The Block Week 2: Bathroom and Water Closet Week
Week 2 of The Block turned the focus to bathrooms and water closets, giving the contestants an opportunity to explore materiality, spatial planning, lighting, and what luxury means in one of the most functional rooms in a home.
Bathrooms are often judged by their tiles, tapware and styling, but those elements are only part of the overall design.
A successful bathroom must also consider privacy, circulation, storage, lighting, ventilation and how comfortably multiple people can use the space. The most expensive finishes cannot compensate for a floor plan that compromises everyday function.
This week, several of the rooms shared similar strengths and challenges.
There were beautiful natural materials, generous vanities, sculptural baths and strong architectural moments. However, there were also decisions regarding water-closet privacy, door placement, window proportions, lighting, and cabinetry that significantly influenced how open, luxurious, and resolved each room felt.
Two of the houses were unable to complete every part of their bathroom suites. Where a room remained unfinished, I have not attempted to judge a final design that we were never shown. Instead, I have acknowledged the visible foundations and explored how I would personally complete the space.
As always, these reviews are not intended to diminish the work, effort or expertise of the contestants and trades involved.
Design is subjective. Two designers can understand why a decision was made and still approach the same space differently. My purpose throughout this series is to explain how individual decisions affect proportion, function, atmosphere and the way we experience a room.
For each house, I will look at:
- The overall design and colour palette
- The floor plan and functionality
- The architectural and material decisions that worked well
- The areas I would personally approach differently
- The broader design lesson that can be applied to other homes
Follow the Transformations
Alongside each review, I have created conceptual interpretations of the main bathroom and water closet to visually demonstrate the changes discussed.
These images are not intended to replace the contestants’ designs or suggest that there is only one correct response to the brief. They are simply a visual exploration of how different decisions around materials, lighting, joinery, privacy and proportion can alter the experience of the same room.
The conceptual images are AI-assisted interpretations created by Jordyn Hennessy of Seventeen Designs for educational design commentary. They are independent interpretations and are not official images, completed Seventeen Designs projects or photographs of the contestants’ finished rooms.
Adam and Jolene: A Calm Bathroom Limited by Its Floor Plan
Adam and Jolene created a calm, cohesive bathroom that responds well to the brief's warm, neutral direction.
The light stone-look surfaces establish a soft, understated foundation, while the timber cabinetry adds warmth and prevents the room from feeling clinical. The restrained palette also allows the available natural light to become an important part of the room’s atmosphere.
One of their strongest decisions was replacing the original external door with a large window and removing the smaller window to create a more generous shower zone.
The larger window brings considerable natural light into the bathroom and creates a stronger connection with the landscape beyond. It also gives the shower more presence, transforming it from a purely functional inclusion into a more open and immersive part of the room.
With the necessary privacy considerations addressed through suitable glazing, screening or established landscaping, this could become one of the room’s most enjoyable features.
If the budget and construction requirements allowed, I would have considered developing this area further as an enclosed steam shower. This would build on the existing planning decision and introduce a genuine luxury experience, rather than relying solely on finishes to convey the brief.
Although the bathroom is cohesive and well finished, it does not create a particularly memorable architectural moment for me.
It is a good bathroom that responds appropriately to the brief, but much of its impact comes from the finishes, fittings and styling rather than a distinctive architectural feature.
The Floor-Plan Compromise
The most significant issue for me is the decision to remove the door from the separate water closet.
Creating a dedicated water closet should allow the toilet to be used privately while someone else uses the main bathroom. Without a door, the toilet may be visually separated, but it is not functionally independent.
This is particularly relevant in a guest suite, where the room may be used by couples, family members or visitors who reasonably expect privacy.
A cavity sliding door for the bathroom and entry, while having a normal door on the water closet, would have been an effective solution. It could restore privacy without requiring the clearance of a traditional hinged door, making it particularly suitable for the water closet’s long, narrow proportions.
This decision demonstrates that successful spatial planning is not only about making a floor plan appear open. It is about understanding how people will use the room in practice and comfortably.
The Water Closet
The water closet is functional and visually consistent with the main bathroom. The continuation of the neutral tile and timber cabinetry creates cohesion between the two spaces.
However, it feels more like a straightforward secondary bathroom zone than a considered luxury space.
The vanity provides considerable storage, but I do not believe a water closet necessarily requires cabinetry of this scale. Instead, I would introduce a single long bench extending along the available wall.
