Deciding bathroom plans, colours and tiles
Update: See how we transformed our bathroom here, and learn about bathroom renovation costs including how we budgeted for ours.
It feels like only yesterday the house was full of dust from our kitchen diner renovation and I didn't see myself planning the next project so soon... but yet here I am putting early ideas together for our bathroom project which will hopefully start in Summer/Autumn depending on estimates.
If you're new here you can see my full house 'before' house tour and witness the level of work we've been up against since we moved in right here and I've documented all the progress/reveals over here.
I've been really excited to get started on the design for our bathroom because I feel like it's the one room of the house I can be a bit bolder and not feel as scared. The rest of our house is neutral/farmhousey vibe and although I want the bathroom to flow well, I think I'm settled on more colour, modernness and a nod to period features rather than neutral/farmhouse.
Where to begin! Well, I've found some real life inspiration in a project I worked on last Summer called The House That Bloggers Built. It's a series where local Brighton bloggers (including me yay) were invited into an empty house to pick a room and style it in under 3 weeks with zero budget. It was a lot of fun! I should really write a post about it soon when the series launches! It turned out that the bathroom in the house there (styled by Jasmin from Brick Dust Baby) was pretty much exactly the look I want to channel in our one.
I love the jewel blue tones mixed with the patterned floor and grey woodwork. Great job Jasmin! There's something great about taking inspiration from real life homes isn't there? because suddenly you realise just how capable you are of achieving something within a set budget like a friend, colleague or instagrammer, and being able to actually walk into the room and get a feel for the colours and materials really helps too.
BEFORE SHOTS:
To make the most of the space we'll be knocking down the wall to make one family size open bathroom and replacing the whole suite. Most of the plumbing for the toilet and shower/bath is staying put, the only thing we'll be moving is the sink, to the right hand wall.
We nailed the layout pretty quick so after about a day (!) deliberating, drawing and pinning design ideas, I have come up with lots I know I want to include into the final bathroom look.
Deep teal tiles
There's a part of me that worries I will choose deep teal tiles and grow sick of them over time but another part that says 'just do it! Everything is replaceable later down the line' plus I found these really reasonably priced Astrea Duck Egg tiles from Topps Tiles that I ordered samples of and in the room they look mesmerising! I'm thinking lay these from the bath to ceiling around the bath/shower area like Jasmin did in the room above.
It's really out of my character to choose deep colours so need to just roll with it and hope for the best! Here are some other images I'm getting huuuge teal tile inspiration from...
via Pinterest
via Pinterest
Stone / Grey colour scheme
To compliment the teal tiles and give a more traditional nod to the room I want a stone and grey colour scheme rather than all white which I think would make the tiles have too much of a modern feel in this house. Whenever I have a room to decorate I instantly flock to Farrow & Ball's site for colour direction and normally flick through a few of my fave interior books if I'm really not sure.
I'm thinking Clunch on the walls, Purbeck Stone on a tongue & groove bath panel/wall panelling and Wimborne White on the ceiling. Then the setting plaster or pop of coral could be worked into any artwork, accessories or detailing. Once I get testers this might change but for now I really like how deep yet relaxing this colour scheme is.
Patterned/textured floor tiles
Here's where I think I'm going to be spoilt for choice! My visualisation for the room so far feels a bit 'flat' with just these colours, woodwork and deep teal tiles against a regular white bathroom suite so I'd really like to lay a striking, patterned tile floor for a focal point. Either patterned or a really different textured tiled floor like a herringbone wood look tile.
Honestly you can't keep me off the Fired Earth website these days, scrolling and drooling over their tiled floor ranges. I normally start there for inspiration then look at more affordable companies like British Ceramic Tile, Tile Mountain and Topps Tiles to see what similar options they can offer. Here's a handful I'm tempted by...
Laura Ashley Wicker Dove tiled floor, British Ceramic Tile
Berkeley Charcoal Floor Tile, Topps Tiles
Teakwood Polished Tiles, Topps Tiles (love this herringbone tile pattern!)
I still need to think about which bathroom suite, storage, taps and shower etc to get but so far what do you think? Hope it's looking ok! It feels good to be putting thoughts on paper again :)
Fifi xoxo
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Installing our Tongue and groove panelling
