Project Description

I love using colour and pattern in my designs, especially for bathrooms. In this room the interplay of tones and visual interest is designed to energise you at the start of each day. Creating a plan for this family, with three teenagers using this bathroom, I combined green and terrazzo tiles to rejuvenate their space.

Shower Area

This room provided the (almost) perfect set up for the 1-2-3 bathroom renovation.

1. Take out the bath (especially if you have a bath somewhere else in the house). This opens up the room for a larger shower enclosure, which tends to suit modern living.
2. Use a long wall so that you can have a single glass shower pane rather than an enclosure. The reduction in metal work is visually pleasing and the single pane of glass is easier to clean.
3. Build in a wall niche to house all of your toiletries. This was the 'almost' in this renovation. The wall was solid and not suitable for us to create a niche in. However to work around this we bumped out the whole wall to enable the niche to be framed in.

Green and Terrazzo Tile Choices

I love including exciting new products in designs for clients. I found these unusual green tiles at the Surface Design Show in February and noted them down for future use. When the client asked me to make the tile selections for her new bathroom, I knew they'd be a great fit for this project. Each box contains 22 unique tiles with slightly different surface colouration and texturisation. This creates a beautiful non-uniform look across a wall, such as in this shower.

To keep the room light, and to introduce a fun element, I chose a terrazzo tile for the floor. Using a large format 60 x 60cm tile was sensible for this space. I chose to line the shower niche with this tile too, to add contrast to the green wall. The tan flecks pick up the wood of the vanity area nicely too.

Vanity Area

Understandably, my client wanted as much storage as possible on the vanity and toilet wall. Constructing a run of cabinets in a mid-Oak tone was a good plan to make the most of the space. I elevated this side of the room with a brand new shape of mirror from HiB, which has adjustable toned lights. I also placed the Astro Tacoma wall lights on either side of the mirror with the ribbed glass shades. The wall lights and a light in the shower niche are handily on a separate switch, to allow you to have low level lighting in the evenings.

Summary

This family bathroom went from early 00s drab to contemporary fab with good design decisions. Check out the before and after swipes in the gallery here and find the credits below.

Credits

Bamboo tiles by Equipe, from Tiles Direct

Terrazzo floor tiles from Tiles Direct

HiB Quinn wall mirror

Astro Tacoma wall lights from KES Lighting

Installation by DAJ Plumbing and Heating