This could incorporate a smaller amount of discreet storage while creating a stronger architectural line through the narrow room. A longer mirror, sculptural basin and more considered lighting could then bring interest to the space without making it feel busy.
The intention would not be to add decoration simply to fill the room. It would be to use proportion, integrated joinery and lighting to make the water closet feel intentionally designed rather than simply fitted out.
Creating Greater Material Cohesion
The decorative tile behind the main vanity is a matter of personal preference, but it is not the finish I would have selected.
The room already has a clear material story through its large-format stone-look tile, warm timber cabinetry and simple white fixtures. I would continue the main tile behind the vanity rather than introducing a separate decorative surface.
This would create a more seamless architectural envelope and allow the timber cabinetry, lighting and mirror to carry the visual interest.
Continuing a single surface does not necessarily make a room feel plain. When proportion, lighting, and joinery are considered carefully, restraint can make the strongest elements more visible.
An Overhead Lighting Feature
Because the floor plan does not allow for a conventional skylight, I would introduce a shaftless solar-powered skylight alternative above the bath and shower zone.
Unlike a traditional skylight or solar tube, this system does not require a direct opening or light shaft between the bathroom and the roof. A solar collector positioned elsewhere on the roof powers a slim illuminated panel recessed into the bathroom ceiling.
The panel would not provide genuine natural light or a view of the sky. However, it could create the appearance of a luminous overhead opening, with its brightness responding to the daylight available outside.
This would be particularly useful if privacy glazing were added to the large bathroom window, as the overhead panel could prevent the wet zone from feeling visually flat without requiring an impossible roof opening.
Combined with the large window, integrated lighting and the potential for an enclosed steam shower, it would give the wet zone a stronger sense of experience while retaining the room’s calm material palette.
The Difference Between Expensive and Luxurious
There is an important difference between a bathroom that contains expensive products and one that feels genuinely luxurious.
Luxury is also found in privacy, atmosphere, comfort, spatial planning, and the way a room supports its user.
The finishes in this bathroom are attractive and cohesive, but the missing water-closet door undermines the sense of privacy. One stronger architectural or experiential feature could also have given the main bathroom a clearer identity.
The Design Lesson
Adam and Jolene’s bathroom demonstrates how a strong material palette and natural light can create a calm and cohesive foundation.
Their decision to enlarge the window and establish a more generous shower zone was successful and could become the defining architectural feature of the room.
However, removing the water-closet door compromises privacy, while the remaining design relies more heavily on finishes than architectural interest to communicate luxury.
With a private water closet, a more streamlined treatment behind the vanity and a shaftless solar-powered ceiling panel defining the wet zone, I believe the bathroom could retain its calm simplicity while creating a more memorable experience.
The foundation is good. For my interpretation, I would focus less on adding decoration and more on strengthening privacy, proportion, lighting and the experience of using the space.
Chantel and Wyatt: Beautifully Finished, but Missing a Defining Moment
Chantel and Wyatt created a warm, polished bathroom with a restrained material palette and several beautiful details.
The soft stone-look tiles establish a calm foundation, while the timber vanity and champagne-toned fittings introduce warmth. The curved detailing through the mirrors, basins and vanity doors also helps soften the room’s harder architectural lines.
The vanity detailing is particularly distinctive. Its circular timber profiles connect beautifully with the rounded mirrors, vessel basins and curved bath, giving the bathroom a consistent shape language.
It is a functional and attractive bathroom that responds appropriately to the brief. However, for me, it lacks one defining feature that creates a genuine sense of occasion.
As with Adam and Jolene’s bathroom, the greatest opportunity lies not in adding more decoration but in refining the floor plan, strengthening the architectural details, and creating a more considered lighting experience.
The Floor-Plan Question
The small window beside the bath does not contribute enough natural light or architectural impact to justify the wall space it occupies.
I would consider closing this window and allowing the wall to become a full, uninterrupted surface. This would create a calmer backdrop for the bath and provide greater freedom to introduce a stronger lighting or architectural feature.
The central glazed door already brings light into the room. Removing the additional small window would not necessarily make the bathroom feel enclosed, particularly if the lighting plan were developed carefully.
Closing that opening could also allow the vanity to extend further along the wall. The existing vanity is attractive, but the room appears capable of carrying a longer piece of joinery.
Extending it towards the end of the wall would strengthen its proportions, provide more useful bench space and make the vanity feel more integrated into the architecture.
The Shaving Cabinets
The curved shaving cabinets are attractive, but the small construction details affect how resolved they feel.
