Our Favourite Bathrooms of 2021

Here at Reece, we see a lot of bathrooms each year, but there are always a select few that completely blow us away. These are our favourite designer bathrooms from 2021: the bold and the very, very beautiful.

The best of The Block 2021

You know what they say: bathrooms sell houses. We see it every year on The Block – the couples with the best bathrooms usually earn top dollar, and this year was no exception. Ronnie and Georgia’s Scandinavian oasis was a definite highlight, with its Kado Lux oval freestanding tub and elegant ISSY Blossom II timber vanity. That combination of blonde timber, brushed gold tapware and grey stonework summed up 2021 bathrooms in a nutshell.

The other clear winners (at least according to our judges’ lofty standards) were Mitch and Mark, who installed what can only be called a Home Spa in House 2. Blushing pink scallop tiles made for a beautiful feature wall, offset nicely by the striking Mizu Drift brushed gold tapware and matching accessories.

Jess Dempsey’s dream home

Lifestyle blogger Jess Dempsey was kind enough to walk us through her stunning house this year, and we headed straight for the bathrooms (purely out of professional interest). Jess has worked with the team at Cassandra Walker Studio to combine Edwardian features and period leadlighting with the latest designer trends to create something truly special — oozing with natural light.

The first things we noticed were the Sussex Scala Wall Basin Mixers and Milli Pure Showerheads, both in brushed gunmetal. This is a finish we’re starting to see more and more; it’s a warmer, more textured alternative to stainless steel or chrome. The underfloor heating and Kado Lussi freestanding tub were also nice touches. It’s a reminder that the best designs keep things simple: lots of light, a subtle blend of colours and textures, and a few key accents (in this case, brushed gunmetal accessories) are all you need for a knockout designer bathroom.

Three Birds Renovations

You simply can’t beat the design gurus at Three Birds Renovations. Every year, with every bathroom, they somehow manage to outdo themselves. They’re a constant and never-ending source of designer bathroom inspiration.

Three Birds had two beautiful houses go live this year, each one with a very different bathroom aesthetic, and we were lucky enough to get a private tour through each. House 13 had several bathrooms, but the ensuite was arguably the best we’ve seen in years: an expansive, light-filled space with floor-to-ceiling arched windows and the dramatic LAUFEN VAL Round Freestanding Bath, positioned perfectly in the centre of the room.

The second property was House 14, knocked down and rebuilt from scratch, and featuring a truly world-class main bathroom. Three Birds re-jigged the layout here, so the Kado Lux Freestanding Bath is the first thing you see as you enter the room (also note the gorgeous Mizu Drift floor-mounted tap in brushed gold).

Bec and Marissa from Twice Blessed

Lifestyle influencers Bec and Marissa from Twice Blessed are the unofficial queens of minimal, modern design, and this year they teamed up with Reece Bathroom Life in Richmond to complete a phenomenal first home renovation. The bathroom, in particular, was a masterclass in how to mix and match different tiles.

White and black are the dominant tones, offset with brushed gold Mizu Drift mixer taps, shower heads and vanity handles. The matte black Alape Unisono Basin, with its ultra-thin ceramic edge, really pops against the white marble. If you’ve been searching for some monochrome bathroom inspiration in 2021, you could do worse than to follow Bec and Marissa’s lead.

An Elwood beauty

For our final 2021 bathroom, we’re turning to the Reece Project Inspiration Gallery, and a particular renovation in Elwood, Melbourne. Show stopping main bathrooms are not as easy as they look. To make an impact you have to take some risks, and that’s exactly what the owners have done here.

Note the frameless glass that elegantly breaks up the wet zone, the freestanding Kado Lussi tub flanked by two rainforest showers, and, of course, the stunning marble wall and vanity, rippling with shades of grey, black and forest green. Even the windows have been given the royal treatment, turning a stock-standard fence view into a frosted emerald backdrop.