HOW TO CREATE A RELAXING SPA INSPIRED BATHROOM AT HOME

** Ad/ disclaimer **I received a pr discount on the Crosswater and Burlington bathware on on the Otto, and CTD tiles. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I wouldn’t recommend any products mentioned in my post if I didn’t love them.

What if you could bring the spa to your own home? This was my thinking when planning our family bathroom over at our ‘Rat House’ Renovation.

Especially since all spa’s are closed while we’re in the thick of Lockdown 3.0.

This bathroom was a blank canvas as it was part of the new first floor extension, which meant I could plan out everything from scratch, even down to the plumbing locations. Although saying that, there were some limitations as there normally always is. Such as the toilet plumbing had to be on the right wall - closest to the external side wall as I had said to the builders that under no circumstances was the waste pipe, or any pipes for that matter to show on the back of the house. Theres no problem with having pipes on the back posterior, but since the house is detached, I thought it would be nicer to keep it all to the side purely for aesthetics and accessibility. But apart from that I had free rein!

I wanted the atmosphere and decor to have that spa like nature, because everyone needs a trip to the spa once in a while, right?

A before shot of our bathroom which was a blank canvas as it was part of our first floor extension.

The Palette

When you think of spa’s you think of clean white lines, minty aquatics, plenty of plants, fluffy robes and soft towels. So, thats whats what I decided the palette should be in here.

Plus with the added extra of copious amounts of brassware, because brass is my favourite material in the world, so it was only fitting that all the hardware and trims would have to be of a brassy gold nature in here.

The Tiles

This bathroom took me the longest to source everything as I wanted to mix three very different tiles together and find the perfect balance. Each were a different thickness, so it caused the tiler some stress with levelling the walls, but we got there in the end.

I chose Zellige 10cm x 10cm tiles from Otto Tiles for the top of the bathroom in an Icy blue shade to bring in that minty freshness into here, then for the bottom of the wall I went for Large format Marmori Calacatta White Polished Tile - 1200x600mm from CTD which I wanted laid in a portrait position.

Then for the floor I searched high and low to find floor tiles which were an off white which could be laid in a herringbone design. After speaking to Artisan of Devizes they were able to source the Lido Ice White floor tiles for me. These aren’t on their website yet, but will be in the spring of 2021.

Artisan Of Devizes -Lido Ice White

Otto Tiles - Icy Blue Zellige Tiles

CTD TILES - Marmori Calacatta White Polished Tile - 1200x600mm

Wall Tiles - Bottom row Marmori Calacatta White Polished Tile - 1200x600mm from CTD, Top Ice Blue Z-11-04 Zellige Tiles from Otto Tiles, Floor Tiles from Artisan of Devizes - Lido in Ice white. The bath has the Crosswater MPRO Industrial 5 Hole Bath Filler with Spout & Handset in the unlacquered brass £949.00 RRP, and the bath is from Burlington and is the Admiral 165cm Double Ended Bath £1899.00 RRP.

The bathmat and towels are from Anthropologie, and the small white side table is from Pottery barn kids and is the Collins table.

The Bathware & Furniture

I always think its good to mix and match with bathroom brands, and not feel too restricted to buy everything from the same brand. In here I mixed pieces from Burlington, Crosswater and had the bathroom vanity made by a carpenter as I couldn’t find what I wanted off the shelf so I designed it myself.

The bath is from Burlington, its the Admiral 165cm Double Ended Bath £1899.00 RRP. We could have fitted a 185cm one in here, but I liked the idea of it not being too cramped and at 165cm long, it’s still plenty big enough to stretch out in. It’s made of a tough resin which can also be painted. We’ve decided to leave it white for the moment.

All of the taps and brassware in this bathroom are all from Crosswater and are the from their MPRO industrial range.

I went for the MPRO Industrial 5 Hole Bath Filler with Spout & Handset in the unlacquered brass £949.00 RRP, to be set into the wall beneath the window instead of a floor standing outlet as A) I wanted to mix it up and look different to the other bathroom and B) I wanted it central so we wouldn’t bash our heads on it if it was on the end of the bath and we were laying in it.

For the vanity which I designed, we chose the Crosswater MPRO Industrial Basin 3 Hole Set in the matching unlacquered Brass which was £339 RRP.

Burlington - Admiral 165cm Double Ended Bath

MPRO Industrial 5 Hole Bath Filler with Spout & Handset

MPRO Industrial Basin 3 Hole Set

For the shower we opted for the matching Crosswater MPRO industrial 8” shower head in the Unlacquered Brass, with the matching. MPRO Industrial Crossbox 2 Outlet Valves (1500 Valve), and matching MPRO Industrial Wall Outlet, Single Mode Handset & Hose from Crosswater £189.00 RRP.

