Master Bath With Pebble Mirror and Walnut Shower

The mirror is cut as an organic pebble, a soft irregular blob rather than a rectangle or oval, with light glowing behind its whole edge. That rounded outline softens a room otherwise full of straight tile joints and the square shower frame. The backlight gives a gentle glow for a late night without the glare of a ceiling light. Because the shape is unusual, it becomes the piece you notice first at the vanity.

The shower sits behind a black steel and glass screen with a walnut wall lining the wet zone, which is unusual and gives the space real warmth. It runs a square overhead rain head plus a hand shower on the wall, both fed from concealed controls. A long niche set into the wall holds bottles without a hanging caddy. Using timber-look cladding in a shower needs proper sealing, but the payoff is a far softer feel than all-over tile.

A black-framed glass partition sits between the wet zone and the vanity, and part of it is fitted as an open shelf holding potted plants. It splits the room so spray stays in the shower, yet the clear glass and greenery keep the divide from feeling like a solid wall. Plants also cope well with the damp, warm air a bathroom produces. It is a screen that separates and decorates in the same move, which suits a compact plan.

The WC is wall-hung with a concealed cistern and a flush plate, so the floor stays clear and easy to clean under. The vanity floats off the wall too, with a stone counter and an undermount basin lit by the pebble mirror. In the dark scheme both the basin and the WC are black to match the bronze walls, while the light scheme keeps them white. Floating both fittings is what makes a mid-sized bathroom feel larger.

More than tile, and it is worth knowing before you commit. Real or wood-look cladding in a wet zone must be sealed properly and kept squeegeed so water does not sit on it, or it can mark and swell over time. A wiped-down wall after each shower and a reseal every so often keeps it sound. Many owners run a porcelain that looks like walnut instead of timber, which gives the warm look with far less care.

The pale travertine scheme is the safer pick for a small or low-light bathroom, because light walls bounce what daylight there is and make the room read bigger. The dark bronze scheme looks stunning but drinks light, so it wants either a decent window or strong layered lighting to avoid feeling like a cave. This room has a slatted window that helps, but in a windowless space the light option is the wiser default.

The window wears horizontal wood-slat blinds that tilt to let light in while blocking the view from outside. Slatted blinds suit a bathroom because you can angle them for privacy at the basin without shutting the room dark. Timber-look slats also sit comfortably with the walnut shower wall and the warm palette. For a bathroom, blinds beat fabric curtains here, since they shrug off humidity and do not hold damp the way cloth would.