A staged renovation offers practical solutions with a touch of luxury for a family of six.

JARDIN HOUSE

Renovation

With a family of six sharing one bathroom, practical solutions are the key, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some luxurious touches, too. Our clients, a couple with four kids, had been sharing a dated and dysfunctional bathroom for several years in their beautiful heritage house in Melbourne’s inner-north. This bathroom revamp is the first stage of a larger renovation project (you can understand why they wanted to focus on the bathroom first) and creates a functional space for this large family, respects the era and character of the home and adds a touch of luxury for good measure.

We found that while the bathroom was large enough, the configuration was causing issues with the shower cramped in the corner behind the door, the toilet in full view as soon as you opened the door, the bath with a dated timber surround and a small single vanity being constantly fought over. So, by simply rearranging the floor plan, we were able to bring a more logical flow to the space and make it more functional for this family.

The new design creates a wet zone with twin shower heads and a freestanding bath at the far end of the room under the existing window. This wet zone was an important aspect for our clients, allowing them to pop the youngest kids in the bath at once without worrying about splashes and mess. The wet zone, incorporating the shower and bath behind a single glass screen is also a great alternative to the old shower over bath arrangement for family bathrooms. While it requires a little extra space, it allows you to have a fully functional shower (or in this case, two) while still maintaining a sense of spaciousness.

A toilet is tucked out of view behind the door and a double-basin vanity maximises the remaining space and takes the pressure off during the morning and evening rush. Mirror front cabinets above the vanity provide plenty of concealed storage to keep the bathroom neat and tidy.

Our clients were sick of beige and brown, so the new palette is designed to feel clean and fresh while still feeling at home in the heritage home; we didn’t want to go for stark and modern, but play with natural materials and the decorative details you find in period homes. Large format bluestone-look tiles on the floor and white tiles on the side walls create a neutral base, while a marble tile in a herringbone pattern punctuates the end wall of the bathroom. Tiles run all the way to the ceiling to emphasise the ceiling height and add to the sense of spaciousness. Combined with pendant lights over the free-standing bath, this creates an elegant and dramatic feature in the bathroom, proving the family bathroom can be a classy affair, not just practical!