MPRO Industrial Easy Clean Shower Head 8"

MPRO Industrial Crossbox 2 Outlet Valves (1500 Valve)

MPRO Industrial Wall Outlet, Single Mode Handset & Hose

My bespoke Vanity unit which I designed myself and had made by a Carpenter. Brass Double Arm Wall Light with Opal Shade from Spark and Bell. Mirror is from Dunelm. It was black, but spray painted it gold. The taps are the Crosswater MPRO Industrial Basin 3 Hole Set in the matching unlacquered Brass which was £339 RRP.

The towels are from Anthropologie .

The vanity idea came about as I couldn’t find anything that I liked, so I decided to design my own. Our builders had a contact for someone in Portugal so it ended up being made over there with our front door and came over on a van a month later. You’ll see from my design that I was always dreaming of an arched mirror, but decided on a wider one in the end and not to go for the cut away splash back.

The arched mirror was originally black and is from Dunelm, but I spray painted it gold and it came up perfect. I’d definitely recommend spraying things that you can’t find to save money.

Our shower enclosure is 1700 x 800 and the screen is the ‘BOARDER’ Drench Showers shower screen, which is in brushed brass with fluted glass and it matches the Crosswater Unlacquered brushed brassware from their MPRO industrial range perfectly.

I loved the idea of having fluted glass in here to make the enclosure feel more private like a spa.

The shower tray is from Crosswater and is the Rectangular 25mm Stone Resin Shower Tray & Waste at £279. I sprayed the waste grill gold to match the rest of the bathroom.

Brushed Brass and fluted glass ‘Boarder’ shower enclosure from Drench showers in size 80 x 1200.

Brushed Brass and fluted glass ‘Boarder’ shower enclosure from Drench showers in size 80 x 1200.

Now, no bathroom is complete without a toilet and we opted for a wall mounted one in here so we could clean the tiles easily underneath. This one is the Kai wall hung toilet £395 from Crosswater. We also bought their 0.98m Height Wall Hung Toilet Support Frame £365, I then added the matching brushed brass flush plate from the MPRO range which was £125.

The Accessories

As we don’t have a close wall to the left or right of the toilet we opted for a marble and brass freestanding toilet roll holder from Made.com which was £39.

MPRO Flush Plate from Crosswater in brass at £125, Kai wall hung toilet £395, and 0.98m Height Wall Hung Toilet Support Frame £365 all from Crosswater.

The toilet roll holder is from Made.com and is £39.

The brass hook is from West Elm which is £79.00.

The towels are from Anthropologie, prices £14.

We already had the brass and marble West Elm coat hook from our old hallway- see our old Hallway post, and since we now have a coat cupboard we no longer need this out so decided to hang it in here. Its great for towels, those fluffy robes and also hanging planters to create that relaxing spa like feel at home.

MPRO Flush Plate from Crosswater in brass at £125, Kai wall hung toilet and brass hook from West Elm which is £79.00.

The towels are from Anthropologie

I chose an electric lacquered brass heated towel radiator from Vogue via Stylish radiators. It was quite expensive, but I couldn’t find anything else that matched the brushed brassware as well. We also added underfloor heating in here so it’s nice and toasty under foot.

I bought a lacquered brass radiator from Vogue radiators via Stylish Radiators

Every spa wouldn’t be complete without the fanciest of face and body creams, and Ren skincare is my go to. Plus, you can never have enough plants - faux and real to really capture that spa experience and give you the feeling of bringing the outdoors in and back to nature.

My bespoke Vanity unit which I designed myself and had made by a Carpenter. Brass Double Arm Wall Light with Opal Shade from Spark and Bell. Mirror is from Dunelm. It was black, but spray painted it gold. The taps are the Crosswater MPRO Industrial Basin 3 Hole Set in the matching unlacquered Brass which was £339 RRP.

The lacquered brass radiator from Vogue radiators via Stylish Radiators . The towels are from Anthropologie

I’d love to hear what you think and if you’re going to try bringing a little bit of the spa to your own home?

If you have any questions about any of the products which I’ve used, then feel free to leave me a comment below, or contact me on Instagram.

I’ve also written a post for CTD tiles on the marble tile trend which you can read here.

CTD have given me a 15% discount code to share with you. Use code : Houselust15 for 15% off.

