I gathered a small collection of lovely contemporary bathrooms that very much remind me of our own Naturalist 2. The common elements are: clean lines, soft limestones, warm woods and contemporary plumbing fittings. All featured bathrooms are quite generous in size and feature some pricy materials. On the contrary our Naturalist 2 is very small, only 35 square feet and the cost of materials will not break your bank.

I like the chunky vanity and the white towel rack complemented by the white sconces.

A shower in Pirates Bay house by O'Connor and Houle Architecture. Nice use of wood and beautiful black fittings.

A luxurious Naturalist shower. I like the big shower platform.

Our Naturalist 2 bathroom.

Our own Naturalist 2 bathroom, faucet and sink detail.

 
If you like the bathrooms featured above but don’t quite have the space or the budget see how to get this look here.

The Minimalist bathroom build-outs in Chelsea that I wrote about last week are moving ahead.  As usual, progress is slower than expected, but precision is priority.  “Measure twice, cut once” is ever so important if you are talking about tile.

The extra-large medicine cabinet was installed in the first bathroom.  Tiling of the shower walls has begun.

The plywood next to the medicine cabinet will be covered by a mirror.  The medicine cabinet door will be mirrored, also.

A detail of how the cabinet connects to the wall below.  The little indentation in the cabinet will be taped, plastered and painted.  This way the cabinet side and the wall below will create one smooth surface.

Moving on to bathroom number two.  The blue accent wall tile is being installed.

The area above the sink will receive a flat mirror.  The medicine cabinet is installed on the side wall.

Precision is especially required at external corners.  Here, a detail of how the tile will be wrapped into the window opening.

To be continued…

We had a great first blogging season here at Uniform Design and we enjoyed creating the posts and interacting with our audience.  A big thank you to all our readers, supporters and clients – without you, there would be no point in what we are doing.  We would like to wish you all a fantastic year 2012 full of fresh ideas and dreams come true.

Below you will find the best of the best – the most popular blog posts of 2011.

The Backstory of Naturalist 1 was one of the favorite inspiration stories for our designs.

The Renovation Dos and Dont’s were and will remain a good resource for anyone who considers (or is in the midst of) a renovation.

White remains a classic favorite color for bathrooms, therefore the Story in White  was well received.

We were very excited about the Customized Townhouse 1 Bathroom in Europe, and so were our readers.

The Natural Accessories post provided simple and inexpensive ideas for introducing that feel of nature to any bathroom, and was very well received.

The Customized Naturalist 2 bathroom may be the smallest in the world, but arguably it is also one of the most beautiful.

To be continued next year…

I am spending a week in Barcelona, staying in a charming apartment in El Born. The apartment is in a historic building. However, all furnishings and amenities are contemporary which makes an interesting juxtaposition, quite common characteristic in Barcelona’s interiors and architecture. The bathroom is about 4 x 10 feet.  It’s walls are mostly glass, some clear some frosted. On either side of it there is a compartment: one for the shower and one for the toilet. This allows two people to use the bathroom at the same time without compromising privacy. The partition separating the hallway is clear glass and includes a sliding door, which makes the small bathroom feel much more spacious.

Entrance to the bathroom.

Large washbasins are nice, but what to do if space is limited?  For those with spatial limitations we found some of the smallest sinks out there that still look and feel fabulous.  Most often used in powder rooms (or half baths) these sinks will work also in very tight full baths.

The ICE 20 sink by Bissonett: 15.75" long by 7.9" wide by 6.7" high.

The C1 30 Basin by Hasting: 15" long by 11.8" wide by 7" high.

The Series CX Basin by Hastings: 13.75" diameter.

The Aquababy by Lacava: 15" long by 11.5" wide by 6" high.

Next 40/B basin by Nameek: 16" long by 19.7" wide by 5.3" high.

The Scarabeo by Nameek: 15.6" long by 8.9" wide by 5.4" high.

Although I would not necessarily use this product in any of my own designs, I think it is a very smart idea.  The Vertebrae Vertical Bathroom System by UK based Design Odyssey takes up the floor space of a toilet bowl and contains (almost) everything needed in a bathroom.  The top segments contain two shower heads and a water cistern, the mid section holds the washbasin and storage space, the base is the toilet.  Each component swivels around a central core.  I salute the concept of compressing all necessary functions into the smallest footprint possible.  This idea is definitely worth developing further.

Our Loft series is rooted in Streamline Moderne aesthetic. The style was not only a reaction to Art Deco designs, but also a reflection of austere economic times. Gone was unnecessary ornament, replaced by aerodynamic pure-line concept of motion and speed developed from scientific thinking.  Eighty years later we still admire it.

Loft 1 visualization.

Industrial bathroom.

Ray Loewy bathroom, designed in 1949.

Loft finishes: black hexagon tiles, white brick and arsenic paint.

Perfect loft inspired bathroom with white subway tile walls, hexagon shower floor and industrial pedestal sink.

Apothecary jars.

The Recess Lav is a design cooperation between Desai / Chia and AF New York Design Lab.   It is a wonderful solution for small bathrooms.  It is a unit that contains a washbasin, backsplash and medicine cabinets.  Part of the washbasin is recessed into the wall, so the unit projects a mere 12 inches into the space.  The module is seamlessly cast from white resin.

This design won the 2010 Good Design Award and the 2010 Idea bronze Award.

Found via apartmenttherapy.com.