OWNER Gill McLeod
WHERE Dulwich, London
BUDGET £10,000 to £12,000, for the bathroom only
DESIGNER Nicola Searle of Hung, Drawn and Altered

THE BRIEF
To create a relaxing sanctuary that would free up the family bathroom on the floor below and add value to the house.

DESIGN TIPS
“If you go for a feature piece such as this unusual freestanding bath, don't accessorise too much or you will end up smothering the space. It's important to keep the scheme simple, especially in a small room,” says Nicola.

SOURCEBOOK
Design: Hung, Drawn and Altered, (020) 7801 6213.
Basin: Stone of Destiny, (01342) 822269.
Bath: William Holland, (01305) 849490.
Mirror: Satana, (01935) 891888.
Taps: Lefroy Brooks, (01992) 708316.
Tiles: The Tile Warehouse, (0115) 939 0209.
Radiator: Aestus, 0870 403 0115.

With only one bathroom in her six-bedroom Victorian property, Gill McLeod was keen to carve an en suite bathroom out of the large main bedroom on the second floor of her home. As well as adding value to the house and giving her three children the bathroom below to themselves, the en suite is a beautiful retreat where Gill can relax at the end of a busy day.
Although the area partitioned off proved to be quite spacious, there are three steep, sloping walls reaching up to the rafters, so standing room is restricted. For this reason a shower was eschewed in favour of a gorgeous bateau copper bath from William Holland. “Gill fell in love with the bath on sight and it ended up being the focal point around which the whole room scheme was based,” recalls Nicola Searle of bathroom designers Hung, Drawn and Altered. Positioned under the lowest point in the room, the freestanding bath has a large Velux window above, allowing Gill to bathe beneath the stars. A second Velux window provides essential headroom above a neat wall-hung toilet.

Situated on an external wall with access to the waste pipe, the toilet was selected for its discreet appearance. It was placed behind the vanity unit to minimise its impact and a special frame was constructed to secure it to the roof beams behind the stud wall. “This type of toilet is great in confined spaces as it is less obtrusive than conventional versions and easier to keep clean,” says Nicola.

Aiming for a rustic, understated Italian feel, Gill found a second-hand vanity unit on the internet, and Nicola gave it a distressed paint finish. An oval stone basin echoes its curved edge and a heated mirror with integral lighting was shaped to follow the slope of the roof. The rest of the room was kept neutral to maximise the “wow-factor” of the bath.

WORDS LINDA GRABHAM
PHOTOGRAPH DARREN CHUNG
MAY 2006