I've Looked at Hundreds of Bathrooms in 2023, But These are my 5 Favorites

We've seen some incredible bathroom designs this year as designers embrace the quiet luxury aesthetic. More than ever, bathrooms are being designed as calming temples for relaxation, rather than functional spaces for hurriedly working your way through your morning routine.

I've seen so many beautiful bathroom designs this year, and it's hard to pick any clear winners, but these five have really proved that designers are upping the ante. Here are my top 5 modern bathrooms of 2023 that showcase some of the biggest interior design trends of the moment.

1. This elegant, travertine-clad bathroom

This home in San Francisco is eclectic and colorful, but open the doors to the primary bathroom suite and you're greeted with a peaceful vibe and stunning silvery walls. 'Our intention with this home full of saturated moments was to create a very calming respite from the rest of the house to create a peaceful, spa-like environmen,' explain Susan and Ben Work of design duo, Homework, who designed the space.

Travertine and limestone are the materials used to create this effect, and the team was able to use limestone on the walls and bathroom flooring and the vanity and bench in travertine. 'Matching the striations of the slabs and tiles to each other was a bit of a challenge, but we found the perfect pairing.' The space is softened with a pair of neutral curtains that diffuse the light that enters the room.

2. This bathroom with candy cane-stripe wallpaper

I've been obsessing over this small bathroom since I first saw it months ago, and it's a design that I go back to time and time again for inspiration. It proves that bathrooms can feel cozy. The candy cane wallpaper stripe is playful and whimsical, but the muted palette makes it calming. 'A stripe gives rhythm and can be used in a myriad of ways,' say Kristin Fine and Analisse Taft-Gerste from The 1818 Collective. The marble sink, undersized tryptic French-style mirror with gilded trim, brassy hardware, and retro fixtures add to the cozy feeling.

3. This calming space that uses marble and Zellige tiles

I love the minimalist bathroom color scheme of this bathroom by Emily Lauren Interiors. The rich materials work so well, layered on top of each other to give a spa-like aura to the room. The marble's strong veining and the sheen of the zellige tiles are a perfect combination. Elsewhere, custom-designed features such as an integrated bathroom sink, a stone bench in a walk-in shower, and a three-piece shower make this a zone for pampering.

'Fine details can elevate a space and take it to the next level and the bathroom's integrated basin seamlessly blends with the marble countertop,' says Emily Brown of Emily Lauren Interiors. 'We also incorporated natural and handmade materials and embraced the character of patina-rich raw metals in the bathroom hardware.'

4. This dark brown bathroom

In this bathroom design by Mexican design studio Direccion, natural light filters through the beams and into the shower area to bring that indoor/outdoor shower feel and spa-like atmosphere. The walls are painted in a dark brown paint - the perfect relaxing color for a bathroom - while the floors and shower wall are microcement.

'The bathroom reflects the serene and calm character of the natural elements that set the atmosphere of the house,' explains designer Mariana Morales, founder of the design firm. 'Their design is dark and clean.

The cold stone stands in stark contrast with the smooth finish on the walls that shift in color as the light of the day changes, as pigments found in nature do - olive green, grey, ochre.'

5. This marble-clad bathroom

In this bathroom designed by 2023 newcomers Ome Dezin, Arabescato marble is used on the floor, as trim around the perimeter of the room, and as an accent on the bathroom sink. 'We always start with some ideas for marble by looking at references either from personal experience or photos. We saw an art piece by Minoru Nizuma during Frieze Art Fair that inspired the Arabescato marble and wood combination in our bathrooms,' explain Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kitner of Ome Dezin.

This tile is typically expensive but the team had a contact who let them know that a group of luxury hotels had ordered a huge amount and had a surplus, explained Jesse Joelle. 'The pattern was based on our instinct, we stood there for a few hours and placed them on ourselves in a random pattern that felt good to the eye.' The Arabescato can feel overwhelming so the designers used white marble pieces too to let it breathe a bit and ensure the space felt tranquil.

3 beautiful accessories to elevate your bathroom