Recessing the cabinets fully into the wall would allow the mirrored faces to sit flush with the surrounding surface. This seemingly minor adjustment would create a cleaner finish and make them appear intentionally integrated rather than mounted onto the wall.
Luxury is often conveyed through details that go unnoticed when done well. Flush cabinetry, aligned surfaces and carefully resolved junctions can make a significant difference to the overall finish of a room.
A Warmer Ceiling
The stark-white ceiling feels disconnected from the warmth of the remaining palette.
I would select a soft cream tone that relates more closely to the tiles. This would allow the ceiling to become part of the room’s material envelope rather than appearing as a separate white plane above it.
Painting a ceiling something other than white does not necessarily make a room feel smaller. When the colour is carefully selected, it can soften the boundaries between the walls and the ceiling and create a more immersive atmosphere.
Lighting and the Bathing Experience
The room would benefit from a more layered lighting plan.
The existing downlights provide general illumination, but the light feels comparatively bright and functional. Dimming the overall lighting and introducing warmer ambient light around the bath would create greater flexibility and atmosphere.
I would add carefully positioned downlights above the bath, combined with concealed lighting that softly washes the wall or the base of the bath. This would establish the bathing zone as a feature without requiring another decorative material.
Creating the Effect of Overhead Daylight
Because the bathroom sits beneath another level, a conventional skylight would not be possible.
Instead, I would introduce a shaftless solar-powered skylight alternative above the bath and shower zone. This system uses a solar collector positioned elsewhere on the roof to power a thin illuminated ceiling panel, without requiring a direct light shaft through the building.
It would not provide genuine natural light or an external view. However, it could create a softly diffused overhead glow that responds to the daylight available outside.
The long rectangular form would draw the eye towards the bathing zone and create the appearance of an architectural ceiling feature.
Combined with the warmer cream ceiling, concealed wall lighting and softer downlights, it would establish the bath as the room’s focal experience.
Styling and Visual Clarity
The styling introduces softness and life, but for me, the bathroom is slightly overstyled.
The flowers, plants, stool, towels and floor runner begin to compete with the joinery and fixtures rather than allowing the architecture to remain the focus.
The long floor runner also visually narrows an already long bathroom and directs attention towards the glazed door rather than the bath.
The large floral arrangement is beautiful, but it occupies valuable bench space and obscures part of the second basin. Something smaller would allow the vanity design and its distinctive circular detailing to remain visible.
Removing some of these pieces would create clearer sightlines and give the vanity, bath and material palette more room to breathe.
Styling should support the room, but it should not be responsible for creating all of its visual interest. If a room feels incomplete once the decorative pieces are removed, that often indicates an opportunity to strengthen its architecture or lighting.
The Water Closet
The water closet is functional, but its current bench feels too short for the wall and therefore somewhat unresolved.
Rather than using a small white bench, I would extend the surface across the entire available wall. A champagne-veined stone would introduce warmth and become a detail that could not be missed while still working within the bathroom’s restrained palette.
The longer bench would make better use of the room’s proportions and give the narrow space a stronger architectural line.
The basin would still need sufficient depth to remain practical and prevent water from splashing onto the floor or surrounding walls.
Using Mirror to Blur the Boundary
I would take the stone treatment further by installing a full-wall mirror above the bench.
In a narrow water closet, a large mirror can visually dissolve the wall and reflect light back through the room, making the space feel broader than its physical dimensions.
Some may consider a fully mirrored wall excessive, but here it would serve both practical and spatial purposes. Paired with a full-length stone bench, it would transform the wall into one strong, intentional composition rather than a collection of smaller elements.
Creating One Cohesive Envelope
I would also continue the warm stone tone currently used behind the basin across the remaining walls of the water closet.
The existing white walls feel disconnected from the warmth and materiality of the main bathroom. Carrying the warmer finish throughout would create a more immersive space and give the water closet its own identity while remaining connected to the bathroom.
With softer, dimmable lighting, the mirrored wall could reflect the stone and ambient glow, making the narrow room feel warm and expansive rather than bright and clinical.
The Design Lesson
Chantel and Wyatt’s bathroom demonstrates that repetition creates cohesion, but hierarchy creates impact.
They successfully repeated curves, warm timber, soft stone and champagne-toned fittings throughout the space. What the bathroom lacks is a clear hierarchy telling the eye where to rest.
For my interpretation, I would simplify the styling, close the unnecessary window, extend the vanity, integrate the shaving cabinets, soften the ceiling colour and build a more atmospheric lighting plan around the bath.
