Case study: Stylish shower room with gold brassware and penny tile floor

Small bathroomsModern bathrooms

20 Mar

Written By Allie Astell

This bijou bathroom showcases all that is great about small spaces.

View through door of pink bathroom with mosaic floor

Ripples Senior Designer, Jo — *Working with a compact footprint, Jo, Senior Designer at* *Ripples London, used clever design tricks to make the most of the available space whilst the fixtures and finishes chosen created a sleek and contemporary look.*

Storage solutions

Ample storage was an important factor for the client and Jo was able to achieve this by creating handy recesses in the shower area to house shampoo bottles and soap, freeing up the floor space. By adding shelves above the WC, Jo was able to utilise the otherwise unused wall space and create a feature wall for displaying houseplants and candles. The wall-hung vanity unit not only adds more storage with its deep drawers but retains some floor space, drawing the eye to the pretty penny tiles underneath it.

Small Bathroom with pink walls and shelves above the WC

pink bathroom with freestanding vanity unit

Shower nook with glossy metro tile in herringbone-pattern

The illusion of space

The room originally housed a small 70cm wide bath, however the client opted to replace this with a walk-in shower which is a great option for smaller rooms because it gives the feeling of spaciousness which is harder to achieve with a bath or full shower enclosure. When room is tight within a shower area, concealed fittings are the perfect choice. By hiding the mixer within the wall cavity, the fitting sits flush to the wall, reducing the possibility of bumping into it when showering.

The wall-hung WC and concealed cistern work well to maximise space by reducing the need for clunky boxing which would take up precious room. By wall-hanging all the furniture in the room, Jo was able to create the illusion of even more space, whilst also ensuring the room is easy to keep clean. Jo also chose to tile the shower floor to match the rest of the room, giving one continuous pattern and tricking the eye into thinking the room is bigger than it really is.

“This shower area replaced a bath which was only 70cm wide, proving that you don’t need a huge space to create your dream bathroom.”

- Senior Designer, Jo

Getting the light right

Lighting is key in small rooms, especially where there’s a lack of natural light so Jo combined ceiling lights with indirect lighting in recesses and at floor level to make the room feel as bright as possible. The light under the WC is on a PIR sensor, meaning it automatically illuminates during any middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom. The choice of glossy white ceramic tiles on the walls help to bounce the ambient light around the room and when paired with a predominantly white floor, the effect is further maximised.

“This shower room was extremely small with one tiny window, so my core aim was to deliver a stylish space which didn’t feel cluttered or gloomy.”

- Senior Designer, Jo

Fixtures and fittings

To help achieve the clients brief of a sleek and stylish space, Jo incorporated brushed gold brassware throughout, from the taps and shower down to the smaller details like the shower glass edging and hinges. By choosing concealed, wall mounted basin taps, space around the basin is maximised whereas a deck mounted alternative may have meant compromising on the basin size which was not a practical option for the client.