, by Massimo Gnocchi and Paolo Danesi
    Mountain Refuge is a prefabricated cabin-style micro-home built from plywood. The material has been left bare inside, creating a minimalist yet cosy interior.
    In the small bathroom, a shower is tucked away in a corner and a built-in shelf holds a deep sink as well as bathroom accessories. Hooks have been added to the wooden walls for practical storage.
    Find out more about Mountain Refuge ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerBilgola Beach House, Australia, by Olson Kundig
    US studio Olson Kundig’s first project in Australia, a seaside home in Sydney, is raised above sand dunes where it sits among palm trees and Norfolk pines.
    The natural surroundings informed the interior, which features plenty of pale timber. In the bathroom, which is next to an airy terrace, the timber walls have been hung with paintings to create a room that feels like a combination of a bathroom and a living room.
    Find out more about Bilgola Beach House ›
    Photo is by Andrew PogueHood Cliff Retreat, US, by Wittman Estes
    Tucked into a coastal forest in Washington, Hood Cliff Retreat has exterior walls clad in rough-sawn cedar and large expanses of glass that bring in natural light.
    Wood was used throughout, with white oak floors paired with walls and ceilings wrapped in pine plywood. In the main bathroom, a cast-iron vintage tub contrasts against the wooden walls.
    Find out more about Hood Cliff Retreat ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing statement windows, cork-covered walls and board-formed concrete.

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    Tristan Auer designs Blade Runner-inspired bathroom for Axor

    Promotion: drawing on the aesthetic of the film Blade Runner, architect Tristan Auer has designed a neon-lit bathroom concept for Axor to suit an imagined male client.

    Auer created the concept as part of the German brand’s Distinctive project, which tasks some of the world’s leading architects with creating highly individual bathrooms.
    Auer was free to design whatever he wanted, but had his imagination sparked by a suggestion in the brief that the bathroom sit in a high-rise apartment in Hong Kong.
    Tristan Auer’s bathroom concept was partly inspired by the aesthetic of Blade Runner”You know Blade Runner from Ridley Scott? Hong Kong is like that — something that is building on top of itself. Different layers,” he said.
    “You have the crowd on the street level, and then, as you elevate, it’s more and more futuristic. It’s why I combine old antiques pieces with very modern textures.”

    From this starting point, Auer developed a dark bathroom that combines reflective stainless steel elements with neon lighting and a mix of different travertine stones.
    He wanted to give the bathroom a masculine feel with ’80s touchesAxor’s Edge faucets, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, further fuelled his worldbuilding around the design, as he says their diamond-cut pyramidal pattern reminds him of an 80s icon, the ST Dupont lighter.
    “I don’t smoke, but I like to touch. So that sets the stage — Dupont, those colors, those ambiances,” he said, explaining that, in combination with the “masculine” travertine, it helped him to build a picture of his imagined client.
    “It’s for a man. Definitely selfish. The guy is only thinking about himself. He likes to collect. He’s a hedonist.”
    The pattern on the Axor Edge faucets fuelled Auer’s imaginationAs well as the Axor Edge washbasin faucet and freestanding bath faucet, Auer’s bathroom features the Axor ShowerHeaven and Axor Edge thermostat in the shower and Philippe Starck’s ultramodern Axor Universal rectangular accessories.
    They all have a polished gold optic finish, which adds to the bold and moodily space-age look of the bathroom.
    “Axor Edge is great, and not only because Jean-Marie is a good friend,” said Auer. “I would have liked to have designed it before him!”
    The Axor Edge tapware is by Jean-Marie MassaudAuer describes himself as an “interior and emotion” architect, because of how he reads and interprets his clients’ wishes, drawing inspiration from them rather than imposing his own style.
    He started his career with French interior designer and architect Christian Liaigre, who worked wholly bespoke at the time, and says he learned to design everything down to the door handle.
    Auer mixed layers of modern elements and antique pieces in the bathroom concept”I know the artisans,” he said. “I know the process. And individualisation is very interesting because, for me, that’s luxury, to have something made for you.”
    Individualisation of living spaces is the focus of Axor’s Distinctive project, for which Auer and fellow architects Sarah Poniatowski and Hadi Teherani have all designed highly personalised bathrooms.
    Axor sees individualisation as a growing trend, with people seeking more personal expressions of style following decades of globalisation and standardisation.
    To view more of Axor’s products, visit its website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Sarah Poniatowski designs teal and teak indoor-outdoor bathroom for Axor