A shaftless solar-powered ceiling panel would introduce the appearance of overhead daylight without requiring an impossible roof opening, while concealed lighting would allow the bathing zone to retain its atmosphere after dark.
In the water closet, I would replace the small white bench with a wall-to-wall champagne-veined stone surface, continue the warmer material treatment throughout and install a full-wall mirror to visually expand the space.
None of these changes requires the bathroom to become louder or more elaborate. They would simply give its strongest elements more architectural presence and create the memorable luxury moment the existing foundation is capable of carrying.
Lisa and Rosco: An Unfinished Room with Strong Material Potential
Lisa and Rosco were unfortunately unable to complete their bathroom and water closet within the allocated week.
Because the spaces were still in the construction stage, it would not be fair to assess them against the completed bathrooms. We cannot see their intended tile selections, lighting plan, final joinery, fixtures or styling, nor can we properly understand how the finished material palette was intended to work together.
However, the unfinished rooms still reveal several promising foundations.
The warm timber vanity introduces natural materiality and has the potential to become one of the strongest elements within the completed bathroom.
The room also appears to have enough depth within the shower zone to explore a more open wet-area design without relying on a visually dominant glass enclosure.
Rather than speculate about what Lisa and Rosco may have planned, my interpretation focuses on how I would personally complete the spaces using the elements already visible.
Retaining the Timber Vanity
I would retain the timber vanity already selected.
Its natural grain brings warmth into the room and would create a beautiful contrast against a restrained cream stone palette. Rather than introducing several additional timber elements, I would allow the vanity to remain the primary warm material within the bathroom.
The joinery could be finished with a warm ivory stone top and champagne-toned wall-mounted tapware, creating a softer alternative to chrome or black fittings.
Above the vanity, I would introduce a recessed shaving cabinet with an irregular, softly rounded oval front.
Its organic shape would add interest while keeping the cabinet practical and fully integrated into the wall. Recessing the cabinetry would ensure the mirror sits cleanly within the surface rather than appearing as another object attached to it.
An Open Shower Experience
The proportions of the shower zone create the potential for an open, screenless shower.
Removing the need for a glass screen could make the bathroom feel more continuous and immersive, provided the room’s dimensions, drainage, waterproofing and placement of nearby fixtures adequately control water movement.
A screenless shower is not successful simply because the glass has been removed. The shower needs sufficient depth, carefully planned floor falls and appropriate drainage to ensure the openness does not compromise everyday function.
A concealed linear drain would allow the floor to fall more cleanly through the wet zone.
If the room’s depth could not adequately control overspray, a single fixed pane of frameless glass could be introduced while preserving most of the visual openness.
Retaining the Wraparound Ledge
The existing shower structure includes a full wraparound ledge, which I would retain and clad in the same cream travertine as the wet-area walls.
This is already a strong architectural feature and provides practical storage without requiring an additional niche or bench to interrupt the wall.
Concealed lighting beneath the ledge could introduce a soft ambient glow while emphasising its continuous form.
A More Unexpected Floor
My more unconventional decision would be to use large-scale, softly edged crazy-pave stone across the entire bathroom floor.
Crazy paving is often associated with outdoor applications, but a refined version using larger pieces, softened edges and restrained grout lines could work beautifully in this bathroom.
It would give the floor an organic, handcrafted quality without making the room feel overly rustic.
The stone would need to be appropriate for a wet interior environment, with suitable slip resistance, sealing and a relatively smooth finish beneath bare feet.
The pieces would also need to be carefully selected and installed to achieve the correct falls through the shower zone.
I would pair this flooring with large-format cream travertine tiles from floor to ceiling throughout the wet zone only.
The travertine would define the shower, while warm cream Venetian plaster on the vanity wall and on the remaining dry surfaces would prevent the bathroom from feeling like a completely tiled box.
The contrast would be between different expressions of natural material rather than competing colours or patterns.
Defining the Shower from Above
Because the floor plan does not allow for a traditional skylight, I would introduce a shaftless solar-powered skylight alternative above the open shower.
The illuminated ceiling panel would not provide true natural light or a view of the sky. Instead, a solar collector positioned elsewhere on the roof would power a slim, diffused panel installed within the bathroom ceiling.
Placing the panel directly above the shower would still create a deliberate architectural relationship between the ceiling and wet zone.
Its changing brightness throughout the day could bring movement to the travertine surfaces and help the open shower feel distinct without requiring a glass enclosure.
