Bathroom

The bathroom is the room nobody decorates and everybody uses twice a day. It usually ends up with a plastic caddy, three different metal finishes on the walls and a bath mat that never quite dries. Small changes go a long way in here, mostly because the room is small to begin with, and most small bathroom ideas come down to giving what's already on the counter an edge to sit inside. A woven tray to gather the clutter, towels in one matching tone, a stone mat that dries in seconds, and matte black fittings instead of whatever was left by the last tenant.

Our bathroom edit leans warm and spa-like. That means natural materials over plastic, teak that copes with getting wet, soft neutral textiles, and storage good enough to leave out on the counter rather than hide in a cabinet. Nothing here needs careful handling or special cleaning products. Everything is chosen to sit alongside everything else, so one order can shift the whole room rather than leaving you with a single upgraded object surrounded by things that don't match it.

It's a particularly good place to start if you rent. None of it needs drilling into tile or a conversation with a landlord, and all of it comes with you when you move. Keep the palette warm and natural, which in practice means wood, stone, woven fiber and one metal finish rather than three. Do that much and even a small windowless bathroom stops feeling like a utility room and starts feeling like somewhere you're happy to begin the day.