In this spacious Victorian home, owners Jess and Jehan have created a luxurious and characterful bathroom that feels nostalgic and beautiful. Fancy a quick tour?
The couple were already taken with the outside of the beautiful Victorian semi-detached property in North London, but were just as enchanted by its rambling interior. Here Jess tells KBB journo Ben Webb about their vision for a dream bathroom renovation…
What was your plan for the house and the bathroom renovation?
Our approach for the whole house was to retain the period features and its character, such as the slightly uneven walls. We wanted the furniture and fittings to look as though they could have always been here and for the house to be quietly beautiful, which meant using muted paint colours.
Did you make the changes straight away?
We lived in the house for more than a year before we began planning the renovation of the kitchen and bathroom, so we were able to get a real feel for the house first and appreciate the bits we loved and recognise the parts that could be improved. It was time very well spent!
How was the bathroom planning stage?
It was relatively straightforward and revolved around the positioning of the bath. The room also had to incorporate the loo, which had previously been in a separate WC closet across the landing. We considered using glass to screen the shower from the rest of the room, which would have allowed light into the shower, but in the end we built a stud wall with a built-in alcove for toiletries, which we’re really pleased with.
How did you choose the all-important bath?
We were looking for a freestanding copper bath when we stumbled upon BC Designs’ Casini bath. It was green and had the most beautiful fluted detail and, while modern, it also had a sense of nostalgia to it. The search was over. We used Little Greene’s Portland Stone Deep paint for the walls – a perfect backdrop for the green bath and the deep mahogany washstand.
How did you choose the bathroom tiles?
The bath was the main feature. So, we chose the shower wall tiles to complement the khaki green of the bath. They’re a beautiful earthy shade of green, with a glazed, uneven texture. We originally looked at chequered marble tiles for the floor. But they would have been too heavy for the first floor so we went for a much lighter, porcelain tile with a traditional Victorian design.
Did you face any challenges or compromises along the way?
The walk-in shower ended up being deeper than we had anticipated. We were a bit concerned that the shower wall might dominate when you entered the room, but luckily it all worked out. The wall, which has a nook for shampoo, screens the shower well but in fact doesn’t dominate at all.
We couldn’t find any extractor fans that looked good and felt right. So, we spoke to our builder about the possibility of buying period-style vent covers and installing extractor fans behind them, which ended up working well.
How important were the Victorian finishing touches?
We went with brassware from Thomas Crapper – we love the heritage of the brand and its traditional tap and sanitaryware design, which fit well with the period of our home. We have brass beehive doorknobs and escutcheons throughout the house, so we chose the same design for the bathroom door.
What do like most about your bathroom renovation?
It’s so hard to pick one thing as I really feel the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I love how everything has come together to create a beautiful space that is lovely to use and feels contemporaneous with the house. I can honestly say there isn’t anything we would do differently.
As originally told to: Ben Webb | Photography: Darren Chung
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