Just because your bathroom gets a lot of traffic with people coming and going day and night doesn’t mean it’s destined to remain a strictly practical room. With the right design tricks, it’s easy to bridge the gap between form and function. There are several essential elements to consider when you think about bathroom design. Interior designer Eoin Lyons and architect John Kelly of LyonsKelly know how to design luxe bathroom schemes that will stand the test of time. Their inspiring tips and tricks will help you find the design that works for your home.

Jewel Tones

Bed, bath and beyond: This contemporary Jack and Jill bathroom has a bedroom at one end and painting studio at the other.

In this Dublin home, LyonsKelly bring their streamlined, sophisticated and colourful design aesthetic to the fore. The dual-door (Jack and Jill) bathroom features a wall of glossy green handmade ceramic tiles framed by green calacatta marble was inspired by Marshcourt, an English manor designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1904. Lutyens was known for his playfulness and fondness for mixing styles and eras. “There is one floor finish from bedroom to studio through the bathroom,” says Lyons. The bathroom is divided into a dry and a wet area; the dry area has a herringbone parquet floor and a vanity unit designed by LyonsKelly. The wet area has a toilet, bath and shower and is top lit with a long narrow rooflight.

Green Accents: Vibrant green glazed tiles and calacatta marble define the wet area in this bathroom.

Wood Clad

Monotone: In this inviting bathroom, the walls and doors are panelled in oak.

Small spaces can be elevated with bold decorating choices like the downstairs loo in this Georgian home. “The room was quite small relative to the scale of the house and had no period covings or skirting boards,” according to the interior designer. “We decided to make it special and line it with oak panelling.” To cover the original sash window for modesty, the duo designed a sliding oak screen with a hessian backing. The hand basin, a free standing sink by Swiss brand Laufen, is clad in oak to match the wall paneling. The floor is grey marble, carefully chosen to work with the colour of the oak. The bathroom door is also clad in oak so as not to break the seamless illusion.

The pendant light is by Flos.

Chic Black And White

The master bath’s stark white vanities are surrounded by polished black marble.

When it comes to classic colour schemes, it doesn’t get any better than black and white. The design duo decided to carve up a room, previously a bedroom at first floor of their clients house, to make a dressing room and a substantial bathroom. “We placed the doors centrally on an axis with the window to maximise light and views to the dressing room,” says Lyons. “The black and white colour scheme is timeless.” Bands of black marble define the shower, basins and WC. “We placed the WC discreetly behind a low wall so it’s not on view when you enter the room,” he says.

Patterned flooring inject personality into this black and white bathroom. The fabric blind is by Pierre Frey.

A low wall is one of the easiest ways to hide a WC from sight.

Cheerful Yellow

The yellow wall tiles are by Original Style. The dome-shaped chrome wall light is by Visual Comfort.

This vibrant yellow children’s bathroom was a challenge to design because the space was tight. LyonsKelly split the long narrow room in two, a wet area with shower and bath to rear and dry area with toilet and basin to the front. The shower and bath area tiled in a vibrant yellow and the dry area is tiled with grey and yellow patterned tiles.

Pretty In Pink

LyonsKelly chose Lincrusta, a deeply embossed wallcovering, on the walls.

This bathroom was designed for two sisters in a Victorian family home. The brief was to make the bathroom appear as if minimal intervention had taken place. “We created bays to house the shower, basin and WC, ” says Lyons. The WC is hidden behind the last bay. Mosaic tiles have been used to add colour, texture, and pattern and reflect original mosaics elsewhere in the house. Mosaic tiles are a hard-wearing and practical option for bathrooms.

The duo decided to refinish the original bath in fresh white.

The pleated-shade wall lights and ceramic basin are all by Imperial Bathroom.

Photographs by Mark Scott