Bathrooms play a significant role in our daily lives, serving multiple functions beyond basic hygiene. Research highlights their importance as relaxation, introspection, and personal wellness spaces. A bathroom's design and comfort can profoundly influence how we begin and end our day, framing our routines with a sense of ease or disruption. When traveling, hotel bathrooms often leave a lasting impression, as a well-designed and thoughtfully executed bathroom can significantly elevate the overall experience of a stay.
The design of bathrooms has evolved considerably over the years, reflecting changes in fixtures, materials, aesthetics, spatial preferences, and development. One notable trend is the rise of the open bathroom concept, which was first popularized in hospitality design and is now making its way into residential architecture. Bathrooms are no longer viewed solely as isolated, utilitarian spaces. Instead, designers are exploring integrating them seamlessly with the rest of the home. This shift is evident in features such as seamless floor transitions between wet and dry areas, open changing area layouts, and washbasins as elements to blur spatial boundaries rather than relying on a door, transforming bathrooms into a connected part of the living area rather than enclosed rooms.
Below, we examine a curated selection of 10 private bathrooms in residences and 10 in hospitality settings, including hotels, inns, and guesthouses, highlighting each context's distinct design approaches and priorities. Hospitality bathrooms often benefit from a higher standard of maintenance, with daily meticulous cleaning and the support of robust HVAC systems within hotel compounds, enabling efficient air exchange. These factors allow for greater flexibility in bathroom design, as concerns like mold growth or excess humidity affecting adjacent living areas are minimized.
As a result, hospitality bathrooms traditionally emphasize openness, fluidity, and material continuity with surrounding spaces, often allocating a more generous proportion of floor area than residential bathrooms. This design approach caters to the transient nature of travel, where guests may spend more time in the bathroom relative to their total room usage. However, a gradual shift is emerging, with residential bathrooms evolving into more integrated and thoughtfully designed spaces. This trend reflects an increasing recognition of bathrooms as essential home elements, blending functionality with aesthetic and spatial harmony to enhance daily living.
10 Bathrooms' Interior Design in Private Homes
House Wolin / Pankowska & Rohrhofer
The Chang Residence / 2BOOKS design
DOMEHOME House Expansion / EME157
House of Fortune / Dean Dyson Architects
Guest House / HEIMA architects
House for a Brother / Estudio STGO
Private Villa / BAMM ARCHITECTS
Elsternwick Penthouse / Office Alex Nicholls
Letná Apartment / Markéta Bromová
House with Membrane Roof / Yuko Nagayama & Associates + shohei yoshida + associate
10 Bathrooms' Interior Design in Hospitality Projects
ENNEA Hotel / Jaque Studio
Scorpios Bodrum Ritual Resort / StudioMacBride + Geomim
Habitat Sélénite / NatureHumaine
Hotel Welt Wien / Baukooperative
Vipp Todos Santos Guesthouse / PPAA
Shisui, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nara /TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers + Kengo Kuma & Associates
Yanhai Hotel / AT DESIGN
Lodge at Marconi Hotel / Home Studios
Pnoēs Tinos Design Holiday Villas / Aristides Dallas Architects
Xanadu Chongchongshan / Wilburban Architects
This article is part of an ArchDaily series that explores features of interior architecture, from our own database of projects. Every month, we will highlight how architects and designers are utilizing new elements, new characteristics and new signatures in interior spaces around the world. As always, at ArchDaily, we highly appreciate the input of our readers. If you think we should mention specific ideas, please submit your suggestions.
