bathroom makeover continued…

Though the rimu paneling was to stay, I had it removed from the bottom half of the walls surrounding the bathtub. This was the only wall in which the paneling was on the bottom half and felt overbearing and un balanced with the rest of the space. This allowed us to paint the bottom of the walls uniformly clean white instantly brightening this dark space.

The lighting in this room was one of the major downfalls. Though there are two windows the decking above this external wall blocks a lot of natural light. Only having a single bulb in the room meant even during a bright summers day the space was dark and gloomy.

A simple and cost effective way to enhance the lighting in this space was to change the single bulb to an LED button light which greatly illuminates the space. We also added a sleek LED strip light above the vanity and mirror for additional lighting that ties in with the tapware.

Working within the client’s limited budget was a must but one area we splurged on was good quality Methven tapware. This black accent is what give this space a bold modern accent and brings this bathroom into the 21 century.  Keeping the look cohesive all of the hardware is matte black, including the shower rail and handles on the vanity which we replaced from the original silver that they came with.

Going without tiles in this space could have been seen as a major setback from a design standpoint. However we’re very lucky in this day in age to have a variety of other materials including good ole fashioned linoleum in a wide range of designs and prints. This isn’t your nana’s lino! I wanted a print that was fun, and a little retro as it had to tie in harmoniously with the existing paneling. Everything planned in this room was centered around this dominant feature! This lino is a small enough print to mimick tile nicely without competing against the other elements in the space.