New heights for bathroom renovations

Homeowners work with interior designers and builders to create a modern bathroom renovation for an Edwardian-styled home. 

Buying a beautiful old home in the inner suburbs of Melbourne usually comes with a catch - it's either out of most people's price range, or it requires a renovation. For Jan and Ali, however, restoring their newly purchased house was half the fun.

The modern bathroom renovation

Rooms like the bathroom and laundry were unusable, so they called in architect Brett Nixon of Nixon Tulloch to redesign the area, and builder John Buckingham of Spinners to put it all together.

Although the home is a grand 101-year-old Edwardian design, the modern style of the bathroom renovation is not out of place. Indeed, the house deftly marries its original period style with the more modern layout of an earlier extension. As part of this newer section, the bathroom design slots in seamlessly.

Interior design ideas to increase spaces

The ceilings in the renovated space are relatively low, prompting John to employ some space-enhancing design tricks. Ceiling-high white bathroom tiles - set off by natural light that floods through a huge new window - make the room bright and inviting. The spacious bath takes up a bit of room, but is balanced out by an almost invisible shower, with clear glass screen, in the opposite corner.

Generous bathroom mirrors further add to the sense of space and also house some shallow cupboards, ideal for bathroom products. Bigger items, such as towels and linen, can be stashed away behind bi-fold doors to the right of the entrance.

Maximising laundry space

This discreet area is also home to the other important part of this renovation - the laundry. With the doors opened right up, the space merges with the front half of the bathroom.

"It's a bit over one metre deep, so you need the concertina doors open to use it," says Jan. "When you switch the washing machine on, you can then close it all up."

In a tidy row along the wall sit the washing machine, laundry cupboards and sink - above them sits a dryer and another storage cupboard. John has maximised the capacity of this little room by filling up the wall space with laundry items, working upwards instead of out.

Bathroom fittings and placements

Being taller than average, Jan had to think carefully about the bathroom fittings and where they would be placed. The twin sinks he requested had initially been drafted to sit at 800mm, but John recommended they be hung higher up at 900mm so Jan wouldn't need to stoop to wash his face. The deep bath is also long enough to fit Jan and his two small sons all at once.

"The whole family uses this bathroom, so it takes a bit of a beating," Jan laughs.