    Promotion: interior designer Sarah Poniatowski has drawn on her connection to the French seaside to create a tranquil bathroom concept for Axor combining teal tiles, teak wood and bronze fittings.

    Poniatowski, the founder of Maison Sarah Lavoine, designed the concept as part of Axor’s Distinctive project, which presents personalised bathroom ideas from leading architects and designers.
    The Paris-based designer answered the brief with a coastal indoor-outdoor bathroom, referencing the place where she feels most connected with nature.
    Sarah Poniatowski’s seaside bathroom concept for Axor includes an outdoor shower”I have a deep connection with the south-west region of France,” Poniatowski said. “It’s so authentic, and nature is everywhere. It’s the most relaxing place in the world for me.”
    “The goal was to emphasise the surroundings with an indoor-outdoor bathroom and create a relaxing space with a summer holiday feeling.”

    Poniatowski’s concept includes an outdoor shower area that flows on from the main bathroom, where multiple doorways, large mirrors and louvre windows allow in plentiful light and enhance the feeling of being immersed in nature.
    The design combines raw pine and teak wood with a travertine stone washbasinWood floorboards and panelling along the walls and ceiling give the space a cabin-like feel, but one enlivened by Poniatowski’s material and colour combinations.
    Along with raw pine wood panelling and teak frames, the interior features a travertine bathtub and washbasin, teak tiling and, in the indoor shower, a feature section of multicoloured Zellige tiles that introduce blocks of deep purple and pale pink.
    Poniatowski describes it as “a place where you can daydream yet relax, be creative yet stand still, enjoy the outside while being in your very own bubble”.
    The indoor shower features multicoloured tiles”It’s all about balance,” she said. “Hence the choice to play with contrasts.”
    Poniatowski completed her bathroom concept with Axor’s Starck fittings, designed by Philippe Starck, in the brushed bronze FinishPlus surface finish.
    The fittings include the Axor Starck Nature Shower outdoors, another slender shower column indoors, two faucets on the washbasin and a floorstanding faucet at the tub.
    The bathroom is completed with Axor Starck fittings in brushed bronzePoniatowski sees the tapware as creating another opportunity to bring balance through contrast, with the Starck designs having linear, contemporary forms and smooth finishes that punctuate the organic-looking bathroom surfaces.
    “The design of the Axor Starck collection is very distinctive,” she said. “It was important to create a setting in line with it: emphasise it but don’t overwhelm it, and vice versa.”
    Poniatowski created her concept bathroom to suit an imagined personality who loves to travel and appreciates a fast-paced life while also knowing when to stand still and contemplate.
    The fittings provide a contrast to the raw and natural materialsShe designed it as part of Axor’s Distinctive project, which explores the rise of individualisation in personal living spaces via concept designs and discussions with experts and partners.
    The brand sees the trend as a response to decades of globalisation and standardisation, with people now seeking more personal expressions of luxury and style.
    “No one is the same, and this is what I love about my job — meeting people and creating something like nothing before,” said Poniatowski.
    To view more of Axor’s products, visit its website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Hadi Teherani designs Middle East-inspired bathroom under a cupola for Axor

    Promotion: architect Hadi Teherani has designed a bathroom concept for Axor based on Middle Eastern bathhouses, imagining the room as a place of retreat and holistic cleansing.

