Minimalist bathrooms—putting the clean into clean lines
Minimalism is one of the most popular interior design styles for luxury bathrooms. That may be because minimalist bathroom design exudes cleanliness and freshness. The “less is more” aesthetic also gives a sense of peace and tranquillity that a more maximalist space might not so easily allow.
When you’re remodelling your new bathroom, second bathroom or shower room, though, how do you achieve that minimalistic effect? Is it just a case of leaving the space free from clutter? Let’s take a look and find out.
Table of contents
There are a few different things you’ll need to consider when you start out designing a minimal bathroom space. Things like:
What’s in a minimalist bathroom?
Are there specific materials related to minimalist bathrooms?
What’s in a minimalist bathroom?
You might think that furniture, bathroom products and decoration are in short supply in a minimalist washroom, but that’s not actually the case. It’s just that the design is so well-considered that the things in it are well-positioned, seamless and often hidden, even. As a result, they have the quality of being un-interruptive.
This aesthetic is what’s known by minimalist designers as a ‘clean-lined’ approach. It makes the bathroom space feel opened up and more serene while allowing it to maintain its functionality and purpose, unimpeded. So, you’ll find all the usual things in a minimalist bathroom that you would in, say, a boho bathroom. The only difference is, they’ll be much more highly stylised and they’ll hide away the mess rather than celebrate it.
Grey minimalist bathroom by Laura Brophy
Minimalist bathroom colours
There are two colour schemes most associated with minimal bathroom furniture. Appropriately enough, both shades are actually described as being characterised by an absence of colour. They are, of course, black and white.
White bathrooms, when designed in a minimalistic style, are bright, glassy spaces that give an overarching sense of icy freshness and cleanliness. Shades like Corian® Glacier White or, if used with subtlety, white Carrara marble will make the space feel bigger so are great for smaller minimal bathrooms.
Black bathrooms—often paired with grey paint or bare concrete—will bring in instant sense of seriousness and sedateness when designed minimally. These more muted colours are especially suited to larger spaces so they don’t feel as though they’re crowding the space. There’s nothing minimalist about a bathroom that makes you feel claustrophobic.
Of course, there are all kinds of other colours of furniture you can incorporate into a minimalist bathroom—from the bluest blues to subtle pastel shades of verdant. It all depends how they work when juxtaposed with other objects and design choices in the space. And, of course, what suits your own style.
Minimalist bathroom cabinetry
Minimalist bathroom cabinets and vanity units tend to be handle-less, soft-close pieces of furniture that maximise storage space while simultaneously hiding it at first glance. They are the opposite of fancy or ornamental. Their shelves will be on the inside, not the outside, and their external surfaces should be left free from the clutter of perfumes, bathroom products and other decorative objects.
A minimal piece of cabinetry will not have ornate handles or multi-coloured paintwork. It will not have decorative carving or gold leaf trim. Nor will it have woven wicker panelling or text of any kind written on it. The beauty of a minimal bathroom cabinet is in seeing its functionality above all. The function is the aesthetic.
Minimalist washbasins
Minimal basins will have hard edges without the curves and swooshes of a more opulent environment. They will try to hide features like plugs and plug holes and you certainly won’t be able to see a plug chain.
To achieve a brutalist effect with your washbasin, you could incorporate it into a vanity unit that seamlessly continues the basin material into the cabinet material. However, you could achieve a more subtle minimalist vibe with a simple countertop basin with hard edges and a wall-mounted tap.
Minimalist bathroom by Igor Sirotov
Minimalist showers
A minimalist shower will be a walk-in space that flows into the rest of the bathroom without the interruption of a scruffy shower curtain. You may choose to run a floor-to-ceiling glass panel next to the shower so that you don’t have the visual interruption of a cubicle. However, there are also some beautiful minimalist shower cubicles on the market that add just a touch of character without making the space feel cluttered.
Wall mounted shower taps will allow you to hide the plumbing. Or you may choose to have the pipes exposed to give the space an industrial minimalist quality—remember that one of the tenets of minimalism is exposing the mechanics of the products.
Sunken bathtub in minimalist bathroom by Nils Wenk
Minimalist bathtubs
Can you have a tub in a minimalist bathroom? It might feel counterintuitive to add extra surface area to a space that attempts to keep things simple. Well, it all depends on how extreme a minimalist you are.
A truly brutalist bathroom may have a sunken tub that simply appears as a step down from the floor into the sub-ground level. But there’s no reason you can’t have a corner bath or even a freestanding tub in a minimalist space. Just make sure to choose your freestanding tub carefully and avoid anything that looks too art deco or shabby chic.
Minimalist bathroom taps
Mid-century modern design maintains a strong grip on 21st Century interiors and the range of taps on the market today reflects this. Minimalistic hard edges and clean lines without ornate metal casting or decorative features characterise these taps.
Whether they run straight from the bathroom sink or—even better—are wall-mounted, you’ll find that they help to bring a real finishing touch to the space that emphasises its simplicity. Then there are freestanding bath taps, wall-mounted shower and modernist bidet taps to consider. These will add the perfect final flourish to a space that oozes minimal cool.
Wooden minimalist bathroom by MW Works
Are there specific materials related to minimalist bathrooms?
One thing a minimalist bathroom is not is rustic. So you’re very unlikely to find materials like untreated or reclaimed wood, terracotta, wrought iron or opulently woven fabrics in one. The minimalist movement was borne in the post-war era of early mass-production and, as such, is associated with materials that could be produced in factories—artisanal though their quality may still be. A typical 21st Century minimalist bathroom, wet room or washroom will incorporate materials like solid surface, Corian®, concrete, brick and glass.
More than ever, however, designers are focused on green interior design so you will find that products with man-made aspects will be low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and high in natural elements. What’s more, the Japandi style of interior design, which fuses Scandinavian and Japanese minimalist aesthetics has a strong focus on natural materials like engineered wood and bamboo.
Looking for something else to read? Check out our article on Designing Bathrooms with Natural Lighting.