The Primary Bathroom

Mackenzie and I were spoilt in our last home with an enormous bathroom, with a bath under the beautiful original window, looking out onto the garden, and a large shower too. The primary bathroom this time around, it was already a relatively small room, so not a lot of choice to play with. However, one thing we absolutely knew we needed, was a double vanity. No more sharing a sink! And I found this beautiful marble-topped one in the perfect blue to work a colour palette from, at Burlington Bathrooms. We also took the decision to make the shower smaller so we’d have a little more room around it. The shower is also Burlington Bathrooms and I added a heated towel rail on the wall opposite. It’s a real treat getting out of the shower on a freezing morning and having a snuggly warm towel. It’s also good for space-saving because you’re not having to add a radiator too. Our other little touch of luxury is underfloor heating that makes me feel like I’m in a hotel- I was determined not to freeze this Winter so I’m thrilled we went for the it. The floor itself is the same Ebony Oak Aged Parquet that we have all over the house, by The Natural Wood Floor Company. For anyone curious, wooden floors are fine to have in bathrooms so long as you take care of them and mop up any big splashes of water right away.

The art in the bathroom is a real mix and in a room made up of greens and blues, provides some fun pops of colour. There are some prints I’ve had for ages which I reframed; a couple of Etsy finds and a beautiful vintage shell print by Domenica Marland.

The walls are Normandy Grey by Little Greene Paint Company, which we had actually bought for the old house and never used. It’s a darker, rich sage tone and goes well with the deep blue vanity unit as well as with the blind. That fabric is Deco Blue Larissa On White by Aleta Fabrics – which I am absolutely in love with. I found the most incredibly talented artist on Instagram, Sarah Blomfield who hand painted the small sconce lampshades in a bespoke print inspired by the fabric. She is so lovely, after dm’ing her, I went round for a cuppa with my swatches and she dreamed up the most perfect design to compliment the room. I couldn’t love them more. The sconces themselves are from Pooky.

The big round mirror was in the hall in our old house (another happy re-purpose) and I was inspired by the designer Lonika Chande who has an antique wooden hanging shelf in her bathroom…after a lot of trawling, I found a similar Victorian version on Ebay. You won’t believe it, but the one I found had originally been owned by the seller’s mother who lived, with the shelf, on the same street as where it is now, with us. We couldn’t believe the connection and I feel like it’s come full circle home! On it I’ve got some of my favourite bathroom bits: Buly body oil, Jo Malone cologne, face oils from Rowse and Votary and of course a couple of Penguin Classics.

I finished the bathroom with a few of my favourite accessories: the scalloped dish is hand-painted by Rachael Cocker and I’ve got my face creams in a Rebecca Udall basket. There’s also a Serena & Lily laundry basket and a pink painted vase from my friends at Wicklewood. The finishing touch are the Paris tiles above the sink from Fired Earth, which I had grouted with terracotta, to bring an extra warmth and grounding to the colour scheme.