At night, concealed lighting beneath the wraparound ledge and carefully positioned warm ceiling lights could provide a softer ambient layer.
The Material Palette
My interpretation would remain restrained:
- The existing warm timber vanity
- A warm ivory stone benchtop
- Large cream travertine tiles throughout the wet zone
- Warm cream Venetian plaster across the dry walls
- Large, softly edged crazy-pave stone flooring
- Champagne-toned tapware and hardware
- A recessed organic-oval shaving cabinet
- A shaftless solar-powered ceiling panel above the shower
- Concealed lighting beneath the existing wraparound ledge
Each material would have a specific role.
The travertine would define the wet zone, the Venetian plaster would soften the dry zone, the crazy paving would connect the entire floor, and the timber would bring warmth.
The bathroom would not require extensive styling, as the architecture and materiality would already define the space.
The Water Closet
Because the water closet was also unfinished, there is very little to assess beyond its narrow proportions and existing service locations.
For my interpretation, I would continue the large-scale crazy-pave flooring into this room so it feels connected to the main bathroom.
I would then apply warm cream Venetian plaster across every wall and continue it over the ceiling, creating one immersive envelope rather than treating the ceiling as a separate white surface.
A long floating travertine bench would extend across the available wall, incorporating a practical carved basin and champagne-toned wall-mounted tapware.
Above it, I would install one generously scaled organic circular mirror. Its irregular form would introduce a sculptural element, while the reflected light would visually expand the narrow room.
Layered lighting would be essential. A concealed glow beneath the bench, soft backlighting around the mirror and one restrained decorative light would allow the atmosphere to shift without relying on a bright central downlight.
The Design Lesson
Lisa and Rosco’s rooms demonstrate how difficult it is to evaluate design before its final layers are installed.
At the construction stage, the proportions, services and individual products may be visible, but the intended atmosphere and relationships between materials are not. For that reason, this is not a critique of an incomplete design.
Instead, it is an exploration of the potential held within the existing foundation.
For my interpretation, I would retain the warm timber vanity and create interest through an open shower, an overhead solar-powered lighting feature and a tactile stone palette.
Large cream travertine would define the wet zone, while warm Venetian plaster would soften the vanity side. A large-scale, softly edged crazy-pave floor would connect both areas and introduce the organic depth needed to make the bathroom memorable.
The rooms were not completed, but the existing foundation leaves space for a bathroom led by natural materiality, integrated lighting and architectural experience rather than decoration.
Courtney and Sev: When Architecture Creates the Wow Factor
Courtney and Sev created a bathroom with genuine architectural presence.
The room feels calm, immersive and luxurious without relying on decorative finishes or excessive styling to create impact. Its interest comes from proportion, natural light, materiality and the way the architectural elements have been composed.
The two oversized skylights are among the strongest features in the room. They draw the eye upward, enhance the perceived scale of the bathroom and allow natural light to move across the Venetian plaster, stone and joinery throughout the day.
This is the type of feature that creates an experience rather than simply filling a visual gap.
The warm Venetian plaster establishes a soft and cohesive envelope, while the natural stone introduces movement and substance. Both materials sit within a similar tonal family, but their different textures prevent the bathroom from feeling flat.
Nothing is aggressively competing for attention. The skylights, stone, plaster, curtains and joinery work together to create a restrained sense of quiet luxury.
Curtains in a Bathroom
The full-height curtains are an unconventional inclusion, but they are not without purpose.
Curtains are not commonly used in bathrooms because moisture, ventilation and ongoing maintenance need to be carefully considered. They require an appropriate fabric, sufficient separation from direct water and enough airflow to dry properly.
However, they are not entirely new within bathroom design.
In this room, the curtains do more than introduce softness. The windows behind them are asymmetrical, and the continuous curtain treatment conceals that irregularity.
Rather than allowing the window positions to visually interrupt the wall, the curtains create one clean, balanced elevation. They also soften the harder surfaces and bring a textile layer into a room otherwise dominated by stone, plaster, glass and timber.
They may not be the most practical decision for every home, but I understand the design reasoning behind them.
A Cohesive Material Language
The natural stone is one of the most successful elements in the bathroom.
Its subtle movement gives the room depth without introducing a high-contrast pattern. Against the warm Venetian plaster, it feels refined, organic and quietly substantial.
The materials also connect clearly with Courtney and Sev’s guest bedroom from the previous week.
