Styling starts at the vanity unit – whether we’re getting ready to go out or defining the look of the bathroom. In most cases it’s the bathroom furnishings that decide the style of the setting, which also includes the sanitaryware as well as the design of the walls and floors. Bathroom furniture mediates, sets the tone, makes a statement. And in view of the growing demand for a cosy, homely atmosphere and a bathroom design that’s not just on trend but sustainable, that role is taking on even greater significance. We have analysed the 10 most important furniture trends for the bathroom.
Whatever size it is, whatever look it creates: the bathroom has become living space. As stylish and multifunctional as the kitchen, but a lot more private. As an intimate retreat with a personal touch, the bathroom has become one of interior design fans’ favourites – and more individual than ever before.
Cosy, sustainable bathrooms for more home comfort
The reasons go far beyond the intensification of the homing trend as a result of corona and the popularity of staging on social media; it’s more that our awareness of the comfort value a modern bathroom adds to the home has grown. A feel-good atmosphere, lighting with biorhythm benefits, health-promoting water applications and fitness features all have a part to play when it comes to helping mindful bathroom users cope with their stressful everyday lives, and sustainability concepts aren’t just good for the environment, they’re easy on the conscience too. Warm materials and colours, “green” elements and “proper” furniture significantly enhance both the cosiness of the bathroom and the quality of the time we spend in it.
As basic elements of modern and professional bathroom planning, bathroom furnishings have a defining influence on the new bathroom’s lifestyle appeal. That in turn increases the impact of interior design trends and home decor on the development of new products and usage concepts. “We don’t just aspire to reflect trends in the bathroom – our goal is to set trends as well,” explains Sabine Meissner, Head of Marketing and Product Development, underscoring burgbad’s claim to leadership in bathroom design as one of Europe’s top bathroom furniture manufacturers.
Furniture trend 1: Bathrooms are living space
Im modernen, wohnlichen Bad herrschen stilistische und materielle Vielfalt: Möbel und Fliesen in Holz oder Holzoptik, facettiert und farbig oder schlicht wie Stein, traditionelle Formen und wohnliche Textilien und Tapeten, warme Farb- und Lichtgebung machen das Badezimmer zum Wohlfühlraum, der auf Basis einer modernen Grundausstattung auch mal trendgerecht umgestaltet oder durch ergänzende The modern, cosy bathroom is dominated by diverse styles and materials: furniture and tiles in wood or wood effects, facetted and colourful or as simple as natural stone, traditional forms and homely textiles and wallpapers, warm colours and lighting – all this turns the bathroom into a feel-good space furnished with modern basic equipment that can be given an on-trend makeover or update with the addition of small items of furniture, textiles and accessories. For us, who set ourselves the goal of producing sustainable bathroom furniture, the challenge is to subtly integrate lifestyle elements and on-trend finishes – like the mid-century style references in the Badu collection – with an enduring design.
Furniture trend 2: Bathrooms are colourful
Colour is a top trend when it comes to planning new bathrooms. If used properly, white still creates a very trendy, upmarket look, and greige and grey provide the perfect basis for a natural ambience. These days, however, the more courageous are opting for more trend-oriented colour concepts like matt black with a feminine twist, bicolour looks and accents in bold trend colours like dark green, orange, mint or yellow. From allover white to wood effects and real wood all the way to up-to-the-minute shades like matt black and soft matt ice blue, we have been shaping the trend turnaround in the bathroom right from the start, as well as setting benchmarks by offering collections like Lin20 in custom-produced RAL colours.
Furniture trend 3: Bathrooms are made to measure
Whether it’s in a spacious loft or a compact urban apartment: the bathroom has to be a good fit – not just in terms of the technical features, but the furnishings too. That’s because when it comes to the interior design of a bathroom that’s increasingly being used as customised living space, expectations are growing – and that applies to both the private and contract sectors. In order to do justice to the complexity that involves, manufacturers with a holistic approach are developing collections with lots of components that can be combined to suit individual wants and needs. In addition, with modular lines like the sys30 collections, we have also become a specialist for made-to-measure furniture and washbasins so that bathrooms can be adapted to individual interior concepts and tailor made for the architectural setting – for any type of space, any alcove, any sloped ceiling.
Furniture trend 4: Bathroom furniture is furniture for the home
Built-in cabinets or a standalone piece – high-end furniture and furniture systems for cosy bathrooms are becoming increasingly suitable for other areas of the home. On-trend vanities that look like dressers are liberating the aesthetics of bathroom furniture from the idea of wall-mounted and therefore non-movable units. With modular collections that can be supplemented with different types of furniture and home accessories – like our real wood Mya range, for instance – we are adjusting to the fact that, in future, many consumers will want homely bathroom furniture that’s not just more flexible but more mobile as well. Freestanding pieces are easy to move, suitable for various functions, sustainable and room-neutral – and therefore ideal for overarching design concepts.
