Artful Retreat
DKNBA Platinum Bathroom Design at the 2025 NKBA Excellence in Design Awards — bathroom by Melanie Sa'u of Melanie Sa'u Design Studio, Auckland.
Artful Retreat treats the bathroom as a room to be composed rather than fitted out. Surfaces are arranged like a still life, and the eye is given a clear order to follow.
Materials carry the character. Texture is used generously — across walls, floor and vanity — with the tonal range kept tight so the room reads as layered rather than busy.
Planning is quietly clever. Storage sits close to where it is needed, the wet area is properly separated, and the vanity has enough bench to be useful at seven in the morning.
Light is handled softly. Reflection is used where it lifts the space and avoided where it would flatten it, which gives the room a warmth that survives the overhead lighting.
A bathroom by Melanie Sa'u of Melanie Sa'u Design Studio in Auckland, awarded DNKBA Platinum for Bathroom Design at the 2025 NKBA Excellence in Design Awards.