The bedroom used warm timber, soft cream finishes, curved transitions and strong architectural gestures. The bathroom continues that same language through its warm palette, sculptural surfaces and softened forms.
This cohesion demonstrates the difference between designing individual rooms and developing an identity for an entire home. Each room can perform a different function while still feeling as though it belongs within the same broader environment.
What I Would Change
There is very little I would fundamentally change in the main bathroom.
My primary adjustment would be to simplify the vanity wall.
The vanity itself is beautifully proportioned and complements the room’s restrained material palette. However, the tall joinery at the end introduces additional visual weight.
For my interpretation, I would remove the tall cabinet and extend the vanity from wall to wall.
A continuous wall-to-wall vanity would provide a strong horizontal line beneath the mirrors while allowing the skylights and curtains to remain the dominant architectural features.
It would also create generous storage and bench space without requiring a separate full-height cabinetry element.
The intention would not be to remove storage unnecessarily. It would be to consolidate that storage into a single, quieter, more integrated piece of joinery.
This would allow the vanity wall to feel lighter, longer and more architecturally resolved.
Scale, Balance and Visual Weight
The existing tall joinery is practical, but it creates a strong vertical element at the end of an otherwise open bathroom.
Because the room already contains two dramatic skylights, full-height curtains, a generous bath and a large expanse of mirrored glass, the vanity wall does not need another dominant feature.
Extending the vanity instead would redistribute that visual weight horizontally.
This is a subtle change, but it demonstrates how cabinetry can affect the way a room’s proportions are experienced. Storage is not only a functional consideration; its scale and placement also influence the visual balance of the architecture surrounding it.
The Water Closet
The water closet continues the warm Venetian plaster and natural stone used throughout the main bathroom, creating a clear connection between the two spaces.
The stone bench is beautiful and carries much of the room’s visual weight. Its thickness and natural movement make it feel architectural rather than decorative.
For my interpretation, I would keep the design very simple.
I would extend one long stone bench across the available wall, incorporating a discreet basin rather than introducing a conventional vanity with substantial cabinetry.
Above it, I would install one generously scaled mirror to reflect the plaster, stone and layered lighting back through the narrow room.
The existing curved junction between the wall and ceiling is another successful detail. It softens the small room and helps the Venetian plaster feel like one continuous envelope rather than a finish applied to separate flat surfaces.
The water closet does not need additional materials or decoration. The stone, plaster, mirror and lighting are capable of carrying the room on their own.
Layered Lighting
The wall lights introduce warmth and reinforce the bathroom’s softly rounded design language.
In the water closet, I would retain this gentle lighting approach while adding concealed illumination beneath the stone bench or behind the mirror.
This would allow the room to move between functional lighting and a softer ambient setting.
In a compact space, layered lighting can create depth without taking up any additional floor area or requiring decorative objects.
The Design Lesson
Courtney and Sev’s bathroom demonstrates how architectural decisions can create impact without making a room feel visually loud.
The oversized skylights establish scale and experience. The curtains resolve an asymmetrical window elevation while introducing softness. The Venetian plaster and natural stone create warmth, depth and material cohesion.
Most importantly, the room connects naturally with the guest bedroom they delivered in the previous week. The repeated warmth, softened forms and architectural emphasis make the spaces feel like parts of the same home rather than isolated design exercises.
For my interpretation, I would make only restrained adjustments: remove the tall vanity-side cabinetry, extend the vanity from wall to wall and simplify the water closet with a continuous stone bench and generously scaled mirror.
The wow factor is already present.
The room does not need more decoration or another feature competing for attention. It simply needs its existing architecture and materials to remain the focus.
Rick and Tayla: A Charming Bathroom That Needed More Visual Breathing Room
Rick and Tayla created a bathroom with warmth, character and a more playful personality than some of the other spaces presented this week.
The long timber vanity is a strong inclusion. It provides generous storage and bench space while establishing a clear horizontal line along the room.
The smaller tile behind the vanity is another element I genuinely enjoy. Its scale, texture and subtle variation introduce interest without feeling overly decorative.
The styling also gives the room personality. The deeper-toned towels, natural timber and dried floral arrangement make the bathroom feel approachable rather than overly formal.
However, compared with several of the other bathrooms, the room feels more enclosed.
This is not caused by one major design failure. It is the combined effect of the hinged entry door, floor-mounted vanity, limited window size, darker bath corner and the visual weight of the large-format wall tile.
Small decisions can significantly influence how large or open a room feels.
The Entry Door
The hinged entry door takes up valuable visual and physical space.
