Ebbs and flows of designing a five-star bathroom

Ebbs and flows of designing a 5-star bathroom

by LOUIS DUNCAN-HE

There’s a very specific way we feel when inside a luxury 5-star bathroom. We’re instantly transported into a meditative state of mind, a place where the stressors and challenges of the day are not welcome. The ask from our homeowners on this project was to design an airy and elegant ensuite that would rival the feeling of a Four Seasons Hotel. Key challenges in the design planning included working with an off centered and undersized oval window above the vanity, a partition wall that divided the room in half, and a somewhat limited budget due to three additional floors in the renovation plans. Ultimately, by way of the principles of harmony and balance, visual hierarchy, and thoughtful decisions on where to splurge and save, we were able to create an intimate and chic 5-star haven for our homeowners.

Bathrooms heavily rely on finishes due to the constraints around space and decorative furnishings. As a result, careful thought and consideration needs to be placed around each material being introduced to the space. With such a limited arsenal of design tools, establishing visual hierarchy is critical. Visual hierarchy is simply a way of ensuring the eyes know where to start and finish. Consider a featured article in a magazine (perhaps this one); there is a headline, sub-headline and body text. These components are clearly defined in form, colour or scale, which ultimately help us better appreciate and digest the story. If it were filled with multiple headlines, we wouldn’t know where to look, causing confusion and greatly diminishing its cohesion and impact. This is the same principle applied in designing a well designed room like this ensuite

Very early on in the design process, we fell in love over luminous slabs of large format Calacatta gold porcelain tiles. Our original intention was to run them floor-to-ceiling on the main shower, vanity and bathtub walls. However, as our designs came to fruition, it became increasingly clear that we would achieve a far more impactful and cohesive story by limiting it’s usage. As a result, we reduced it’s quantity down to 1/3 on both the vanity and tub walls, and focused our efforts on fully cladding the feature wall in the glass panelled shower.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, sometimes limiting the use of a special material in certain areas

can lead to an elevated sense of appreciation when seen in its full application. Following the principles of visual hierarchy, we chose a natural grey tile in a concrete finish and classic white wall panelling as supporting and foundational elements to the room. By establishing a thoughtful sense of ranking, we not only created a more dynamic and fluid space, but also managed to save drastically on budget, making for very happy homeowners and designers.

At my firm LDH Designs we’ve always placed a huge emphasis on lighting in rooms, but it’s especially important in conjuring up a showstopping bathroom. In a room with a rather narrow set of decorative parameters, lighting is what will take it from good to gorgeous. It’s the frosting to the room and has the power to completely skew the same space in completely different directions.

In this space we used black metal and brushed nickel in our lighting fixtures to conjure a subtle sense of luxury. However, simply switching to gold or brass accents would have skewed the same room in a more traditional direction, amping up the opulence and volume levels. In addition, with our freestanding tub being 4 inches left of the middle due to plumbing challenges, we cheated the placement of the chandelier above to be centered to the tub, creating the

illusion of a fully balanced and centered vignette (designer tip: light fixtures are an easy way to trick the eye and reset a midpoint). 2020 was a year that’s significantly changed the way we live, travel and where we spend our time. The only thing better than spending the weekend in a boutique hotel bath is having 24/7 access to one in the comfort of your own home. When my house is feeling hectic and filled with screaming children, there’s nothing more relaxing than the thought of wrapping myself in a bathrobe and losing myself in a serene and lavender scented ensuite retreat. To be able to kick-back, relax and let the day melt without the need to step out the door is a 5-star experience that certainly hits close to home.

Award winning designer Louis Duncan-He, principal of Louis Duncan-He Designs. With his signature West Coast perspective, he creates rich spaces that are relaxed, refined and restorative to the soul. www.louisdhe.com @louis.dhe