This year, the focus for the bathroom, more than any other room in the home, will incorporate the key trends of wellness and self-care, with an emphasis on the importance of creating harmony. Choosing less and better quality items that last and provide comfort above all else will be the priority.
Size does play a part in the design for a bathroom, however, regardless of the space. Trends for 2022 dictate functionality and being eco-friendly as top of the list. “Green” designs are coupled with water and energy-efficient bathroom fixtures.
Andy Grigor, head of design and innovation at Methven, explains that while water conservation may be at the forefront of our minds, it doesn’t have to mean compromising on the shower experience. “People tend to associate less water with bad experiences. Our mission at Methven is to change that. We design with the intent to use less but not at the expense of experience. Our shower designs focus on innovation, sustainability and water conservation, and along with leading-edge technology result in a transformative shower experience.”
Methven offer a number of 4-star shower options, such as The Rua Rail Shower, where the water flow rate is optimised to be water efficient without compromising the luxurious spray performance. The Rua features the award-winning Aurajet technology. The design is a standout with hidden nozzles generating individual jets of water that collide against precisely angled surfaces offering a seemingly floating shower head. The result is a stunning fan of luxuriously dense droplets.
The future of bathroom design will be the integration of intuitive products that make life easier and use energy efficiently. “Our lives already have an overload of information and there is a movement to transition from the smart home to the thoughtful home,” explains Andy. “We are working on hidden technology that helps meet everyday demands, with products that have intuitive features that use several metrics to predict your needs.”
An example of this is, your shower automatically setting your preferred temperature and water flow. Intuitive shower technology will keep track of your habits and will automatically power on the thermostat at just the right temperature for you, and on the preferred water flow.
From an interior design perspective, the use of modern wallpaper, wall panelling or warm, moody colours can add personality and harmony to a bathroom. The natural hues of stone and wood dominate. Bathroom spaces, including vanities, walls and ceiling linings, are adopting finishes in raw timber, stone and concrete. Sustainable timber is a natural material that brings a sense of warmth and depth to a room, adds texture and movement, bringing nature indoors.
“The connection to nature and earthy raw colours and textures provides a calming yet resort luxe feel to an ultimate bathroom sanctuary,” says Andy. “Overall, bathroom design sees a simple palette with natural materials of stone and wood allowing bathroom fixtures to accentuate the detail and finishing touches. We’ll start to see softer forms become more prevalent, but for tapware clean lines and a minimalist touch will enable other features in the bathroom, like the shower design, to become the hero feature.”
Variations of the green colour palette are the colours to look out for in 2022. “There is no ignoring the dominance of green which is growing in popularity. There seems to be a renewed zeal for nature and the outdoors, and we see greening in our interiors, bringing the outdoor in,” says Andy.
Methven products are available from plumbing stores and showrooms nationwide.