When opened, it projects into the bathroom and interrupts the view into the room. It also conceals part of the bath zone, making the entrance feel narrower than it is.
I would replace it with a cavity sliding door.
A cavity slider would disappear into the wall when open, creating an uninterrupted entrance and allowing the eye to travel further into the bathroom.
This would not increase the room’s actual dimensions, but it would change how those dimensions are perceived.
Why Visible Floor Matters
The vanity has the generous length I wanted to see in several of the other bathrooms. However, because it extends directly to the floor, it introduces considerable visual weight along one side of the room.
I would retain the vanity’s length and timber finish but redesign it as a floating piece of joinery.
The more uninterrupted floor we can see, the larger our brain tends to register the room. A floating vanity would allow the flooring to continue beneath it, visually widening the bathroom and making the joinery feel lighter.
Concealed lighting beneath the vanity could further emphasise that separation while adding a softer ambient layer at night.
This is an example of a practical element remaining substantial and useful without feeling visually heavy.
Bringing More Light into the Room
The bath corner appears noticeably darker than the vanity side.
The existing window lets in some natural light, but its size and position limit how much reaches the surrounding wet zone.
If the exterior elevation and construction allowed, I would widen the window and extend it further across the back wall. Even if it could not reach the floor, a longer horizontal window positioned higher on the wall would bring more natural light into the room while maintaining privacy.
The wider opening would also create a stronger visual connection between the bath and the exterior.
If the structure permitted, I would introduce a second skylight positioned to bring additional light into the darker bath and wet-area zone.
Unlike Houses 1–3, this bathroom already demonstrates that direct roof access is available. A second skylight could balance the existing overhead light and make the entire room feel brighter and more expansive.
The goal would not be to add features for the sake of spectacle. It would be to distribute natural light more evenly across the room.
Reconsidering the Material Placement
I genuinely like the smaller feature tile currently used behind the vanity.
However, I would use it differently.
Rather than making the vanity wall the most detailed surface, I would carry that smaller tile across the wet-area walls surrounding the bath and shower. This would allow the texture to become visible immediately when looking into the room and create a more immersive bathing zone.
The bath would then sit within a clearly defined material envelope rather than against the existing large-format tile.
For the floor, I would introduce a warm natural travertine tile. Its subtle movement and tonal variation would complement the smaller wall tile without competing with it.
On the vanity side, I would use large-format travertine only where splash protection is required, then apply warm Venetian plaster across the remaining wall surface.
This would create a clearer material hierarchy:
- Smaller textured tile defining the wet zone
- Large travertine across the floor
- Travertine splashback where function requires it
- Warm Venetian plaster softening the vanity wall
- Timber joinery introducing natural warmth
Each material would have a specific role rather than every surface carrying the same visual weight.
Continuing the Venetian Plaster Overhead
I would also continue the Venetian plaster across the ceiling.
This may feel unconventional, but it would allow the walls and ceiling to read as one soft, continuous envelope rather than finishing the room with a stark-white plane overhead.
The subtle movement within the plaster would respond beautifully to the natural light from the window and skylights.
Carrying the finish over the ceiling would not make the bathroom darker if the colour remained warm and light. Instead, it could soften the room's boundaries and contribute to a more immersive atmosphere.
Refining the Bath Zone
The bath itself has a lovely sculptural form, but the surrounding styling currently competes with it.
The timber stool, books, dried flowers, vase, towel and smaller decorative objects create several points of interest in an already compact corner.
I understand the intention. The styling brings warmth and helps the bath feel inviting. However, it is not particularly practical beside water, and the number of objects reduces the clarity of the bath’s form.
I would replace the timber stool with one small stone stool.
A candle and a shallow bowl containing bath products would provide enough styling to communicate comfort and ritual without overcrowding the area.
The smaller textured tile, wider window and additional natural light would then carry the visual interest.
Simplifying the Styling
The overall styling is charming, but a few small edits would make the room feel more resolved.
I would remove the bath mat for photography and presentation purposes so that the travertine floor remains visually uninterrupted.
I would also remove the hand towel placed across the vanity. It obscures the stone and adds another patterned element beside the striped towels on the opposite wall.
The existing towels could remain because their deeper colour introduces contrast and personality. However, I would refold them more deliberately so they appear as one considered styling moment rather than several overlapping pieces.
These are minor adjustments, but visual clarity becomes particularly important in a room that already feels enclosed.
