BATHROOM NO.2 DECOR - BEFORE & AFTER

BATHROOM NO.2 DECOR - BEFORE & AFTER

• August 13, 2017

There are two bathrooms in our house, the upstairs bathroom has a bath tub and the downstairs bathroom has a shower. When we bought our house back in 2014, we spent a great deal of our savings on a complete overhaul of all the rooms, the hallway, the loft and even got a whole new roof. 

As our funds ran low, we decided to leave the downstairs bathroom, the garden and the front of the house for another day and finally last year in November, it was time to work on the downstairs bathroom. So I took Isaac with me on that dreadful flight to Hong Kong, whilst G stayed behind to supervise the work.  

We hated the old shower room. The quarter-circle stand in shower is the tiniest imaginable place to have a shower and there were so many elbow bashing and swearing episodes in the early days until we got used to the minuscule size. Everything about the room was cheaply done, from the horrid beige tiles to all the crazy amount of boxing in of the pipes. Needless to say, we couldn't wait to see the back of it.   

 Before:

The area where the laundry basket sits used to be the space for a washing machine apparently, and inside the cupboard is where the boiler is hidden in.

  After:

The transformation was just incredible. 

I knew I wanted a Japanese inspired zen bathroom after an amazing trip to Japan for our honeymoon. Whether bathing in an onsen or just the hotel tub, there was something utterly serene and calming about a Japanese bath and those feelings were amplified after looking up 'Japanese zen bathrooms' on Pinterest.  

But, being in UK and trying to buy all the parts for a Japanese bathroom turned out to be impossible or crazily expensive. So instead, I decided to do a nod to the Japanese zen theme as best as I could by incorporating lots of white, oak wood, greenery in the form of plants and by keeping the bathroom as minimalistic as possible. 

I wanted white walls as that would open up the space for a small bathroom and provide some sort of unity through the house. I managed to find the cheapest matt white wall tiles from Tile Mountain but splashed out on a beautiful sand coloured tile from Fired Earth. The grey hexagon marble tiles inside the walk in shower were also from Fired Earth and whilst it didn't necessarily suit the Japanese zen theme, I completely fell in love when I saw them in the shop and had to have them. 

The tiny shower space was replaced by a wall to wall walk-in shower with recessed wall shelves, which worked well with the minimalist look and did great for hiding in water pipes. I was so, so pleased with all that awful boxing-in gone! 

We toyed with the idea of a wet room but we have a boiler in the same room so that was scraped. We also thought about a half screen, but in the end we went with sliding shower doors and I'm pleased to say it was a great decision since it retains all the heat inside as you shower and also no splash outs.   

I could not source an open wooden shelf to go under the sink without paying an arm and a leg, so G's uncle, who is the amazing brain behind the incredible work, suggested that we bought water resistant wood panels from Ikea and his guys would build it instead! And luckily for me, Muji had these beautiful baskets that suited the shelf perfectly. 

The sink is from Better Bathrooms (terrible service btw....) and the toilet from Soak.com. The mirror is from Ikea.      

The old cabinet is replaced with a floor to ceiling sleek cupboard which not only hides away the boiler but creates much needed shelf space for bits and bobs. I am not planning on keeping the open shelves and most likely I'll replace it with a mirrored cabinet to minimalist clutter and reflect more light.

And finally, going slightly OTT with the wood detail, I managed to find the perfect squeegee and matching scrubber brush for the shower from TKMaxx. It also came with a matching dustpan which now resides by the side of the wooden shelves.

I would love to hear what you guys think of our new bathroom! Do let me know in the comments below. 

For more bathroom inspiration, take a look at Angloyankophile's stunning bathroom remodel. I love it!