When a full-scale bathroom renovation isn’t in the cards, simply sprucing up your hardware selection can pack a serious punch. According to experts, homeowners are moving away from sleek, minimalist pulls, knobs, and fixtures, instead leaning into the highly decorative, handcrafted, antique, and unusual. “Anything that looks different from what you see in the masses is what I aim for sourcing!” says AD PRO Directory designer Ann Gottlieb.
“Hardware is becoming more jewelry-like,” adds Virginia-based designer Laura Hildebrandt. “Especially in spaces where there are only a few places for hardware, the idea is to make it more of a statement, as one would while dressing.” Interiors experts are looking to antique and hand-hewn hardware with rich patinas to communicate this couture sensibility. Fine and Taft-Gersten have sourced more than a few favorites from Sydney-based Studio Henry Wilson. “The metal on their hooks and pulls has such a tactile quality,” they say.
Another trending practice is to opt for unusual applications, says Davis, who, in addition to running her interior design studio, also acts as creative director for the boutique hardware company Nest Studio. “More people are embracing asymmetry when it comes to hardware and fixtures,” she says. To keep things interesting, her firm has been opting for corner or off-center mountings.
Subtle tech
Several designers voiced the opinion that hiding technology—or at least keeping it super sleek—is a priority. Keeping electrical products off the countertop is essential according to both Davis and Shin, who always specify docking drawers to free up additional space. Having a dedicated and connected place to store devices like hair dryers and electric toothbrushes can also “encourage tidy habits,” according to Britt.
Finding the right fixtures can go a long way in the quest for quiet tech, designers say. Hildebrandt shares that her clients are all in on bidets—and that the Toto Washlet has become a go-to for her firm, thanks to its understated profile and cleaning and deodorizing abilities. “Believe it or not,” says Hildebrandt, “my clients are obsessed with toilets!”