MAKING THE MOST OF SPACE IN YOUR DESIGNER BATHROOM

If there’s one secret ingredient to achieving the bathroom of your dreams, it is understanding how to make the most of whatever space is available.

People with only modestly sized bathrooms often bemoan the fact that their luxurious visions just won’t work with the dimensions they’ve been dealt. The best thing to do is to flip the problem around. The challenge isn’t trying to shoehorn a design into the available space. It is picking a layout and style that optimizes the space that is there.

Here are some top tips from leading London-based bathroom specialists Aston Matthews on how to make the most of your space even when you have little to work with. Click here to find out more.

Think smart about storage

Bathroom units can be essential for providing storage and they can also act as a key visual feature for your design. But units also take up space, so when that is at a premium in your bathroom, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons.

Be clinical about what does and does not need to live in your bathroom. If it can be stored elsewhere without major inconvenience, get it out. Then think creatively about where to locate any remaining storage. For example, under the sink vanity units are a staple of many bathrooms, but they also take up precious space.

Under basin bathroom storage -image from Pinterest.

Wall-mounted basins, on the other hand, or those on metal consoles with towel racks incorporated, really open up the space underneath. If you do want shelving or a vanity unit, consider mounting it high up the wall somewhere, out of the way. The more floor space you can leave free, the bigger your bathroom will feel.

Wall mounted basin - Image from Pinterest

Layout, light and mirrors

Aside from stripping back the objects in your bathroom to free up the floor area, maximizing space in your bathroom is a game of impressions as much as it is practicalities. The key point is, you can’t create space that isn’t there. But you can make it look more than it is. In terms of layouts, corner basins, bath tubs, shower units or even toilets are a great way to use what would otherwise be ‘dead space’ and leave more of the room looking open. If that is too radical, you can create similar impressions with lighting and mirrors. We all know the effect mirrors can have on making any space look bigger, and an attractive, high quality example is worth the investment as a feature piece for your bathroom that takes up no additional space.

Bathroom mirror inspiration -from Pinterest.

To capitalize on what a large mirror adds, swap a single, central light for distributed lighting around the room. This avoids dark corners and shadows which make a room feel smaller.

THE PINK ENSUITE BATHROOM REVEAL

I’m back! Back in my happy place writing about our mammoth renovation project. It’s actually a year ago today that we got the keys to rat house, and now I’m here showing you another finished room.

Back in August I wrote a blog post about our en-suite bathroom plans which involved more of my favourites… pink, pink and er… more pink.

Well the time is now here for me to show you how close I got it to that infamous pink and white cad of my bathroom plans. I’ll let you be the judge of whether it looks like it…..

BEFORE

But first, here’s a little refresher for anyone who’s new to my blog. This room was part of the new extension plans on the 1st floor where we extended out by 3.75m, so once the cavity walls are taken into account this room is just over 3.5m long x 2.4m wide. The size is something I get asked a lot as we managed to fit a bath and a shower into this space and I’m pretty pleased that we were as it’s now my little sanctuary.

IN BETWEEN

AFTER

My aim for this bathroom was to create a fun ensuite that was a joint space for my husband and I to use. We have a main family bathroom which is accessed off the landing for guests, and is much more serious and grown up in style (which I’ll show you soon), but since this space leads on from our dressing room and master bedroom we wanted it to feel like it was an extension of our main living quarters.

Our pink and white ensuite bathroom. Products featured include : Kohler Brockway™ 3' Wall-mounted cast iron sink, 2 tap holes, Kohler Cléo Freestanding bath painted in Dulux fresh Plaster, Tiles are from Mosaic Factory , Toilet is Kohler ModernLife™ Close Coupled toilet pan Toilet , Mirror cabinet is from Amazon, Towel radiator from Burlington and the black shower enclosure is from Drenchshowers.

This is the view as you enter the bathroom from our dressing room. In hindsight this room could have been a bit smaller to make space for a larger dressing room, but instead I opted for a more opulent en-suite space. It’s been an exciting room to design as everything started from the Kohler Brockway™ wall mounted cast iron sink. I was instantly drawn to it for its design and functionality. Easy to clean, dual Triton taps so myself and Mr Houselust can have our own his and hers, it ticked all the boxes of what we were after.

And because it’s designed to be wall mounted and not have storage, I opted for a marble shelf to be attached to the wall beneath for towels and toilet rolls to bought an oval shape mirror cabinet from Amazon. It just goes to show you can still have storage without the sink having the traditional vanity unit beneath with a little imagination and a good bathroom cabinet.

