A bold scheme has allowed Joanne Hutchinson to create a luxe look where the tub takes pride of place
Feature & stylingLISA MOSESPhotographyKATIE JANE WATSON
MAXIMALIST REVAMP
WHY THE MAKEOVER?
I liked our original pink bath, but the rest of the room was worn and tired. Although the room is large, a tiny shower had been squeezed in next to the bath, but it was covered in mould and constantly overflowed into the kitchen below. The basin had also been positioned under the window, so there was nowhere to hang a mirror.
WHAT WERE YOUR BIG IDEAS FOR THE NEW DESIGN?
Rearranging the layout to allow for a walk-in shower in the unused area opposite the bath was the game changer. It freed up space for a tub to take centre stage and made room for a statement radiator and high-level cistern toilet. I was also determined to reposition the sink against a wall to allow for my longed-for mirror!
DID YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR SCHEME IN MIND?
I love dark colours and a touch of glamour, so a black-and-gold theme was always going to feature, and I spent a long time researching before we began – not only using online sources but also magazines. I wanted to indulge my love of maximalist interiors, so decided to inject some bold pattern using wallpaper, which adds to the boutique-hotel vibe. I also wanted Victorian-style sanitaryware in keeping with the age of the house.
TELL US ABOUT THE TUB
I originally saw a beautiful gold bath in a shop window about 20 years ago, and since then I’d often dreamed of having one of my own. So renovating this room allowed me to finally fulfil that ambition. The ones I initially saw cost up to £7,000 – way out of our budget – but I began trawling the internet and found this one at a fraction of that. It was unbranded and the supplier didn’t have a showroom, so had no high-street costs to recoup, which is why it was cheaper. It still took up a large portion of the budget, though!
ANY PROBLEMS ALONG THE WAY?
Just as we started having the new products delivered, the country went into lockdown, so I had to store everything in the garage for a year. Then, when it was all systems go again, we expected the works to take about a week and a half, but the plumber was so unreliable it end
