Clean lines

Given how much time is spent in them, it's surprising how neglected bathrooms are, design-wise. Most people are more concerned with their living spaces and bedrooms than with what goes on in the bathroom; as long as the tiles match and the toilet flushes.

But, thanks to a number of international designers, bathrooms are beginning to take on a design personality of their own.

Take, for example, the work of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon (www.hayonstudio.com), whose iconic AQ bathtub (HK$100,000 from Lane Crawford Home Store) looks like a coffee table, with its slender, curved legs and smooth polished wood surface. There is a sleek tap, hooked onto the side like an afterthought.

If you're tired of white - and who isn't? - a tiny Italian company called W.O.W. (WhyOnlyWhite) can help you. The company makes shower head panels that could have been made by Pucci; elaborately coloured featuring stripes, hearts and flowers in eye-searing shades. Enquiries about international orders can be sent to info@whyonlywhite.com.

Follo, by British designer Will MacCormac (www.wmdlondon.com), is a long, rectangular sink that looks like a series of slats, curved to let the water drain. It's perfect beneath multiple taps - as in a restaurant or bathroom with more than one sink. For more information, write to info@ wmdlondon.com.

Slide is a modern interpretation of a faucet by Belgian company RVB (www.rvb.be). It has a tiny dial that can be slid up and down to adjust the heat of the water. Contact info@rvb.be for details.

Swedish design house Thoms & Nilsson (www.thomsandnilsson.com) makes sinks and taps designed to look as though they are levitating (below). Its latest, the HFO3 sink, is shaped like a birdbath with a discreet grooved pipe that hooks up to the wall. The company ships internationally.

British design house Us Together (www.ustogether.eu) has a stunning collection called Ebb. Made of natural white stone, its lines are simple and dramatic.

From British behemoth Grohe (www.grohe.com) comes designer Paul Flowers' digitally controlled shower head. It looks like a futuristic wall phone. It boasts touch pads to adjust the temperature and the pressure of the flow. The Hong Kong agent is Grohe Pacific (tel: 2806 0611; info@grohe.com.hk).