Bathrooms

As part of my second project I had to do a bathroom and thought I would use the opportunity to go back over my research for that project whilst sourcing products for our family bathroom (although the budget for our bathroom is not open-ended as it was for Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat!)



Axo drawing of the Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat bathroom

For this bathroom I chose these surface mounted basins from Stonewood (£445).  Although they're dark grey granite, it looks like I forgot to render them in this drawing (whoops!). 

For the taps I chose the Rettangolo Cascata by Gessi (price on application).  The soap dish is £137!!  Both are available through Chartley, and probably through other suppliers.  However, now that I look at the design of the basin, I think that a round tap may work better than a square one; something like the Eclix, also by Gessi (£285).

Rettangolo Monobloc Basin Mixer

              

Rettangolo Freestanding Soap Dish

Eclix Monobloc Basin Mixer

I also used the Stonewood cast resin bath (£2,850) and tap tower (with built-in TV!) - a mere £1,450!



Rather than use stone for the top of the tap tower I used dark grey granite to match the dark grey granite basins. 
I chose a walnut finish for the wood.

For my project I designed bespoke wall hung cabinets in walnut (with dark grey granite tops) and tall cupboards either side of the window.  Beneath the window I designed built-in seating with storage underneath - it was a requirement of the client that the bathroom should have plenty of storage.

The loo was definitely Laufen but I can't remember which one, although I know I would have picked one that I could easily draw by hand (the bath caused me no end of problems) - this project was before we had been taught CAD!  It may have been this one in the Ilbagnoalessi Dot range:

The large walk-in shower was by Hueppe.  I can't find the exact one now unfortunately, but this is similar:

The shower itself was by Roca and I think it was in their Neos range, similar to (if not the same as) the one shown below which is the Neos IV (£1,835)

The radiator was called Kremlin by MHS (with optional towel rail).  This retails at £1,225 including the towel rail for the 1800mm tall radiator.

The tiles I finally chose for this project were Hemingway Scribble manufactured by BCT which I've just discovered have been discontinued.  I spent so long sourcing tiles and never really found what I was looking for!  In my mind I had something similar to the tiles below which I discovered in the best loos in Greece I have ever found!  If you have been to Greece, you will know that they are not renowned for their loos but these in Parga made me see them in a new light - so good in fact that I had to go back with my camera!

 

You may need to enlarge the picture on the right to see the detailing on the white tiles.

There are so many tiles on the market to choose from, but here are a few of my favourites ........

The tiles above and below are Porcelonasa (who also do bathrooms - and kitchens)

The tiles above and below are by Laura Ashley,  (although I don't think you can buy the tiles direct from Laura Ashley direct so you would need to buy them via a distributor, such as Homebase).

The tiles above are by Villeroy and Boch

Tiles can add a huge amount to the cost of a bathroom and we won't be having Porcelanosa or Villeroy and Boch tiles in our family bathroom!

Having breathed a sigh of relief and finally said goodbye to the last of our coloured bathroom suites, it seems that they could be set to make a comeback!  I saw in Homes & Gardens (December 2010) that Villeroy and Boch have introduced a purple basin in their Loop & Friends range (they may call it cassis but I haven't been able to find a picture of it, other than in Homes & Gardens magazine).

Villeroy and Boch Semi Surface Mounted Basin

If coloured bathrooms are your thing, Ambiance Bain do moulded resin basins and countertops.

Although we were not required to prepare a lighting plan, we were asked to consider lighting and the different types of lighting you would need in a bathroom.  For decorative lighting, I chose these LED uplighters which also contain Swarovski crystals.

My next post will be the progress of our family bathroom!   To maximise the space in this (very) small bathroom we will be installing fitted furniture so that we can hide all the pipework and give the impression of a bigger space. The plaster is now dry, I've painted the ceiling and the cabinets have arrived.....although, as yet no bath etc, and the basin is currently out of stock!  Completion by Christmas is not looking likely!

Please see the links for some of the major bathroom suppliers.