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Room Tour: Understated Luxury in an En Suite Bathroom
Beautiful materials and practical design details turned a bland bathroom into an elegantly sophisticated space
For their private bathroom, the couple who own this four-bedroom family home wanted something a little luxurious, but with plenty of practical storage and a roomy shower. The space was designed as part of a full-house renovation by Gill Hynes of Decorbuddi, who the couple found on Houzz. Gill completely changed the room’s layout to match her clients’ needs and created a bathroom that functions well and looks beautiful.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The shower was positioned to the right of the window, allowing for ample space within the wetroom-style enclosure and plenty of room for a double vanity unit and loo on the opposite wall.
The standard hinged door into the room was also replaced with a space-maximising pocket door.
More: Everything You Need to Know About Pocket Doors
The standard hinged door into the room was also replaced with a space-maximising pocket door.
More: Everything You Need to Know About Pocket Doors
The floor and shower walls in the new bathroom are covered with natural marble tiles. “I showed [the couple] both real and porcelain alternatives and they fell in love with the natural stone,” Gill says.
She explained to her clients the necessity of avoiding products such as hair dye that might stain, and the need to use good-quality cleaning products. “As it’s not a family bathroom and it will be looked after, it will be absolutely fine,” she says.
The floor tiles in the shower gently slope to drain water into just one wide, neat drainage slot, which avoids too many cuts in the marble. The floor has then been finished off around the rest of the room with a moulded skirting board in the same marble.
Aliseo honed marble wall and floor tiles, Artisans of Devizes. Walls painted in Blackened, Farrow & Ball.
She explained to her clients the necessity of avoiding products such as hair dye that might stain, and the need to use good-quality cleaning products. “As it’s not a family bathroom and it will be looked after, it will be absolutely fine,” she says.
The floor tiles in the shower gently slope to drain water into just one wide, neat drainage slot, which avoids too many cuts in the marble. The floor has then been finished off around the rest of the room with a moulded skirting board in the same marble.
Aliseo honed marble wall and floor tiles, Artisans of Devizes. Walls painted in Blackened, Farrow & Ball.
A niche shelf in the shower has been backed with scalloped marble tiles and fitted with a bathroom-safe, IP-rated LED strip.
Gill positioned the shower controls by the entrance so the couple can find the right temperature before getting in.
Aliseo Marble Mosaic Scallop tiles, Artisans of Devizes.
Easily find and hire a reviewed bathroom designer on Houzz.
Gill positioned the shower controls by the entrance so the couple can find the right temperature before getting in.
Aliseo Marble Mosaic Scallop tiles, Artisans of Devizes.
Easily find and hire a reviewed bathroom designer on Houzz.
The same scalloped tiles feature above the vanity unit and in a decorative recess above the loo.
A fake wall was built out to hide the cistern, and Gill made the most of this to add extra storage. As well as the shelving, there are also two shallow cabinets behind the hinged vanity mirrors that are just the right size for small toiletries and medicines.
Gill thought carefully about lighting in the room, adding an LED strip to the shelving and some motion sensor lights below the loo for easy night-time visits. Two wall lights either side of the vanity unit give practical illumination for the couple when they’re brushing their teeth or washing their faces.
Vanity unit, Harvey George. Hinged mirrors, West Elm.
A fake wall was built out to hide the cistern, and Gill made the most of this to add extra storage. As well as the shelving, there are also two shallow cabinets behind the hinged vanity mirrors that are just the right size for small toiletries and medicines.
Gill thought carefully about lighting in the room, adding an LED strip to the shelving and some motion sensor lights below the loo for easy night-time visits. Two wall lights either side of the vanity unit give practical illumination for the couple when they’re brushing their teeth or washing their faces.
Vanity unit, Harvey George. Hinged mirrors, West Elm.
The vanity unit is 1500mm wide, so it has loads of space for storage. Gill chose countertop basins to ensure none of this drawer area was lost, and paired these with space-saving, wall-mounted taps.
“The clients really loved the brushed brass look and have gone with that in all the bathrooms,” Gill says. “The taps, valves and even the heated towel rail in here are from the same company, so they all match perfectly.”
Brass taps and fittings, JTP.
Brass taps and fittings, JTP.
It’s these touches that make the finished bathroom feel so cohesive and luxurious. Unsurprisingly, Gill says her clients genuinely love their new space.
Tell us…
What do you like about this stylish en suite? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this stylish en suite? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A young couple with a baby on the way
Location Barnes, south-west London
Property A modern, four-bedroom townhouse
Room dimensions 2.3m x 2.6m
Designer Gill Hynes of Decorbuddi
Photos by KT1 Photography
The original en suite bathroom in this modern townhouse was perfectly functional, but felt a little tired. As there was a bath in the family bathroom, the owners felt they could forgo the tub in their en suite in favour of a large shower.
“The window was a constraint for the layout,” Gill says. “We played around with a few configurations and finally came up with the optimal position for the shower.”