Estate Living Magazine Smart Moves - Issue 38 February 2019 | Page 58

G O O D
L I F E
THE 2019
BATHROOM
A PERSONAL STATEMENT
Sanitaryware is sleek and efficient, bold colours are in, and
tiles are embracing interesting new shapes and retro styles.
Tantalising tiles
Tiles are a go-to, durable and visually
attractive finish for bathroom walls,
floors and splashbacks, and today they
are being produced in more colours,
shapes, sizes and texture options than
ever before.
Hexagonal tiles – popular in the 1920s
and 1940s – are trending strongly right
now.
‘Hexagonal tiles give you an interesting
organic honeycomb shape. The
difference with modern hexagonal tiles
is that they are now available in a variety
of colours, textures and materials, to suit
any decor style, from contemporary to
traditional,’ says Johnny Lamprecht
from Bathroom Bizarre.
Wood, marble and stone-look tiles can
work with a range of looks.
The trend for 2019 in Europe is the
polished marble look in large-format
porcelain tiles, which look exactly
like the real thing but are much more
affordable and durable than genuine
marble. Italtile has over 50 types of
marble tile – and they also come in the
super new size of 1,200 x 1,200 mm.
Wood-look tiles, meanwhile, infuse warmth
into your bathroom, and the long, slender
plank-type tiles of 150 x 1,200 mm add to the
timber flooring look.
Mosaic tiles are available in an amazing
variety of shapes, colours, textures and
designs, so your choice has never been
more personalised or more expressive.
‘An interesting way to use mosaic tiles is to
insert them in a random way,’ suggests Liza
Watermeyer at Tile Africa. ‘So, you might
create a bespoke feature using just a few
sheets of the mosaic tile.’
Then there are the neutrals. ‘Neutrals never
go out of fashion, as they offer longevity of
style. The most popular neutrals are various
shades of grey, beige, creams and whites,’
says Johnny Lamprecht from Bathroom
Bizarre.
Colourful baths and basins
There is a huge shift away from the usual
white glazed porcelain, with matt black at the
forefront of this trend, but other colours, like
racing-car green and red, are catching up.
The black Kate Woburn bath by Libra
Bathrooms (in the LIXIL Africa group) is a