Products featured include : Kohler Brockway™ 3' Wall-mounted cast iron sink, 2 tap holes, Kohler Cléo Freestanding bath painted in Dulux fresh Plaster, Tiles are from Mosaic Factory , Mirror cabinet is from Amazon, Towel radiator from Burlington and the wall lights are the FRIHULT from Ikea in black £25 each.

The black wall lights were a bargain find from Ikea (FRIHULT) and cost £25 each. Plus they’re IP44 rated so they were suitable to be in a bathroom which was a win win as personality I think theres a lack of nice bathroom lights around in the UK market.

Our pink and white ensuite bathroom. Products featured include : , Kohler Cléo Freestanding bath painted in Dulux fresh Plaster, Tiles are from Mosaic Factory , Toilet is Kohler ModernLife™ Close Coupled toilet pan Toilet , Kohler Standard 1400 x 800mm Rectangle Shower Tray £368 and black shower enclosure is from Drenchshowers.

I chose these Encaustic pink and white tiles which I like to think I designed myself. So hear me out… Mosaic factory have an online simulator where you can pick different colours and patterns and see them come to life on screen. After playing around with this and online and ordering some small colour samples, I settled on colours R (PINK) and B (the white). Now ask me in a couple of months how they wear and how you keep them clean, as I’ve never had encaustic tiles before.

For the shower I chose a very practical and lovely shower tray from Kohler. This is the Standard 1400 x 800mm Rectangle Shower Tray £368 and even has a gorgeous chrome trim around the waste which matches the bathroom brassware perfectly.

Products shown above: Kohler Artifacts Handshower £120, Kohler Artifacts Thermostatic Built-in Single Sequential Shower Valve with 2-way Diverter £700, Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter £325 and Mosaic Factory encaustic tiles in colour R and B.

I’ve always wanted a hand shower in our shower. I never had one in our old house in either of our showers and I regretted not having one. There’s two reason for needing one… the first, which is the most practical is how handy it will be when I need to clean the bathroom. The second is for when I don’t want to wash my hair (and I guess it might be handy for your bits now and then).

We opted for a ceiling mounted rainfall shower and chose the Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter. We wanted an 8” so the pressure is still good, as bigger shower heads need more output to get the same coverage as an 8”, and this one gives the perfect pressure. I chose The Kohler Artifacts Thermostatic Built-in Single Sequential Shower Valve with 2-way Diverter as it has a traditional look. Plus with the two way diverter means I can easily switch between the rainhead shower or hand shower easily.

Did you notice my niche, by the way? Again this was something else which I’ve always wanted. The niche (aka the built in shelf) will come in super handy for holding our shampoo bottles, and stop the bottom of the shower tray getting cluttered and dirty,

You’ll notice with all these room reveals, I have done everything which I wished I’d had in our old house. If you can’t add these things when you do a full renovation, when else can you?

Products shown above: Kohler Artifacts Handshower £120, Kohler Artifacts Thermostatic Built-in Single Sequential Shower Valve with 2-way Diverter £700, Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter £325 and Mosaic Factory encaustic tiles in colour R and B.

Our pink and white ensuite bathroom. Products featured include : Kohler Brockway™ 3' Wall-mounted cast iron sink, 2 tap holes, Kohler Cléo Freestanding bath painted in Dulux fresh Plaster, Tiles are from Mosaic Factory and Towel radiator from Burlington .

For the bathroom radiatior, I wanted an electric towel warmer which could be switched on whatever the weather. Again, this was a huge bug bear of mine in our old house when it was a boiling hot summers day, if the heating wasn’t on, then the towels couldn’t dry unless I took them outside. So this time I went for a tower warmer which is on a switched fused spur so I can turn it on and off when I want it on. This one is the cleaver towel warmer from Burlington and was the most affordable for what I was after - plus it matched the chrome Kohler brassware perfectly.

Toilet is Kohler ModernLife™ Close Coupled toilet pan Toilet and Kohler Composed Floorstanding bath & shower mixer £1,020

For the bath, we opted for a freestanding bath/ shower mixer tap - This is the composed floorstanding bath and shower mixer from Kohler. This is something I’m already regretting not choosing for our other bathroom too. They are so practical and even when they’re not on, the hand shower is perfectly positioned over the bath to catch any drips once its turned off.

As the toilet is on an outside wall, we had to go for a close coupled toilet. I chose the Kohler ModernLife™ Close Coupled toilet pan Toilet as it’s rimless, its great for keeping clean.

Our pink and white ensuite bathroom. Products featured include : Tiles are from Mosaic Factory , Kohler Standard 1400 x 800mm Rectangle Shower Tray £368, Kohler Artifacts Handshower £120, Kohler Artifacts Thermostatic Built-in Single Sequential Shower Valve with 2-way Diverter £700, Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter

The only thing left for me to do now is choose what bath towels and bath mat to go for, and maybe a blind. Ooops, at least the windows are obscured glass to tie us over for a while. I’d love to know what style and colours you would add for the towels? Or shall I just go for the easy option and pick some pink ones?

Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on whether i’ve achieved a fun en-suite bathroom? I think this room has exceeded all my expectations and I love how its all turned out. The chrome brassware pops just beautifully against the pink and white tiles! I just hope I don’t ruin the tiles when I do the cleaning.

Any tips on looking after encaustic tiles are welcome!

Product list

1. Kohler Composed Floorstanding bath & shower mixer £1,020

2. Kohler ModernLife™ Close Coupled toilet pan Toilet £550

3. Kohler Standard 1400 x 800mm Rectangle Shower Tray £368

4. Kohler Brockway™ 3' Wall-mounted cast iron sink, 2 tap holes  £3,519 inclusive of the soap dispenser and taps (This is only available through the Kohler Experience Centre in Clerkenwell).

5. Kohler Artifacts Thermostatic Built-in Single Sequential Shower Valve with 2-way Diverter £700

6. Kohler Cléo Freestanding bath £2,992

7. Kohler Triton taps

8. Kohler Katalyst Traditional round rainhead 8" diameter £325

9. Kohler Artifacts Handshower £120

10. Kohler Components 610mm towel rail £84

11. Kohler Components pivoting toilet roll holder £63

12. Drench shower screen - Boarder

This post is part of a collaboration with Kohler UK. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Leopard towels from Anthropologie .

HOW I TRANSFORMED OUR BATHROOM WITH WALLPAPER

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; Waska Wardrobe/ Storage cupboard £589 from La Redoute. and pink velvet chair from Homesense, Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar.

I rarely talk about our family bathroom. It’s a great size, has a simple white victorian style sink, plastic roll top bath (we couldn’t afford a cast iron one at the time) and has a standalone shower. But to me it still looked unfinished.

With its all white painted plastered walls, our bathroom always felt like it was lacking that va va voom factor, especially when you compare it to the rest of our house.

I’m wallpaper obsessed and a true maximalist at heart, but our bathroom was the first room completed, and it seems to have been neglected in the planning of all the other levels.

First done eight years ago when we bought the house, we designed it quickly and went for a classic, timeless design – aka slightly safe and boring in my opinion. As the years went by, and my taste and braveness evolved so did my dissatisfaction with the white walls, and I decided that this room was in need of a refresh.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK.

Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading; Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home £22; pink faux fur slippers from F+F, and leopard print towel from H&M Home.

I stumbled across Florence Broadhurst wallpapers a few years ago and loved her entire collection. Inspired by Florence’s life as a dancer living in and around Asia, with a particular interest in Japanese florals it was love at first sight for me.

After some clever researching (thank god for google), I discovered that the Florence Broadhurst collection and license had just been acquired by a UK owner, and was finally going to be more accessible for interior design addicts like me here in the UK.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; and pink velvet chair from Homesense.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

After procrastinating I decided on the Japanese Floral design in pale Teal as it’s a Florence classic.

Because the ceiling in the bathroom has been a mass expanse of white painted plaster, I decided that this was prime fodder to get wallpapered too. After all, the 5th wall is now an important part of any room design, and this rooms sloping ceiling was crying out to be wallpapered.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Is this a special bathroom wallpaper? Have I coated the wallpaper?

Well the answer is simply no. As long as you have good ventilation – an extractor fan and a window for those really steamy days, then I have had no problems with our wallpaper.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

But for those a bit more sceptical or just less brave, then you can use a clear varnish to coat the wallpaper to harden it’s exterior, making it less susceptible to taking the odd splash of water and this will also help prevent the steam from making it peel off.

 How I painted our plastic Bath

And encase you wanted to know, because I get asked a lot how I went about painting our freestanding bath. I painted our bath in Coral Crush by Valspar. The bath is a plastic free standing bath from Wickes. To paint it, I gave it a light sand, then gave it three coats of Zinsser Bullseye primer and then used the matt finish from Valspar. The key is to make sure its well primed and I find Zinsser Bullseye primer amazing! As long as the surface is evening coated in this, then any paint will stick to it!

I’d love to know if you’re thinking about wallpapering your bathroom, and what design you were thinking?