my favourite and most successful room in the refurb is the family bathroom. it’s a designers delight (and relief…) when your idea turns out as you hoped at installation. this room had to deliver as it’s name suggests… a family (bath)room. the list of requirements included: increase space, fit largest possible bath for entire growing family to sit in, create child safe, friendly and fun environment as well as an adult chill out and play area, maximise storage, create wetroom shower without wet room flooding, double sinks, easy to maintain, privacy! sure… no problem! so here goes and below is the starting point…

it is always easiest to work out ideas on a bird’s eye view plan. sometimes you have the luxury of architectural drawings, in this case i had the basic plan from the estate agent. the area highlighted in blue is the where we were to create the large family bathroom. this was currently split into an odd collection of cubicles housing the toilet in one, the boiler in the other, an airing cupboard and finally a tiny bath and sink…

so i go in all guns blazing and remove the lot (having confirmed that we could relocate the boiler!) and begin to plot how best to accommodate ‘the list’. with another rough sketch, accompanied by perspective sketch to better understand the proposed space and this might just work!

next step, convince clients that i can fit my vision and sketch into what seems a tiny space. i have of course measured and remeasured, done my research on bath sizes and have the luxury of creating a bespoke sink unit, so i have every confidence that this is going to work.

my reasoning behind the design and why i feel it works is i made sure not to compromise on the client’s requirements even if it meant taking a gamble and delivering an unusual layout. the bath is pretty much the largest i could find, is the focal point and neatly nestled under the picture window with a full view onto the garden. the double sinks are wall mounted below a space enhancing mirror which effectively reflects the daylight from the window and floods the room with additional light. smack bang in the centre of the room i drop the glass encased ‘wetroom’ rainfall shower. totally exposed! because it is almost entirely surrounded by glass, kitted with sleek and sparse fittings and a ceiling mounted shower head, it almost doesn’t seem to be there at all… the tiles are the softest coral white which is warming (and benefit underfloor heating), edging the clean lines of the corian and chocolate sink unit. the surfaces purposely have wide ledges to comfortably fit daily necessities and the wall mounted sink taps create their own architectural drama reflected in the mirror. finally mood lighting and the luxury of a technologically advanced home allow for a recessed tv and ceiling speakers to create the fun! i believe that fulfils the brief.

before the reveal of the finished images i am most proud of the fact that this design did not change from conception to delivery and in that i the savour the achievement.

the completed family (bath)room

‘design is like sex. there is someone else involved, their needs are just as important as your own, and if everything goes right, both parties are happy in the end’ colin wright