Knocking down a wall allowed Anthea O’Neil to install the showstopper bath she longed for
Feature LISA MOSES Photography CAROLINE MARDON
BEDROOM CONVERSION
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE OLD ROOM?
Its location and size! The main bathroom was downstairs, and there was just a small shower room upstairs, which none of us liked. I love a bath and wanted it to be the main event in the room, but the men in the house prefer to shower. Luckily, the shower room was located next to a small bedroom, so it was easy to see that with a change of floor plan, we could utilise both spaces to create the lovely big bathroom that would suit everyone.
HOW DID THE PROJECT BEGIN?
My starting point was a piece of squared paper, as I always like to draw any designs out to scale to see if they will work. I checked that the bedroom wall wasn’t load-bearing, then contracted a builder to do all the work, including managing the plumbing, electrics and plastering. We lead busy lives, so this seemed like the best approach to take the stress out of the job. First, the old shower was ripped out, then the wall between the two rooms came down. We also blocked up a window and created the alcove for the wetroom-style shower
AND THE BATHROOM DESIGN?
When we bought the house, we kept back money for the renovations, but I still had to budget hard to get the look I wanted. I knew I wanted twin basins, and to include a nod to the Victorian origins of the house, but my main must-have was a statement bath. I wasn’t sure we could afford one, then I spotted this beautiful ex-display copper-effect tub in a sale for less than half price, so I snapped it up.
DID EVERYTHING GO TO PLAN?
The work took six weeks in the end, longer than we anticipated, as there was a lot of groundwork to do and the plumbing and waste had to be moved. We still had the downstairs bathroom, though, so we were never without a loo! And the disruptions were so worth the finished result.
WHAT’S YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE?
It’s really easy to be swayed by other people’s ideas, but trust your instincts. I really wanted the tiles to be vertical not horizontal, for example, and everyone tried to persuade me otherwise. But I stuck with it, and now we get so many compliments about the configuration.
HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW THE ROOM IS FINISHED?
The result still blows us away every day, and for me the bath is my favourite part. The day I came home fr
