Heather Craig, 34, bought a four-bedroom, 1940s house in Dunfermline with her husband, Brian, 40, which had already been extended, and she couldn’t wait to make the home their own.
‘All the rooms were very bland, which isn’t me as I love colour,’ says Heather, who shares snaps of her vibrant home on Instagram @heatherrosieolivehome.
‘The bathroom was particularly depressing, with brown walls and beige tiles that had been tiled over twice. The vanity was too big and too high – we think it might have been a kitchen cupboard.’
As their children, Rosie and Olive, were small when the couple moved in, they didn’t start on the bathroom straight away. Then the shower broke a couple of years later, becoming the catalyst for their new-look room.
‘We knew the bathroom would be an investment, so I wanted it to feel special and luxurious, as well as practical for the family,’ says Heather. ‘A free-standing bath was a long-held dream of mine and I liked the idea of light, fresh shades of pink and green.’
By now, Heather had had plenty of time to plan the space. One of the plus points was the existing shower cubicle, made by the previous owners, who’d taken space from the adjoining bedroom.
‘I would never have thought of doing this and it meant we could have a bath,’ says Heather. ‘But I changed the layout and found a bath to fit across the room, instead of down the side, to make it feel more open.’
Heather looked for a vanity to recess into the alcove next to the shower, but the decision to clad the bathroom walls with wood changed the plan. ‘I liked the idea of having traditional panelling, modernised with vibrant paint,’ she explains. ‘The panels covered the recess though, so the vanity is positioned a little further forward. The design has worked out well because it’s created a useful shelf beneath the mirror.’
Heather isn’t a fan of chrome fittings and was concerned black would show water stains, as it does with the black floor she’d inherited in their kitchen, so she looked for an alternative that would work with her chosen palette. ‘I thought brass would sit well against the pink and green colour scheme,’ she continues. ‘I assumed it would be too expensive though, and I was really surprised to find companies like Victorian Plumbing and Drench sold brushed brass fittings at prices that were within our budget.’
Pink and green is Heather’s favourite combination, and the decorating thread that runs throughout her home. ‘We’ve been bold with pink in Rosie’s bedroom and the kitchen, so I chose a muted pink with grey tones that works for Brian, too,’ she says. ‘The minty green was recommended by Lick, where we bought the paint.’
As Heather searched for hexagon tile ideas on Instagram, she found inspiration from interior designer, Sophie Robinson, who’d used Ca’ Pietra tiles in her home. ‘I looked at their website and settled on candy pink and blue-grey hexagon tiles,’ she says. ‘I played around with the patterns and decided on a pink abstract design for the floor and blue stripes in the shower.’
The couple bought everything for the bathroom before lockdown and stored it in their garage. A bathroom company took on the entire project in summer 2020, which – aside from a tiler, who wasn’t too pleased with Heather’s tile patterns – ran smoothly.
Soon, she was styling the room with wall art, accessories and plants. ‘There’s still a lot to do in the house but our new bathroom has elevated it to a higher level,’ she says. ‘It’s a happy and relaxing place to be in.’
Feature Jane Crittenden. Styling Alison Gibb. Photos Douglas Gibb.
This is a digital version of a feature that originally appeared in Your Home magazine. For more inspirational home ideas, why not subscribe today?