Wendy and Ian Leat made the decision to convert an unused bedroom into a spacious bathroom with a boutique-hotel feel
FeatureSHARON PARSONSPhotographyRICHARD GADSBY
ELEGANT TRANSFORMATION
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CONVERT A BEDROOM?
When we bought our tired 1930s house in 2021, we knew before we even moved in that it would need some updating. We also knew that we didn’t need all four bedrooms, so had always planned to convert one of them into an en suite. So one of the first jobs was to block off the original entrance leading from the landing and create a new opening that connected to our bedroom.
WHAT WAS THE OVERALL VISION FOR THE DESIGN?
We wanted to make the new en suite feel really opulent and spacious like the luxury-style bathrooms you find in high-end hotels. Converting a bedroom gave us a larger footprint to go big on the main elements such as the bath tub and walk-in shower, plus a huge heated towel rail on another wall. We gave the period features a modern twist with streamlined finishes and an on-trend pink and grey colour scheme.
HOW DID YOU PULL THE SCHEME TOGETHER?
I had originally decided on some lovely green tiles, but when we visited the showroom I immediately fell in love with the warm, pinkish tones of this Mandarin Stone design. They are the Rosalina from the honed marble collection, and I could see what an impact the various markings would have on the overall look – particularly the dramatic oversized ones for the shower walls.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACED?
We soon discovered that creating a new door wasn’t as straightforward as it sounds! As the ceiling joists in the attic were directly above the planned new opening, they had to be moved first before any work could begin. The entire room also needing replastering and new plumbing installed for its new purpose as a bathroom. We didn’t have another functioning bathroom during this time either as there was extensive renovations going on in the rest of the house, so it was literally a building site, and we had to stay with our daughter nearby for almost seven months. Thankfully we all get along well!
HOW DID YOU MAKE THE BUDGET WORK FOR YOU?
Whenever I plan a scheme, I always look first at what I��
