Compact and stylish bathroom

The clients had a smaller than average family bathroom that had to work hard for their family of 4. It was really important to them to retain the bath and shower and create more storage for their growing childrens toiletries. They wanted a high impact finish that was neutral and calming.

The size of the room was 1.7m x 2m so space was the biggest challenge, secondary to that was the window position. The window was on the only wall where the shower and bath could be placed so considering how to minimise water and splash on the window as well as obscuring the view from passers-by was really important. Finally, the room was wet from years of small leaks and steam from the shower so practical solutions to this were essential.

We changed the direction the door opened and introduced underfloor heating to remove the need for a radiator in the room, both of which immediately freed up a lot of the limited floor space. We were replacing the window due to the water damage that had built up and the lack of privacy on the glass, so we decided to block up one of the panes of the window from the inside, allowing more wall space for the shower and wet area, but retained both windows on the outside to avoid aesthetic changes to the external of the house. This made a huge difference to the functionality of the shower area. To address the wet and damp we stripped the room right back and replaced all of the wall board with water repellant anti mould panels to future proof them, we also installed an extractor fan and put ceiling panels up to avoid condensation marks. All of the walls were tiled, 3 with extra large cream tiles to give the illusion of plain walls and on the main wall we added bandwood ridged tiles creating texture and depth and that 'wow' moment when you walked in. We also added a tall wall hung cabinet for additional storage, the green of the units worked brilliantly with the neutral pallet in the rest of the room. For a small space it packs a punching, proving that bigger isn't always better!