We spend a lot of time in the bathroom.

Bathrooms are a place to clean up at the beginning and end of the day but they are much, much more than that. Home buyers and renters everywhere often focus on this part of a homee. While bathrooms cater to essential needs around hygiene, the bathroom also shapes daily life by anchoring morning and night routines, setting the tone for personal well-being, and providing a private space for health tracking and quiet moments of transition, either from or towards sleep.

These days, I'm seeing more homes make their bathrooms into real living rooms, not just utilitarian spaces. They are installing furniture items, carpets, rugs, artwork, chandeliers and window treatments that go beyond the need for privacy. Designing a luxurious bathroom today goes well beyond picking out fixtures and tiles/marble slabs.

This applies to bathrooms at all price levels. Some include saunas, steam rooms, towel warmers, heated floors, cold plunges, outdoor showers, the complete works. But now the aesthetics matter as much, and designers everywhere are looking at bathrooms with another set of eyes. Yes, bathrooms pose a risk for falls. Safety should always be a heightened concern and focus but decor matters equally.