For over a decade, the prevailing luxury bathroom aesthetic has been dominated by a singular, bright vision: the sparse, mostly white “spa bathroom.” Flooded with natural light and sheathed in acres of seamless Calacatta Viola marble, these minimalist spaces became the ultimate symbol of modern domestic tranquility. But as interior design trends shift toward intimacy, theatricality, and historical reverence, that monochromatic dominance is steadily waning. In its place comes a dramatic new look characterized by deeply veined stones in dark greens and dusky reds, sculptural Art Deco-style fixtures, and rich woodwork.
This design evolution can be seen clearly in the homes of leading tastemakers and Architectural Digest cover stars, such as interior designer Athena Calderone and supermodel Paloma Elsesser. Rather than looking toward hyper-modern minimalism for inspiration, contemporary designers are reaching back nearly a century to 1930s Milan. During this era, master architects utilized bold material combinations, unexpected color palettes, and precise geometry to transform utilitarian plumbing spaces into breathtaking domestic showpieces.
Few historical figures are as closely tied to this aesthetic as Piero Portaluppi (1888–1967), the visionary Rationalist architect behind such iconic Milanese landmarks as the Villa Necchi Campiglio and Casa Corbellini-Wassermann. While Portaluppi’s dramatic entry halls and sweeping architectural staircases have captured the imagination of designers for decades, it is his meticulously detailed wet rooms and lavatories that are currently experiencing a major cultural renaissance.
At the legendary Villa Necchi, mirrored walls multiply the swirling, organic patterns of Arabescato Orobico marble, creating an immersive visual experience. At the nearby Casa Corbellini-Wassermann, Portaluppi took a similarly bold approach, setting vibrant green Verde Challant marble against graphic, dark stonework to create sharp, dramatic contrasts.
Athena Calderone, who visited Villa Necchi alongside architect Danielle Siggerud while conceptualizing the redesign of her own Tribeca apartment, notes how deliberate these historical choices were. Portaluppi frequently used contrasting materials to frame hallways, thresholds, and architectural elements, allowing these moments of juxtaposition to naturally draw the eye and bring a heightened sense of ceremony to everyday rituals.
AD100 designer Gregory Rockwell echoes this sentiment, explaining that he is continually drawn to Portaluppi’s unconventional and fearless color palettes. What makes Portaluppi’s work so compelling, according to Rockwell, is the tight architectural control he maintained over a space, which he would then subvert and elevate through extravagant marble choices or unexpected color pairings.
This philosophy directly influenced Rockwell and his colleague Hester Hodde when they designed the primary bathroom for Paloma Elsesser’s Brooklyn townhouse. In that space, the design team layered burgundy Rosso Francia marble, rich walnut-and-mirror paneling, and contrasting pistachio-green walls. While it might sound like an unconventional mix on paper, the resulting environment is both sophisticated and visually arresting, proving that historical maximalism can translate seamlessly to modern urban living.
For Calderone, the true magic of the 1930s Milan aesthetic lies in the intricate handling of stonework. There was an incredible amount of ingenuity in the way Portaluppi and his contemporaries clad entire bathrooms in stone, frequently utilizing smaller, individually composed pieces rather than relying on massive, unbroken slabs. In her own primary bathroom, Calderone mirrored this technique by edging sweeping expanses of pale stone with intricate inlaid tile borders, complemented by Art Deco-inflected fixtures and geometric mirrors.
Reflecting on these historical precedents, Calderone points out how starkly they contrast with modern conventions. Today, expansive and perfectly bookmatched slabs have become the gold standard of luxury stone installation. By contrast, the 1930s approach embraced the inherent irregularity and wild variation in natural stone veining. That deep appreciation for the individuality of natural materials is also front and center in her own powder room, which features a custom pedestal sink crafted from deeply veined Verde Alpi marble.
A similar commitment to rich, dark green stone can be found in the powder room of a Milan pied-à-terre recently designed by Giampiero Tagliaferri for a young art collector. The custom pedestal sink in that space draws its bold, geometric form directly from Rationalist architecture, yet the lines remain clean and the layout thoroughly modern. As Tagliaferri explains, revisiting 1930s Milan is never about blindly replicating a Portaluppi bathroom piece by piece. True reinterpretation is about extracting a period’s core DNA rather than engaging in literal historical replication.
This design philosophy is quickly expanding far beyond bespoke, high-end residential projects. Major home and bath collections are increasingly borrowing from the Portaluppi vocabulary, providing consumers with accessible ways to incorporate patterned stone, geometric silhouettes, and saturated color palettes into their homes without requiring a massive, full-scale structural renovation.
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Tile and surface manufacturers are leading the charge. Artistic Tile’s Calacatta Gold marble mosaic brings the intricate detail of Calderone’s inlaid borders directly to walls and floors, while Kelly Wearstler’s oxblood-hued Treillage tile for Ann Sacks adds a dimensional, tactile spin to the deep burgundy tones seen in Elsesser’s bathroom. For Clé Tile, Reath Design has developed marbleized patterns that successfully evoke the natural, fluid movement of quarried stone.
The trend’s influence has trickled down to the smallest decorative details as well. Charles Edwards offers an alabaster dish light featuring an unmistakably Art Deco-inspired silhouette, while Crate & Barrel has introduced a Verde Green marble soap pump and tissue holder that bring the distinctive color and rich veining of those iconic Verde Alpi sinks down to an accessible countertop scale.
Whether it manifests as an entire room fully wrapped in theatrical marble or a single, well-chosen countertop accessory, the driving impulse behind this aesthetic shift remains consistent. Designers and homeowners alike are rejecting the sterile uniformity of the all-white era in favor of spaces with personality and historical weight. As Gregory Rockwell aptly summarizes, there is no logical reason why a bathroom should be any less interesting, beautiful, or exciting than the rest of the home.
