Emotional Bathroom

The bathroom has become a feel-good space within the home. At the same time, its planning has traditionally been a process determined by technical considerations and products. The bathroom’s evolution from a purely functional room into a lifestyle space has seen the part played by aesthetic factors increase considerably over the last few decades. On the other hand, the pressure to opt for sustainable equipment, the arrival of LED technology, the desire for connectivity and the increasing programmability of various functions are now promoting a more technical image again. At the end of the day, however, there’s one thing the bathroom’s users want more than anything else: pure emotion.

Pop up my Bathroom explores how to bring emotionality into holistic bathroom planning. What impact does the combined effect of colours, shapes and materials have? Which learning processes for design techniques on the visible side of the wall quickly result in the necessary expertise to achieve satisfying results? Because even if the wonders of hi-tech are fascinating to begin with, it soon becomes a means to an end again. And the real goal of bathroom planning is actually high emotion – an emotional bathroom design based on colour, light and sensory appeal, achieved by means of sanitaryware and smart equipment. The technology itself vanishes behind the wall.

Storytelling: the beginning and end of planning a new bathroom

A washbasin, mixer, toilet, bathtub and bathroom furniture: planning a new bathroom often begins with choosing the concrete products required. Given the multitude of collections and variants available, an analysis of the customers’ habits and the development of a storyline is a helpful and productive strategy for professional bathroom planners. That’s why asking about the wants and needs associated with the bathroom should always be the first step: are the future users interested in sustainability, wellness products or the opportunity to keep body and mind fit and healthy? Do they tend to envisage the bathroom as a bustling family meeting place or do they need it as a personal space they can retreat to?

The overarching personalisation trend is meanwhile dominating bathroom design as well. Usage concepts have to be reconciled with aesthetic preferences. When it comes to the second step – selecting the sanitaryware and other bathroom products – professional storytelling can help by providing a kind of script for the bathroom design. Should it be influenced by general contextual style parameters like the architecture of the house or regional characteristics? Or do the customers have certain taste preferences like a puristic country style, modern Bauhaus-influenced minimalism or a penchant for floral elements? Is the story set in the city or the countryside? Is the language used to tell it romantic, down-to-earth or elegant? Ideally, the preferred design styles and products will contribute to the story. And last but not least, the wall and floor design can be coordinated as well.

However, putting the final touches to the story doesn’t only call for a coordinated wall and floor design, it means using carefully selected decorative elements as well. As part of the Pop up my Bathroom trend showcase at ISH 2023 in Frankfurt, the makers of the exhibition are defining 20 stories and selecting compatible decorations to illustrate them. This performative approach demonstrates how the storytelling strategy can be used to transform a “blank” white space: the addition of a few “set pieces” from the respective storyboard is all it takes to create bathrooms in an almost infinite variety of styles – despite starting with identical basic equipment and products.

In the Emotional Bathroom too – and perhaps especially so – the innovative technology in the background plays a vital role in the design concept. Plenty of free surfaces for displaying decorative items, tidy cabinets and consoles and minimalistic controls are only possible if the necessary technology is either invisible or concealed. Prewall systems, recessed or integrated mirror cabinets and storage elements, shower trays and drains that make themselves invisible – elements such as these perform an aesthetic function in the Emotional Bathroom as well. The quality of the technology behind the wall is the prerequisite for change on the visible side of the wall; ideally, its service life will last for many years because it will permit adaptations as its users’ needs and stylistic preferences change.

In addition, mirror cabinets are increasingly taking on the task of providing atmospheric lighting and programmable functions. With the integration of LED lighting, sound systems and multimedia features – even built into water-carrying products like the shower, bathtub or fittings – the Emotional Bathroom is taking on an experience-focused character which, thanks to the combination with water, provides a unique level of intensity that is impossible to achieve anywhere else in the home. The resulting effect isn’t limited to relaxation either: it can have all sorts of emotional qualities, from “wake-up-and-get-going” or “lose-yourself-in-daydreams” all the way to “dance-till-you-drop” or “take-a-chill-pill”.

The more unobtrusive the design and the simpler or more intuitive the products are to use, the more intense the effect will be: understatement takes the fun of using the technology to a new level by transforming it into invisible comfort and true convenience. Rather than being the hero of the story, hi-tech’s role is to produce emotion. “Attractive on the outside and smart on the inside: it all comes down to the art of combining hi-tech with individual design concepts to produce a perfect whole that creates emotional experiences in the bathroom. That’s what will define the future of the bathroom,” explains Jens J. Wischmann, managing director of the German Bathroom Sector Association (Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft e.V./VDS), and therefore co-initiator of the Pop up my Bathroom trend platform established by the VDS and Messe Frankfurt.

The desire to improve the quality of the time spent in the bathroom can be equated with the demand for higher-quality and cosier interior design. When it comes to design quality the sophisticated collections available from manufacturers set a high standard, and professional bathroom planners are increasingly taking on the role of interior designers as a result. The bathroom – just like the kitchen, living room or patio – has to be in keeping with the interior style and tastes of its owners. Whereas in the past the water-carrying installations meant that the bathroom had to go without modernisations for longer periods of time, modern products like prewall systems mean that the contemporary bathroom is more and more open to design trends and fashions. In future, partial renovations in the bathroom will probably therefore also result not only in technical updates like water-saving taps and showers, but in updates for the interior design as well.

The Emotional Bathroom represents a new generation of bathrooms. It is geared to the needs of its users, tells a story and uses a sophisticated interior design and hi-tech-supported features to create experiences that the emotions respond to. The bathroom has become an important anchor in the everyday routine, and as the quality of the time spent in it increases the average amount of time people spend in it will increase as well. The Emotional Bathroom appeals to all the senses – and water, as a connecting element that involves all the senses, performs a central function: it sets the bathroom apart by providing experiences that no other space in the home can deliver.