Major bathroom renovation

Interior designer Dorothy de Guara had a clear vision of what she wanted for her new bathroom interior. The house was built in 1910 and had not been renovated since the 1960s, so a major bathroom renovation was in order.

Keeping the front three rooms of the house, Dorothy and her husband Charles extended out the back to create a new bathroom and bedroom area.

It was important to the couple that the bathroom reflected the same style as the rest of the house. "The whole theme of the house is light and spacious, with lots of natural stone and timber," says Dorothy, "so we wanted the bathroom to be light filled and spacious, with an organic feel."

Creating a sun-filled bathroom interior

Employing natural materials such as wood and travertine stone to achieve the desired effect, Dorothy designed a contemporary bathroom with an abundance of natural light. "It's quite open, with light coming in from the windows at the top and bottom," she says.

In addition to opening up the space, the windows afford views to the beautifully manicured Japanese garden, creating the perfect ambience for a serene soak in the sunken hydrotherapy bath.

Bathroom features

The bathroom is cleverly designed around a centrepiece, which has the open shower mounted on one side and a sleek glass basin and vanity area on the other.

Mirrored panels on the sides of the centrepiece combine to enhance the spacious feel while, tucked in the corner, an elegant wall-hung toilet with concealed cistern does its job without detracting from the simplicity of the design.

Dorothy has employed clever design techniques to incorporate loads of storage in the bathroom. The timber veneer wall along one side is actually a cupboard, which extends into the outside void to create a streamlined look.

"There's actually storage in the centrepiece as well," Dorothy says. "The mirrored section at a pull-out unit - it's shelving on a rail that disappears when you close it, and just looks like a mirror."

Overcoming bathroom design challenges

One of the challenges was positioning the distinctive sunken bath - for ease of entry, Dorothy didn't want it flush with the floor. "It had to be at the right height so you could comfortably sit on the edge and just turn your legs into the bath tub from a sitting position," she explains. To achieve this, she had a geometric hob custom made from carefully sourced timber.

Another challenge was finding a bathroom mirror for the vanity area in the centrepiece. "It was a challenge to get a mirror that worked on that flat surface, as it's harder to design," says Dorothy.

"That was seemingly the simplest thing, but it turned out to be one of the hardest to solve." She ended up sourcing a distinctive Philippe Starck mirror, which is complemented by silver drop lights by the same designer.

"It's always a challenge getting a balance with such a minimal design, because anything you put in there, unless it's spot on, will look wrong," Dorothy explains. Nevertheless, she has managed to find just the right balance and says there's nothing she'd want to change about her new bathroom now it's done. "I really enjoy the space," she says. "Because I live in it, and didn't just design it, I actually know that it works. 

Contact an interior designer in your area to find out how you can have a bathroom renovation like Dorothy's: