‘Our bathroom went from drab to fab – the new peach and blue colour scheme looks super-smart'

Faced with a dated bathroom colour scheme and a layout that didn’t flow, home owner Claire Sanderson had plans for a makeover in the pipeline, but decided not to make any major changes immediately.

‘The bathroom we inherited didn’t really work for us,’ says Claire. ‘It was a generously sized room with a big window, but the bath was in the middle, which felt awkward and didn’t utilise the space very well. There was also very little storage, and the mustard-painted walls really weren’t to our taste.’

‘However, we had so much renovation work happening in the rest of the house we decided at first not to make any major changes but just give the room a freshen up.'

'That was until we discovered the bath wasn’t properly plumbed in and the shower door had broken! As the cost of fixing everything started to mount up, we decided to tackle the room properly.’

The bathroom before

‘We wanted to make the most of the bathroom space and knew by moving the bath to underneath the window we would open up the room and be able to fit in a spacious walk-in shower, large double vanity unit (with underneath storage) and some freestanding shelving for all our towels.'

'We wanted the bathroom to be an extension of the bedroom and make our upstairs space feel like a hotel suite… a relaxing space to unwind in at the end of the day.’

‘The biggest challenge we faced was relocating the waste pipe from the toilet as the bathroom is located centrally in the house. The pipe needed to run away at an angle to the side of the house which was at least 20ft away, and this meant navigating around the supporting beams in the floor cavity and there was no room for error!’

‘Initially we had wanted to move the toilet, but this issue meant it had to stay where it was. We also had to bring in plasterers to fix the wall between our bedroom and bathroom because when we stripped it back to redecorate, we realised it wasn’t secure.’

‘We didn’t have a fixed budget, but because of issues with the waste pipe and adjoining wall we spent more money than we thought we would.'

'To balance the extra spend, we saved money on the open shelving which we found in Ikea, got a good deal on our shutters and although we splurged on the bathroom floor tiles, we chose a cheap but practical tile design for the walls.’

‘I’d had my eyes on these Lily Hex floor tiles from Tiles Direct for several years, so it was a great opportunity to use them somewhere in the house.'

'We went for plaster pink paint for the walls as it’s in our bedroom too and we wanted continuity throughout both spaces. The bathroom colour also gives a lovely warm contrast to the deep, blue painted vanity unit, tiles and black and gold accents.’

‘I adore the tiles and love having so much storage in the room. The more casual freestanding shelving unit makes the bathroom feel more relaxed and a room to hang out in rather than just a functional space.’

'I designed a bespoke double vanity unit with my joiner to fit the dimensions of the allocated space perfectly. It needed to fit two sized basins and to maximise on storage. Having an extra basin is much more practical for busy family life, it means there is no queue in the mornings to clean our teeth!’

The choice of matching round mirrors and overhead lights above the double vanity unit creates a lovely focal point and pleasing symmetry in the bathroom.’

‘By redesigning the layout, enough room has been created for a large walk-in shower. It’s a much more practical and multi-functional space without being on top of each other.’

'I’ve gone for an elegant freestanding bath that now sits under the large picture window. It makes much more sense of the space and also means I can enjoy the views across the garden while having a soak in the bath.’

‘The patterned hexagonal tiles are such a showstopper I didn’t want to distract the eye with anything else, so I chose simple white, gloss metro tiles for the shower area and basins to keep the space grounded.’

‘I’ve used the same floor tile for the shower nook, which is a simple but effective design detail that makes the shower feel connected.’

‘We’re so pleased with how it has turned out. It’s easy to maintain and the colour scheme we’ve chosen is fresh and characterful. We really enjoy using the bathroom, it’s a luxurious space to relax in, enjoy a bath or take time to do some pampering – if we had to start over again in here, we wouldn’t change a thing, we love it!’

For more of Claire's space, you can check out her Instagram @rightbacktothestart.