Back to black bathroom decor: 'Let’s not run from the dark — but recognise its demands'

Not even Martha Stewart can convince Kya deLongchamps that darker tapware and finishes are a fading trend

Buff down your shower’s black detailing regularly and avoid heavily framed in black enclosures; Hinge and inline shower door with side panel, matt black, from €1033, Deluxe Bathrooms.

Matt-black finishes (taps, shower-heads, rails, wastes and shower enclosures) — we couldn’t get enough of them. Black was smart, sexy, edgy. 

It sat up against our cloud-grey tiling in the bathroom, and in contemporary lines offered a gentle industrial vibe to a kitchen sink. Black provides really good accents. It dwells happily with any other colour and material, woodgrain, composite or stone.