Judith Edwards and her husband, Adrian, moved their bedroom upstairs into the loft space and made do with the existing shower room for a few years.
‘The children got the nice bathroom downstairs, but sadly we got stuck with a badly decorated shower space,’ explains Judith.
There was a catalogue of problems, but most importantly the shower doors were not watertight, which meant that the floor was getting very wet.
The rubber flooring had not only become worn and sodden, but it hadn’t been properly laid out either, so the leaking water was seeping through to a bedroom downstairs.
Welcome to my home...
Who lives here? Teacher Judith Edwards lives in a four-bedroom house in South Woodford, London, with her husband, Adrian, and three children, Kitty and Joseph, both 16, and Charlie, 12. After finding a leak in a downstairs bedroom, Judith overhauled the bathroom to create a bold scheme.
What do you like most about the new room? It’s got to be the floor. I’ve had my eye on these gorgeous tiles for a while – I just love how impactful they are.
‘There was quite a bit of water damage to the shower room floor and the bedroom ceiling, both of which were getting worse.’ The time had come to call in the plumber.
‘I decided to start again and not only make the shower room watertight but update it, too,’ says Judith.
She wanted a more sophisticated look in the room. ‘Although it’s a tiny room, I still wanted it to look smart and contemporary.’ The plumber suggested keeping the same layout to keep costs down and advised choosing compact products to prevent them from dominating the small space.
‘We were really restricted with the space and sloping ceiling, so we just stuck to a similar layout as we knew it worked.’
Judith had her eye on some decorative floor tiles to create impact, though. ‘It was love at first sight with these tiles. I really wanted to create a monochrome patterned floor and knew they’d look amazing teamed with some white wall tiles laid in a herringbone pattern.’
A bit more about my home...
What are your top tips? No matter how small a room is, treat it like any other and use colour and bold patterns to create interest and drama.
What did you learn? Laying tiles in a particular pattern, such as herringbone, can take longer than you expect, so leave room in your budget to cover the increased labour costs.
The old flooring was stripped out and new plywood was laid down and prepared for the new tiles. The remaining walls were covered with a coat of dark green paint for contrast and a compact shower quadrant cubicle was fitted snugly into the corner with a black frame to match the floor.
Judith chose a free-standing industrial-style basin to place alongside a new, black shower enclosure. She polished off the contemporary bathroom look with a black shower and taps, as well as some green plants.
‘It’s small but perfectly formed, especially now there’s no water leaks!’
Shopping list...
Arezzo 600 matt black framed washstand with basin, £334.75; Arezzo black basin mono mixer tap, £79.95; Imperia black slate effect shower tray, £159.95; Arezzo close coupled toilet and seat, £219.95; Arezzo matt square toilet roll holder, £39.95, all Victorian Plumbing. Round black mirror, £60, John Lewis & Partners. Black quadrant corner shower enclosure, £420, eBay. Lily pad porcelain floor tiles, £69.12 per sq m, Artisan of Devises. Crosswater black shower kit, £243.75,Victorianbathrooms4u.com. Microline white tiles, £31 per sq m, Topps Tiles. Industrial metal wire wooden shelves, £15.98 for two; Wall-mounted basket rack, £11.39, both eBay. Canopy durable matt emulsion, £38 for 2.5L, Graham & Brown. Joshua bath mat, £31.99; Artificial Dracaena plant, £21.99, both Wayfair. Artificial hanging plant, £8; Scent candle jar, £2.50; Artificial potted plant, £6, all Wilko. Toiletries, from a selection at Thirty Four Point Four. Artificial plant in black and white pot, £5; Black storage caddy, £17, both Dunelm.