A bathroom for an interior designer

Interior designers make brilliant bathrooms for their clients and a lot of hard work goes into meeting their expectations. So what happens when an interior designer tackles his personal bathroom project?

As the man behind Sydney company Fluid Designs by M Manzi, Michael Manzi has designed countless bathrooms. But when it came to his own, he found it a much different experience.

"It's really nice when it's your own bathroom," says Michael. "You can take a few more risks with finishes and ideas and it allows you to be a bit more spontaneous when making decisions."

Starting small with the home renovation

The construction of the new ensuite bathroom was one of the first tasks in a larger home renovation project, which Michael saw as an opportunity to create something a bit different to the norm.

"I wanted to try and create an ideal concrete cube - a very blokey, modern  bathroom," he says. "Working on my own place allowed me the luxury to be a bit self-indulgent."

Sacrificing part of an existing bedroom space, the new bathroom renovation was built behind a wall of cupboards, with the entrance effectively hidden away behind a wardrobe door.

A small and effective bathroom renovation

While small, it is just right, according to Michael. "The whole room was really built around the big 1200mm floor tile, which governed the width of the space. If the bathroom were slightly bigger, it wouldn't work," he says.

Despite its size, the ensuite appears quite spacious. "The reason it works is because the door doesn't open into the room - it's set back in the wardrobe," says Michael.

He also devised some clever storage solutions, with a recessed bathroom cabinet fitted into the ensuite wall. The cabinet is covered by an abstract surface pattern, which was designed by his wife, Flavia, a textile designer.

Natural light for the bathroom

The bathroom had no windows, so introducing natural light was one of the major interior design challenges. Michael solved this by installing a light well, which he says is one of his favourite aspects of the bathroom project.

"The colour just shoots down into it at the right time and you get a nice sort of glowing effect. It's really quite interesting, the light and what it does," he says.

Being a brand-new bathroom construction, Michael didn't have to contend with any tricky challenges, such as moving fittings around, and was able to concentrate on working out the ergonomics and how the space would work best.

The result is a stylish and masculine-looking ensuite that functions perfectly. "And I know it works, because I've lived with it," he says.

Contact an interior designer in your area to find out how you can make your bathroom project come to life: 

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