Style at your convenience

It's the office refuge: a place for a good gossip, an escape for a make-over or to shed a frustrated tear. But too often the office loo gets a bum deal when it comes to design. While cash is showered on creating smart working spaces and state-of-the-art furniture, lavatories across the capital remain uninspiring spaces, the last refuge of the beige tile and peach coloured partition.

Although the Ally McBeal-style, matt-black, unisex lavatory is taking its time to find favour this side of the Atlantic, there are some companies prepared to pamper employees and provide loos and bathrooms that wouldn't look out of place in a designer apartment or smart hotel.

PIAGGIO UK by Urban Future Organization

As you'd expect from the company that gave us the Vespa scooter, Piaggio has immaculately engineered office loos in its north London headquarters. Sleek, seamless and glossy, the stainless-steel surfaces give way to exquisite white glass mosaic-clad cubicle walls and against this backdrop are set elegant, circular, white ceramic basins and wall-fixed lavatories.

To complete the well-tuned effect, architect Dennis Balent of Urban Future Organization took great care in selecting beautiful accessories: taps from Borma and soap dispensers from Agape. All fixtures were supplied by kitchen and bathroom specialist Alternative Plans. "Although we were working with a tight budget, there was no compromise on the finishes. The loos and showers had to be the star of what is otherwise a fairly simple, loft-style office space," says Balent. The lavish attention to detail has not been wasted on employees: "It does help motivation because you feel that your employer has put effort into creating a comfortable and stimulating working environment," says Siobhan Curtin, Piaggio's marketing co-ordinator. ANGELS by SHH Architects

Anyone visiting the lavatories at theatrical costumier Angels is sure of keeping starry company. Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe are just some of the larger-than-life heroes who greet users of this hall of fame. "We wanted to avoid the old cliché of a dressing-room style of space, with lights around the mirrors and lots of framed pictures, and hit on the film reel idea," says architect Neil Hogan of SHH Architects, which carried out the refurbishment of the north London headquarters. The classic portraits have been computer-manipulated to enhance the black-and-white contrast and then printed on robust vinyl, which is stuck to the lavatory doors.

"Lighting is crucial in this sort of space, where there are so many reflective surfaces," adds Hogan. "We specified a warm lighting colour, which is skin-tone friendly and keeps reflections to a minimum, with satin-finish tiles on walls and floor. The only highly reflective surface is the black granite around the basins: here the flecks of blue oyster pearl pick up the low-voltage lighting and add some sparkle."

CELLULAR OPERATIONS by Richard Hywel-Evans

Among the proud winners of the Loo of the Year Award, the lavatories in this call centre are designed to bring some light relief from the stresses of talking on the phone all day. Depending on your mood, there are five styles to choose from: they move from high tech, with riveted aluminium panels, transparent cisterns and see-though seats with inset mobile phones (the call centre works for a number of mobile phone clients), through a sea-green mosaic space in swimming-pool style to the Scandinavian cool of pale plywood mixed with walnut and slate.

The designs are the brainwave of fun-loving architect Richard Hywel-Evans: "The idea is to provide some entertainment in the workplace and treat the staff to the same levels of luxury and comfort that you might find in an hotel."

Little wonder then that this Swindon-based office has also scooped the title Britain's Happiest Workplace