‘It’s a lovely spot to relax & unwind in’
What started as a quick bathroom refresh ended up being a full refurb for Claire and Steven Sanderson
Feature MARISHA TAYLOR Photography JAMES FRENCH
ELEGANT RENOVATION
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH YOUR ORIGINAL BATHROOM?
The bathroom we inherited didn’t really work for us. Although it was generously sized with a big window, for some reason the bath had been placed right in the middle, which felt awkward and didn’t utilise the space very well. There was also very little storage, despite the size of the room. However, although the décor and layout were not to our taste, initially we decided not to make any major changes as it wasn’t at the top of our priority list. Instead, we thought we’d give everything a freshen up and paint over the mustard-coloured walls. That was until we discovered the bath wasn’t properly plumbed in and the shower door broke! As the cost of fixing everything started to mount up, we decided that we had no choice but to tackle things properly.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BIG IDEAS FOR THE NEW DESIGN
We wanted to make the most of the bathroom space and we knew by moving the bath to under the window, it would give us ample room for a spacious walk-in shower, large double vanity unit – with storage underneath – 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 suite – a relaxing space to unwind in at the end of the day.
DID YOU FACE ANY MAJOR CHALLENGES?
The biggest one was having to relocate the waste pipe from the loo, as the bathroom is located centrally in the house. The pipe needed to run at an angle to the side of the house, which was at least 20ft away, meaning we had to navigate around the supporting beams in the floor cavity – so there really was no room for error! Initially we had wanted to move the loo, but the issue with the pipe 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 all back in order to redecorate, we then realised that it wasn’t secure.
HOW DID YOU MAKE THE BUDGET WORK FOR YOU?
We didn’t have a fixed budget, but because of the issues with the waste
