Notes from a London Bathroom Designer: A History of Bathroom Design

Notes from a London Bathroom Designer: A History of Bathroom Design

Lino Revolutions

1864 was a big year in the history of bathroom design. Yorkshireman Frederick Walton invented linoleum, a material that was to alter the bathroom design profession in remarkable ways. It was almost 1870 when Fred first welcomed the public into his London showroom in a year when showers were starting to be seen as a viable alternative to the traditional bathtub. Bathroom designers needed to move away from the wallpaper or panelled veneer wallcoverings, which would start to warp and grow mouldy when exposed to steamy humidity next to the shower. In part this was also due to faulty designs of the steel heating vessels, which made them liable to overboiling or even explosions! Linoleum was a huge hit among Bathroom Designers in London – this fresh new look and practical yet stylish flair found its way into clients’ bathrooms all over the capital.

The Birth of Luxury

Regardless of how old you are, you probably adore the feeling of a bubbly steam shower, maybe with the addition of fragranced salts and aromatherapy gels? Bathroom Designers in London today recognise that so many discerning homeowners crave a luxurious, indulgent, spa-style bathroom concept. And yet most of the public are completely unaware that there is literally heaps of history that impacts every modern bathroom idea or feature! Ask even the least design-aware individual to describe a standard bathroom, and most likely they will immediately start talking of stone, marble, white non-porous substrates and fresh cleanliness. Remarkably, these very ideas and concepts began to play a role in bathroom design schemes only in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries! And bathroom designers had to wait until at least 1925 before they got access to a range of accessories with which to add perfect stylish flair to designer bathrooms. But from there it just snowballed! Bathroom design professionals began to recommend high-end cupboards with interior illumination, they started to design recessed hideaways for keeping favourite shampoos or medicine bottles, and they got creative with storage areas that would make sure unsightly clutter was never seen. London’s bathroom design industry had finally come into its own!

Victorian Times

Londoners in Victorian times craved perfect hygiene in their bathrooms, and bathroom designers responded with gusto! But just a few years later well-heeled London homeowners began to demand a breath of sophisticated refinement to give their bathrooms distinction and flair. Bathroom Designers in London created fresh new concepts that featured attractive but muted highlights around groutwork or on ornaments. These designers also began to step out in style with plugs and handle-levers of brushed metal or varnished cherrywood. The quintessential bathroom centrepiece – the lavatory - also underwent a fabulous transformation. New lavatory styles were suddenly in stock, and bathroom designers had no hesitation in recommending them to discerning clients. Of major importance was the creation of lavatory systems with cisterns at seat level instead of positioned high up on the wall.

Delighted by Deco

The First World War and the years after were notable for the continued explosion of the bathroom design profession. London’s Top Bathroom Design teams began to meet with clients who craved the latest styles. New options became available in terms of lavatory cistern designs. We started to see exterior panelling of ash and veneer, together with stylish reconfigurable timber accessories. The Art Deco movement had a major effect on bathroom designers all across England. We saw fresh new tints and hues, with turqoise, strawberry, ochre and sapphire making an appearance in the freshest and most cutting-edge bathroom tiling concepts. Bathroom designers responded to clients’ desire for attractive colour matching by combining tasteful tap hues with similarly tinted trim, accessories and groutwork.

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