The Unfinished Water Closet
The water closet was not completed, so it would be unfair to assess its final design or to assume what Rick and Tayla intended.
The visible joinery and service locations suggest that it may have continued the same timber and warm-neutral direction as the main bathroom, but the final materials, mirror, lighting and styling were not installed.
For my interpretation, I would continue the travertine floor and warm Venetian plaster into the water closet to create a sense of continuity with the bathroom.
I would then use a long floating timber or travertine bench rather than a floor-mounted vanity. A generously scaled mirror and concealed lighting would visually expand the narrow room while maintaining the warmer material language.
As with the main bathroom, keeping more of the floor visible would help the compact space feel lighter and less enclosed.
The Design Lesson
Rick and Tayla’s bathroom demonstrates how visual spaciousness is influenced by more than the room’s actual dimensions.
A hinged door, floor-mounted vanity, limited window and heavy material placement can make a room feel smaller, even when its functional layout is relatively generous.
The bathroom already contains several strong foundations: a beautifully long vanity, an appealing smaller tile, a sculptural bath and a warm, approachable palette.
For my interpretation, I would retain those successful elements while changing how they are used.
A sliding cavity door and a floating vanity would expose more of the room. A wider window and second skylight would distribute natural light more evenly. The smaller tile would define the wet zone, while travertine and Venetian plaster would soften the floor, vanity wall and ceiling.
Finally, simplifying the bath styling would allow the architecture and materials to take centre stage.
The room does not need to lose its personality. It simply needs more light, more visible floor and a clearer material hierarchy so that personality has room to breathe.
Final Thoughts: Luxury Is an Experience, Not a Finish
Week 2 demonstrated that a bathroom does not become luxurious simply because it contains expensive stone, premium tapware or a sculptural bath.
Luxury is also found in privacy, natural and layered light, comfortable circulation, practical storage and the ability to use a room without its floor plan working against you.
Across the five houses, some of the strongest moments came from architectural decisions rather than decoration.
Courtney and Sev’s oversized skylights changed the perceived scale of their bathroom and created a genuine sense of occasion. Adam and Jolene’s enlarged window transformed their shower zone and established a stronger connection with the outdoors. Chantel and Wyatt created a consistent shape language through their curved mirrors, basins, bath and distinctive vanity detailing.
Rick and Tayla demonstrated the value of a generously scaled vanity and introduced a smaller feature tile with warmth and personality. Although Lisa and Rosco were unable to complete their rooms, the existing timber vanity and open shower structure provided a promising foundation for a bathroom led by natural materiality.
The week also reinforced how significantly floor planning affects the final result.
A missing water-closet door can compromise privacy. A hinged entry door can visually close a room. A floor-mounted vanity can make the floor feel heavier, while floating joinery allows more of the floor to remain visible and helps the room feel larger.
Lighting was another recurring consideration.
Natural light can transform the atmosphere of a bathroom, but where conventional skylights are structurally impossible, lighting still needs to be approached creatively. Shaftless solar-powered ceiling panels, concealed lighting, wall washing and carefully positioned dimmable fixtures can create depth and visual focus without requiring an opening through the roof.
Material selection is equally important, but so is material placement.
A beautiful tile does not necessarily need to cover every surface. Travertine can define a wet zone, Venetian plaster can soften a dry wall, timber can introduce warmth and a more expressive stone can create movement underfoot. When each material has a clear purpose, the room feels layered rather than busy.
The same principle applies to styling.
Towels, flowers, stools and decorative objects should support the architecture rather than carry the responsibility for making the bathroom feel complete. If removing the styling causes the room to lose its identity, the underlying lighting, materiality or architectural hierarchy may need greater consideration.
There was no single correct response to this week’s brief.
Each house approached warmth, luxury and functionality differently. My interpretations are not intended to erase those identities. They explore how a few considered changes could strengthen privacy, visual spaciousness, material hierarchy and the overall experience of using each room.
That is what makes design so interesting.
The smallest decisions can change how large a bathroom feels, where the eye naturally rests and whether the space simply looks beautiful or genuinely supports the person using it.
The question is not only whether a bathroom looks luxurious.
It is whether it feels luxurious to live with.
Ready to Create a Home That Feels as Good as It Looks?
A beautifully designed bathroom is not defined solely by its tiles, tapware, or finishes. It is shaped by privacy, lighting, circulation, storage and the way the room supports your everyday routines.
The same principle applies throughout your entire home. Successful design brings architecture, function and atmosphere together to create spaces that feel as considered as they look.
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