Simply Beautiful Baths
“It’s an exciting time,” she says. “Years ago, it was a struggle to create something luxurious because the price was too high. But now I see products all across the board that deliver luxury at affordable prices. Clients don’t have to go with the most expensive product to remain on-trend and have a beautiful space. There are a lot of options that look terrific.”
Specialized Storage – “I talk a lot with clients about creating a spot for everything,” she says, from a hair care station – complete with electrified drawers with safety switches for hair dryers, flat irons, etc. – to medicine cabinets with outlets for toothbrushes and electric shavers.
Linen towers, cubbies for towels and cosmetic drawers are also popular when space allows. “There’s definitely a trend toward keeping products off the counter and stored,” she stresses.
Trending Products – TVs and sound systems; green products (dual-flush toilets and LED lights); large-format porcelain tile and tile in unusual sizes (1"x24", 6"x24").
Cindy Tervola
Tervola Designs Kitchen & Bath Studio Maui, HI
Floating Cabinets – “They visually open up the room,” says Tervola, “and they lend themselves to the contemporary/modern styles that we’re seeing now. Old World/traditional styles aren’t completely out, but they’ve been around for a long time and I think people get tired of seeing the same thing.”
Tervola also indicates she is influenced by European design when it comes to cabinetry. As such, she sees clients requesting more flat- panel doors – which are also more conducive to Hawaii’s environment – with exotic veneers and horizontal grains. “We have ‘Maui dirt’ here,” she says of the soil that is iron rich and reddish in color with a tendency to stain. “We get the trade winds so people open their windows and that dirt blows through. A flat-panel door is easier to keep clean compared to one with mouldings and corbels.”
Cabinetry without handles is also making a comeback, which supports the clean lines and simple look her clients are requesting. Curved sink fronts are also currently fashionable with the popularity of contemporary/modern styles.
Large, Open Showers – Doorless and curbless showers are becoming more popular, especially with Baby Boomers who want to age in place. “There will be a greater need for ADA designs,” she notes.
As such, Tervola also adds backing for shower grab bars, regardless of whether or not they are immediately installed. “It makes it much easier to install them down the road,” she says.
Porcelain Tile – “There are some wonderful porcelain tiles out now,” she says. “Manufacturers are introducing designs that look like wood and stone, with the ease of maintenance of porcelain. Plus, installation is less [expensive]. I am working on a project right now where the porcelain is in plank form, which is a popular choice.”
Tervola also sees her clients wanting to change up the look by laying tiles vertically rather than horizontally, and by mixing them with glass or stone.
Island Look – “In Maui, we get a lot of part-time residents,” she says. “Whatever is happening on the mainland, they bring it here and want to give it a Hawaiian flair.”
For many clients, that means a casual look with mahogany or white cabinetry. “White cabinets never go out of style here, no matter what’s going on trend wise,” she says. “Plantation-style, white painted doors…that’s what Hawaii is all about. Although I recently completed a French kitchen, people still want the island look. They want it to look like it belongs here.”
Trending Products – Rainhead and ceiling-mount showerheads; handheld showers; vessel sinks; framed mirrors.
Darren Henault
Darren Henault Interiors New York, NY
Fully Tiled, Fully Stoned Spaces – During the recession, many of Henault’s clients embellished their master baths with tile or stone inside the ‘wet’ area only, or maybe half-way or three-quarters of the way up a wall.
“Now we’re back to fully tiled, fully stoned master bathrooms,” he says, noting that trend includes ceilings as well as floors and all four walls of the typically transitional and traditional homes he designs.
