Hey Lookers
I’m talking bathroom interiors and styling in his months interiors blog post and its fair to say this is probably one my favourite rooms in my house. Be warned you will either love or hate my décor and styling in this room, (that said I do hope you like it), but whatever your final thoughts on it are, I hope I can provide some inspo along the way.
Below I have shared some of my top tips for styling and décor, specifically for your bathroom, as well as some general learning’s I picked up from my own personal experience.
Your Own Home Spa and Place of Tranquility
A bathroom shouldn’t just been seen as a place to freshen up and somewhere to get washed quickly. It can and should be treated as a place where you can go to get some peace, relaxation and tranquility. Somewhere to take proper time to relax in your bath and unwind in a nice tranquil space. This is something I had in mind when I was planning my own bathroom. My idea was to treat it like my own little ‘spa’ at home and that give me the opportunity to add an extra stylish finish and edge.
Be Brave, Be Bold & Bright
The bathroom was one room in my house that I found the easiest to decorate, right from the start, before I even built my house I started to visualise in my head the different rooms and spaces in my house. Having pinned many pics from pinterest over time I had a vision of how this room in particular would look. I took ideas from different sources and pulled them together to create my own look. So right from the beginning I always planned to go bold and bright in this room.
That said, as I started to try to select paint and paper and make final decisions, I had different opinions offered to me which started to cause some doubt in my selection. ‘Is wallpaper really suitable in a bathroom?’ ‘Will you not get fed up with this style quickly?’, Is the paper a bit OTT?’ ‘That paint is very dark for your walls’, ‘paneling in a bathroom’. Some of the observations were no doubt valid but deep down I knew by doing anything other than my original plan I would not be happy with the final look. So I stuck to my guns and went with my initial ideas. I think its good to remain with your initial plan and vision, or you could end up regretting it. Each and every one of us have different tastes and styles and that what makes our own homes unique, we might like certain aspects of some décor and bits of another, the beauty is you can take what you like from each, put it together and make it your own.
Be Your Own Interior Designer
Sometimes we can be inclined to go with what others suggest even though we like something else. My advise is if you don’t love something when you see it from the start or when you buy it will never grow on you. I have some personal examples of exactly that, I picked a paint because someone advised me it was the right colour for my room, even though when I was buying it I didn’t really like it, but I got it anyway ….what happened? I end up painting the room immediately again with a different colour that I liked. So my advise is be your own interior designer, of course get some advise along the way, but by making your own decisions based on things you love it becomes your design and not another persons design. For me I kept telling myself I will be the one living in this space and not the person who is making the suggestions and decisions for me, so its really important to love what you pick from the start and have confidence in your ability to pick the right thing. Everyone else doesn’t have to love it, as long as you do, that’s all that matters.
Be a ‘Little’ Bit Practical
Planning any room can be tricky and sometimes the practical considerations come in the way of our original vision. For me, using paper and paneling in my bathroom was a slight concern because of steam, so I had to give these practical things a ‘little’ bit of consideration. However, knowing this bathroom would not be the main place that we would use on a daily basis to shower or bath, as we have our own en-suite, give me hope as it wasn’t going to have to endure constant intense steam on a daily basis. That said when I spoke with my joiner about paneling in my bathroom he recommended ‘against it’, but when he realised I was not for changing my mind, he offered some recommendations on the type of wood to use to counteract the issue of steam. I was able to use a moisture resistant MDF, so that was that sorted. The paneling here is built onto the wall and a decor rail was built out around the top. On the paper front there are also lots of moisture resistant options available. The paper I went for has a metallic type effect, which comes in 3 colours – silver, gold and delft. I have the silver version and once I saw this paper I instantly loved it, which made it easy to pick, compared to some of the other papers in my house, where I was so undecided.
Believe me there is always ways around getting things to suit, just make sure to ask the question and let the shop know where the paint and paper its for so they can advise on the most suitable options.
Take Advise on Things That Matter
Paint is one area that I did seek advise, colours is one things but different types of paints for different surfaces and rooms etc is over my head. So I worked with an interior designer for this aspect which I found very useful. My advise is to have an idea of what you want, tell them what you like and don’t like and then they can advise based on what you like and work from that. As noted above sometimes they will recommend a shade and deep down you know you don’t really like it, so if you don’t like it, don’t go with it, try an alternative shade that you do like. So for example when I told them I wanted my wood to be dark blue, they were able to suggest a good option for the ceiling, so it all tied together. As you can see the tone on my paneling is a very dark shade and to counteract and compliment this I went with a pale shade on my ceiling, which also has a very slight tint of blue to pull the whole look together.
My Design and Styling Details
Lighting
I opted for copper light fittings to tie the whole look together and complement the copper bath and tiles
Wall lights – Industville (Similar design to mine)
Orb copper light – Marks & Spencer
Wallpaper
Designer Guilds paper, comes in 3 colours silver, gold and delft..mine is Silver
Seraphina Floral Wallpaper by Designer Guilds
Sanitary Ware – Basin
I wasn’t so concerned with storage so went for a free this standing style
Victoria Single Console by Heritage
Toilet
The high level toilet is something I always wanted, I like the traditional feel to it
Taps
This was the set advertised with this basin, so I opted for them
Hatlebury – 3 taphole Swivel Spout Basin Mixer by Heritage
Bath
Kevin, my partner always wanted a free standing bath. We were a bit undecided to go with one with feet or this plinth style, but in the end we went for this. Originally we planned to have it white until Kevin suggested a copper cast bath.
Cast Iron Bath – The Bath Doctor
Radiators
This traditional style radiator complements the other sanitary ware items and is also practical as it provides some heat and offers space to put your towels. I also like the idea of having two different style of radiators in my bathroom, this one and the radiator cover box style
Traditional Heated Towel Rail – Similar here at Victoria Plumbing
Radiator Box
Our Radiator boxes were made by a joiner. We looked at some options to buy but ended up getting them made. Most options to buy had wooden mesh and I was a bit concerned at how this would react with constant heat, so these have a wire style mesh.
Shower
We had so many different ideas for our shower and this was no doubt the hardest decision, I was so indecisive, my father helped with this idea and design, oh and he also built it
I liked the idea of the tiled floor in my shower so it is easy to maintain and clean. I didn’t particularly want a door so we made the wall curved slightly higher at one end and slanting down, then it also acts as a shield for the water.
Shower – Hudson Reed
Tiles
For the shower we opted for a different style and look of tile compared to the floor as we wanted to differentiate this space, but at the same time keep the theme of copper. These are a brick style effect
For my floor tiles I wanted something that would tone in with the bath as opposed to very light colour tiles that would have been too much of a contrast. I also like the idea of a little pattern and the matte finish
All Tiles – Tyrone Tiling
Paint
This inky blue tone, Stiffkey Blue, although it has a traditional feel is often used as an alternative to create a richly dramatic space with a more contemporary finish.
Stiffkey Blue by Farrow & Ball
This is the colour on my ceiling, Borrowed Light, it is a wonderfully pale blue. This soft and classic tone is perfectly suited when contrasted with my Stiffkey Blue I used on my woodwork
Borrowed Light by Farrow and Ball
Accessories
The rail is the perfect place to display my towels. I picked up some of my towels in TKmaxx and Designer Guilds. The Mirror is from TKmaxx.
So there you have it, my bathroom decor and styling. It certainly was fun working on this room and letting myself run a bit wild on the theme. I hope this post has provided you with some ideas, inspiration and food for thought for your own interior design and room styling.
If you would like any more information on any particular aspect please just leave comments below and i will be more than happy to help
My Next interiors blog will be beginning of next month
Elaine xx