    Teherani designed the concept as part of Axor’s Distinctive project, which presents bathroom ideas from renowned architects as a way of exploring the trend of individualisation.
    Teherani was asked to create a personal “bathroom with personality” for the project and answered the brief by creating a circular, cupola-topped room meant to provide a sense of security and serenity.
    Hadi Teherani’s concept bathroom for Axor has a central tub that sits under a cupola”I see the bathroom as a space where I can clean myself – in a metaphorical sense as well,” said Teherani. “Here is where I arm myself for the day. This space protects me, offers me security, but at the same time, it doesn’t restrict me but rather gives me a feeling of space and infinity.”
    The concept takes the form of a cupola, which is Teherani’s way of conjuring those seemingly contradictory feelings of safety and liberation, security and freedom. It is “enveloping but not narrowing”.

    The cupola would sit at the centre of a home or hotel suite and be accessible from several points. It is inspired by Middle Eastern public baths, which would typically have several individual cupolas accommodating different functions.
    An oval double washbasin is located along the wallIn Teherani’s design, an organically shaped bathtub sits directly under the cupola, with a spacious shower area and oval double washbasin around it.
    “For me the cupola symbolises openness and secureness,” said Teherani. “The vastness comes from the high arched ceiling with a glass mosaic that stretches across the room like the sky.”
    “When you lay here in the bathtub placed in the centre of the room you get the feeling of looking into the vastness of the starry sky.”
    The circular room can be accessed from several pointsThis effect is enhanced by the chosen materials, which include glass mirror mosaic tiles that stretch from the floor to the cupola overhead. These reflect the light marble surfaces below, creating a glittering panorama of silvers and golds.
    Teherani’s bathroom concept is completed with Axor fittings in matt black: Axor Citterio E lever-handle and pin-handle faucets, Axor overhead and handheld showers, as well as Axor Universal Softsquare Accessories. He sees them as fulfilling the role of “functional jewellery”.
    “The faucets crown the bathroom concept with their timeless elegance and transport the water to the washbasin,” said Teherani. “The overhead shower is a recharging area for new energy, the bathtub faucet the water source at the bathtub.”
    The bathroom is finished with Axor fittings in matt blackThe bathroom demonstrates how linear fittings can be made to work in a round space, which Teherani said he accomplished by making “little cuts into the walls” and planning the positioning carefully.
    “The good thing about Axor is that the brand offers so many individual product variants so that it’s always possible to find a solution,” he added.
    Axor’s Distinctive project explores the trend of individualisation in personal living spaces through interviews and conversations with experts and Axor design partners, as well as bathroom concepts designed by leading architects.
    To view more of Axor’s products, visit its website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Ten wet rooms with a serene and relaxing feel

    A wet room in an off-grid home in a former stable and a stark white wet room that frames views across Hollywood feature in our latest lookbook, which highlights this type of bathroom.

    A wet room is a fully waterproofed bathroom, which typically also includes a shower that is completely flush with the room’s main floor.
    As they’re completely waterproof, wet rooms remove the need for shower trays and even shower screens or curtains, since water can drain directly into the floor.
    Wet rooms can maximise the floor area in smaller bathrooms by providing an open-plan arrangement. This style of bathroom can also provide people with mobility issues ease of use, as all amenities are typically organised across the same level.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks including living rooms with floor-to-ceiling glazing, statement skylights and kids’ bedrooms with loft and bunk-beds.

    Regent’s Park Loft, UK, by Originate
    This renovated loft in central London by architecture studio Originate serves as a pied-a-terre for a family that frequently travels to the UK.
    Originate created minimal, monochromatic interiors to serve as a backdrop for the client’s art collection. A wet room, located in the turret of the building, was blanketed in dark tiling that contrasts against a freestanding, tubular marble basin.
    Find out more about Regent’s Park Loft ›

    Myrtle Cottage Garden Studio, UK, by Stonewood Design
    Located in the garden of an English countryside cottage, Bath-based Stonewood Design fitted Myrtle Cottage Garden Studio with a copper and concrete wet room.
    Distressed copper panelling was used across the rear wall of the space, which holds the wet room’s floating concrete sink and shower. The shower and faucet were formed from singular copper pipes that protrude horizontally from the copper focal wall.
    Find out more about Myrtle Cottage Garden Studio ›