Furniture trend 5: Bathrooms with a modular system
Furniture has to adapt to its users’ needs – and do so within a single life cycle, because in future mobility and flexibility will have an increasingly strong influence on our lives. When manufacturers set out to create complex collections that permit the highest possible degree of customisability, the boundaries between a furniture collection and a furniture system become increasingly fluid. Variability and extendability are crucial. We see enormous potential in the idea of furniture ranges that grow with and adapt to their users. Since the classic modernist design movement and especially since the 1960s, furniture systems that create order and hom*ogeneity have become a tradition throughout the home, covering everything from built-in cabinets and modular shelving systems all the way to sideboards. And as a result, concepts like our space-structuring rc40 furniture system or RGB concept study can mediate between the bathroom and other areas of the home as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Furniture trend 6: Bathrooms are smart
The possibilities for using smart technology in the bathroom go far beyond energy and water management. In particular, the combination of LED lighting and smart controls opens up a wide range of possibilities with functional benefits and emotional appeal. We develop holistic product ranges that cover every aspect of the bathroom interior offer illuminated furniture and smart mirror lighting systems in which the vanity unit becomes a control centre. In the case of ambitious models like our rl30 room light, the mirror lighting system is used to provide atmospheric lighting for the entire room. And state-of-the-art doesn’t just mean sophisticated task lighting, it also includes circadian lighting that follows the natural rhythm of the day and can be programmed to suit individual preferences – as with our rl40 room light (touch sensor) and smart home compatible rl40 VC (voice activated) models.
Furniture trend 7: Bathrooms are stylish
Nowadays decorating the home is in again, whatever style the interior design is based on – from minimalism all the way to New Glam. Seasonal accessories are pretty much the norm, and statement pieces, ornaments and furniture with lots of surfaces for displaying decorative items are a big trend. Bathroom furniture and home accessories like vanity units, sideboards and highboards, consoles and shelves, open compartments and shelving are perfect for staging decorative flacons, bowls, sculptures and statement pieces. In our collections like Lavo 2.0 or Yumo, there are even display cabinets and add-on elements with optional lighting and drawers with glass front panels that provide a stylish showcase for treasures and little utensils. Because after all, besides a hom*ogeneous look, aspects like storage space, integrated organiser systems and the right light also play an important role when it comes to setting the stage.
Furniture trend 8: Small but stunning bathrooms
Despite the fact that bathrooms aren’t generally big on space – in the German-speaking world, the average size is nine square metres – nobody wants to go without the comfort and convenience of modern bathroom furnishings and features. That’s particularly true in expensive urban locations, where it looks as if the average bathroom will actually decrease in size. But while the space itself is shrinking, expectations of comfort and convenience are growing. The growing renovation market also needs clever, space-saving products in all price segments. That’s why we are developing a wealth of options and storage space solutions for small bathrooms too, including asymmetric designs or reduced-depth variants. With its modern Fiumo, Eqio, Iveo and Junit collections, we offer several simple lines with compact bathroom furniture and wide-ranging comfort features as well as individual design options for bathrooms of any size.
Furniture trend 9: Bathroom furniture that’s made to last
Slow design is the current term for quality-based product development and sustainable consumption. Product longevity, good repairability and the idea of conscious consumption are important aspects of sustainability. As a result, quality is playing an increasingly important role in bathroom planning because the humid, constantly changing indoor climate that bathroom furniture is exposed to means it has to meet exacting quality requirements. In addition to many other design lines, we even offer a real wood collection that meets these demanding quality criteria as well: Max, a combination of authentic materials, quality craftsmanship and traditional forms with a timeless, modern character. We are the first bathroom furniture manufacturer whose entire collection meets the demanding criteria of the “Furniture Made in Germany” label launched by the Association of the German Furniture Industry (Verband der deutschen Möbelindustrie / VDM) in 2020 and certified by the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification (Deutsche Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung / RAL). Our furniture also come with a five-year guarantee.
Furniture trend 10: Bathrooms are sustainable
Sustainability has become an issue that interests society as a whole – not just as a matter of conscience, but as an expression of a (politically correct) lifestyle. As a result, these aspects are playing an increasingly important role when it comes to purchase decisions for bathroom furnishings and equipment too. It’s a complex issue: besides a healthy indoor environment and the question of materials, it also covers aspects like energy efficiency, recyclability and enduring design. We rely on a transparent sustainability policy and labels as a basis for customer orientation. It’s no coincidence that the Blue Angel, Germany’s oldest and probably best known ecolabel, has been awarded to our bestselling Eqio range. It certifies that the collection consists of low-emission products, only uses wood from sustainably managed forests and has no adverse impact on health in indoor spaces. As a climate-neutral furniture manufacturer since 2016, we thus underline that we apply the same standards to the ranges from the entry-level segment as we do to high-end products.
The trends in detail:
Trend 1: Bathrooms are living space
Trend 2: Bathrooms are colourful
Trend 3: Bathrooms are made-to-measure
Trend 4: Bathroom furniture is furniture for the home
Trend 5: Bathrooms with a modular system
Trend 6: Bathrooms are smart
Trend 7: Bathrooms are stylish
Trend 8: Small but stunning bathrooms
Trend 9: Bathroom furniture that’s made to last
Trend 10: Bathrooms are sustainable
