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Room of the Week: Bold Wallpaper Transforms a Victorian Mews Bathroom
Already endowed with space and light, this smartly designed en suite now has bespoke storage, luxe materials and wow factor wallpaper
Redesigning her entire property gave the owner of this Victorian mews house in west London the opportunity to think big. On the ground floor, a garage was removed and the stairs shifted from the centre of the house to one corner to create vital space and provide room for a luxurious master suite upstairs.
‘This space was created specifically to be the master en suite, with room for a bath and a nice big walk-in shower,’ says Charlie Borthwick of Cue & Co of London, who designed its fittings and configuration. ‘The master suite takes up the whole of the first floor and includes a bedroom at the back, a dressing room in the middle and this lovely bathroom.’
‘This space was created specifically to be the master en suite, with room for a bath and a nice big walk-in shower,’ says Charlie Borthwick of Cue & Co of London, who designed its fittings and configuration. ‘The master suite takes up the whole of the first floor and includes a bedroom at the back, a dressing room in the middle and this lovely bathroom.’
The bathroom contains a large walk-in shower with a tiled wall, which also creates privacy for the toilet. ‘I pretty much always recommend that people use these level shower trays,’ says Borthwick. ‘They are fantastic and mean there’s no step up into the shower.’
Level access shower tray, On The Level.
Level access shower tray, On The Level.
The master bathroom sits at the front of this mews house and has two windows. Although it means there’s little usable space on this wall for fittings, the windows flood the room with light. ‘You see them as you walk towards the bathroom and then the actual sanitaryware is set back, around the corner,’ says Borthwick. ‘You turn left into the room and there it is. It’s a nice configuration.’
Shangri-La wallpaper in Bayberry by Elizabeth Hamilton, available from Tissus d’Helene.
Shangri-La wallpaper in Bayberry by Elizabeth Hamilton, available from Tissus d’Helene.
The bespoke vanity unit joins the bath surround for a seamless, flowing feel. It is custom-made with a Corian top and spray-painted base; the same Corian is used for the bath surround.
Bath, Bette. Bath brassware, Perrin & Rowe.
Bath, Bette. Bath brassware, Perrin & Rowe.
A large mirror is fitted above the vanity unit and is designed to include softly lit recessed storage niches. ‘It’s a huge mirror, which had to be carefully templated before we cut it to fit,’ says Borthwick.
Read expert advice on where to spend and where to save when designing a bathroom
Read expert advice on where to spend and where to save when designing a bathroom
‘It’s important to find storage space in a small mews wherever you can,’ says Borthwick. He designed a slim drawer that pulls out from the bath surround. ‘It was quite tricky to create, because it was small and the drawer had to be tile-fronted to match the surround,’ he says. ‘We had to get everything perfect, so when the drawer is closed, the tile sits flush with the surround.’
A shallow drawer above the bath is faced with Corian. ‘Rigid products such as Corian can be tricky to work with, but we do a lot with this material, so creating this drawer didn’t pose any problems,’ says Borthwick. ‘It adds more vital storage.’
The wallpaper is sealed with a clear matt decorator’s varnish. ‘We usually use this in a bathroom with wallpaper,’ says Borthwick. ‘That said, it was not vital in this space. It’s a big room with two windows, so it’s well ventilated and moisture from the shower would never have posed a huge problem.’
The taps have been mounted on the bespoke mirror for a clean look. Taking the humble bathroom mirror and expanding it to fit an entire wall gives this room an incredible feeling of depth and light, and creates a fascinating reflection – as well as providing somewhere to check your appearance!
Proiezioni basin, Catalano. Wall-mounted, three-hole basin taps with lever handles in chrome, Perrin & Rowe.
Proiezioni basin, Catalano. Wall-mounted, three-hole basin taps with lever handles in chrome, Perrin & Rowe.
The same tiles have been used on the floor and the walls, but in the shower they are rectangular rather than square and fitted in a brick pattern. ‘It gives the shower a bit more interest, making it look slightly different from the square layout on the floor,’ says Borthwick.
Ikom Blanco Natural tiles, European Heritage. Classic contemporary thermostatic shower mixer with lever handles in chrome, Perrin & Rowe.
TELL US…
What do you think of this spacious, airy bathroom? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Ikom Blanco Natural tiles, European Heritage. Classic contemporary thermostatic shower mixer with lever handles in chrome, Perrin & Rowe.
TELL US…
What do you think of this spacious, airy bathroom? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here A professional woman and her daughter (when back from university)
Location West London
Size Approx 4.2m x 2.9m; part of a mews house built in the 1850s, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
Designer Charlie Borthwick of Cue & Co of London
Architect Nick Farnell Architects
Although a good size and blessed with lots of natural light, this bathroom has still been designed to maximise every scrap of space. Borthwick created the vanity unit, which contains ample storage and open shelves, while additional clever drawers are concealed in the bath surround.
‘We wanted to make the best use of space and get as much storage in as possible,’ says Borthwick. ‘It’s always good to have storage in mews houses, as they don’t have huge footprints.’
Explore the kitchen in this mews house