    Ghent house, Belgium, by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
    Exposed earth-coloured render was used across the interior of a primary bathroom and wet room at a home in Ghent that was designed by Atelier Vens Vanbelle.
    Unlike typical wet rooms, the primary bathroom was divided in two to separate its toilet and sink from its shower and bathtub. The shower and bath occupy the rear area of the bathroom, which was completely covered in a salmon-pink render.
    Find out more about Ghent house ›

    House and studio, Spain, by Enrique Jerez and Jesús Alonso
    Mint green and white were incorporated throughout the interior of this home by architects Enrique Jerez and Jesús Alonso to tie the living spaces with the exterior finishes.
    The wet room includes a toilet, shower and sink, which were organised along the corridor-style space and fitted against minty sage-green tiles. The shower, which is located at the rear, was divided from the toilet and sink by a glass shower screen in order to prevent water from spilling over.
    Find out more about the house and studio ›

    Nobu Ryokan Malibu, US, by Studio PCH and Montalba Architects
    Nobu Ryokan Malibu is located within a former 1950s beachfront hotel. It was converted by Studio PCH and Montalba Architects, who created the Japanese restaurant and luxury hotel chain’s first of a line of Japanese-inspired retreats.
    The interiors take cues from Japanese design and boast clean, sharp lines mixed with natural materials. A suite’s wet room features a wooden, freestanding tub and an overhead shower – both of which are set below a wooden, beam-lined skylight.
    Find out more about Nobu Ryokan Malibu ›

    Kiritoshi House, Japan, by Sugawaradaisuke
    An all-white wet room is punctuated by a square-shaped window at this Japanese home that was designed by Tokyo-based architecture studio Sugawaradaisuke.
    A shower and built-in bench were fitted beside a white tub, which is oriented so that its user can bathe and look out of the window located at the foot of the unit.
    Find out more about Kiritoshi House ›

    Off Grid Home, Spain, by Ábaton
    Limestone floors, as well as rough stone and concrete, extend throughout this formerly crumbling stone stable in the countryside of western Spain.
    It was converted into an off-grid home by Madrid studio Ábaton, which looked to complement the existing stone and timber structure when designing its interiors.
    The wet room features a full-height window that overlooks the home’s surrounding greenery. A rugged stone sink was fitted beside an overhead shower and links the interior with the home’s stone exterior walls.
    Find out more about Off Grid Home ›

    Nakahouse, US, by XTEN Architecture
    An all-white interior serves as a backdrop to frame views across the hills of Hollywood’s Beachwood Canyon and the Hollywood sign.
    The home’s wet room-cum-bathroom continues the stark white theme. Sharp lines are formed from floating cabinetry, mirrored wall units and a free-standing tub that was placed in front of a full-height square window.
    Find out more about Nakahouse ›

    Vibo Tværveh, Denmark, by Valbæk Brørup Architects
    Valbæk Brørup Architects designed this summer cabin near the town of Nykøbing Sjælland, Denmark.
    The interior of the cabin features an almost completely pine finish, except for a tiled wet room at the northern end of the home. In keeping with the pine-clad interior, Valbæk Brørup Architects used wooden-hued tiles across the walls and floors.
    A glass sliding door divides the wet room from an outdoor bathing area that can be opened up to create an extension of the space.
    Find out more about Vibo Tværveh ›

    Stockholm apartment, Sweden, by Studiomama
    Marble tiles clad the walls floor and ceiling of this wet room located in one of two apartments in a converted 1720s loft, which was revamped by Studiomama.
    A bathtub and shower were tucked within an alcove, below a sloping ceiling and behind a glass screen. Golden faucets, showerheads and fixtures were incorporated throughout the room to contrast against the marble.
    Find out more about the Stockholm apartment ›
    This is the latest in our series of lookbooks, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing kitchens with social seating nooks, living rooms with floor-to-ceiling glazing and living rooms with sculptural furniture.

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