Contemporary bathroom designers and manufacturers are coming up with all sorts of ideas for bathroom seating, freestanding cabinets, trollies and “bookcases”.

There’s a proliferation of smart, modern plastic chairs around these days, which means you can easily introduce some cutting-edge seating solutions into a bathroom. Verner Panton’s 1960s plastic Panton chair costs about £150 from the Conran Shop or Ocean. For smaller bathrooms, look for modern, sculptural-looking plastic stools — Habitat’s stackable Tam Tam stool, in red or white, is just 45cm high and 31cm wide; it costs £6.

Low-level wooden benches introduce a comfortable, natural element to the harsher edges of modern bathroom design. Colourwash sells a simple, slatted-top iroko stool bench, with chrome towel rack below, for £230.

Habitat’s Sento bathroom range, by Simon Pengelly, comes in solid oiled beech and includes a stacking bench for £45, a bath step, £30, and a lid-top laundry bin for £45, which can double as a stool.

Habitat’s new Spa freestanding bathroom range includes a low-level, light-oak bench with two drawers for £315.

Combining discreet seating with freestanding storage appears to be the way forward in current bathroom design. Dornbracht has come up with Monolith bathroom wall panels, designed by architect Claudio Silvestrin: one freestanding panel of Macassar ebony, with a tall cupboard and seat below, is set beside another mirror- faced panel with integral towel rail (the price tag of £8,688 is most definitely designer). Its transparent curved-glass wall rack (SL120 XL) costs £623, including towel rail and mirror.

Fired Earth has a wall-mounted, flip-down, folding shower seat, ideal for transforming a walk-in shower area into a spa-like relaxation zone. Made from iroko wood with chrome fittings, it costs £184. Alternative Plans sells Agape’s Stairs towel ladders and shelving. Simple and space-saving, these are designed to lean against the wall. They come in wood or laminated colour finishes, and cost from £418 each. Alternative Plans also has Agape’s Trottola cabinets, with multifunctional storage, pull-out drawers, open and hidden shelving on a rotational base, available in white, orange or green, for £2,075.

As part of its Aluminium furniture range, CP Hart sells low-level mobile storage units on wheels, with turquoise glass sliding-door panels, priced £612.

The White Company has a practical, compact and smart-looking cube bathroom stool. Although it has no hidden storage space inside, it is upholstered in a removable, cosy white cotton-towelling, machine-washable cover, and costs £56.

Ikea’s Molger freestanding bathroom furniture range is made from solid, slatted walnut, and includes a shelving unit for £29, a bench, also £29, and a storage stool with a white towelling, removable and washable seat cover for £19.

Put some of these elements together in the one bathroom, and you’ll create a little haven that may feel more comfortable than your actual living room.

SCRUB UP

Alternative Plans, 020 7243 9747, www.alternative-plans.co.uk

Colourwash, 020 8944 9666, www.colourwash.co.uk

The Conran Shop, 020 7589 7401, www.conran.com

CP Hart, 020 7902 1000, www.cphart.co.uk

Dornbracht 01444 473 355, www.dornbracht.com

Fired Earth, 01295 814 300, www.firedearth.com

Habitat, 0845 601 0740, www.habitat.net

Ikea, 0845 355 1141, www.ikea.co.uk

Ocean, 08701 226 592, www.oceanuk.com

The White Company, 0870 900 9555, www.thewhitecompany.com

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