Blending Roman, Byzantine, Persian, Ottoman and Berber influences, this retro-modern Middle Eastern inspired bathroom by Axor is the creation of Tehran-born, Hamburg-based architect Hadi Teherani. The brief was to design a “bathroom with personality” and Teherani’s response was an unconventional circular, marble floored area incorporating traditional latticeworks on the windows and a cupola at the centre.

“I see the bathroom as a place where I can clean myself – in a metaphorical sense as well,” revealed the architect. “For me, a domed ceiling symbolises two seemingly opposite things: vastness and secureness, but it also helps stretch the space in such a manner that, when you soak in the centrally placed tub, you get the feeling of looking up into the vastness of the starry sky.”

That effect is enhanced by Teherani’s choice of glass mirror mosaic tiles that spread across the walls and ceiling in order to reflect the light marble surfaces below with a glittering panorama of silvers and golds. To balance all that, Teherani included some very modern touches, like brushed metal doorways and matte black Axor fittings (that he calls “functional jewellery”). In the end, we think the overall aesthetic and outside-the-box thinking work very well.