Inspired By a Painting, This Bathroom Redesign Revolves Around a Statement Fireplace – The Result is an 'Utterly Welcoming and Warm' Retreat

When you think about it, a bathroom is the perfect place for a fireplace. It adds warmth and comfort, and can help to create an irresistibly cozy atmosphere that invites you to truly relax – and that is exactly what has been achieved in this beautiful bathroom redesign.

For interior designer Robin Bird, the fireplace was the starting point, becoming the focal point of the overall scheme. Paired with a reinvented layout and improved lighting, the room has been transformed from a vast, dark space to a bright, inviting retreat.

And it's proved to be the missing piece of the home's puzzle. Embracing the property's Spanish Ranch style and expertly bringing the natural landscape in, the design is a masterclass in getting a large bathroom right. Here's how she nailed the brief.

A large bathroom can feel like a true luxury, but it can also make a scheme trickier to design. It was certainly a point of contention in this bathroom – the spacious footprint required a thoughtful approach to layout.

'Its biggest issue was its large size, which was a problem the whole house had. Huge rooms with diminutive fixtures, out of proportion to their rooms, were jammed into the corners. This room with tiny windows felt deceptively claustrophobic for its enormous size,' explains designer Robin Bird.

Natural light was another element that needed attention – the surrounding woodland blocks light throughout the day, so paired with tiny windows, it made the home feel really rather dark and uninviting. But it's something Robin was quick to rectify during the redesign.

'Adding a panoramic shower window and a set of French doors to the porch was essential not only to let light in, but also to capture the beautiful nature surrounding the property,' she explains.

'All of the windows and doors were strategically placed to capture the coastal oaks and landscaping vignettes, so there was something beautiful to look at through every window, whether or not the sun was out.'

Bathroom color choices played a crucial role in the design, used to emulate the surrounding landscape while also creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere that felt sympathetic to the home's style and architecture.

'In this particular space, the art above the fireplace – a watercolor by Sofia Mitsola called Sarcotub – was my main color inspiration, along with the woodland outside. Art in general really influences how I design a space, and this bathroom is a prime example,' Robin explains.

'In the art, I see a hardworking woman sinking deep into a bathtub chamber of utter contentment. And I wanted that feeling for the whole room. The zellige tile on the floor and shower walls pulls greens, blues, browns, and golds, which complement the richer wood tones in the space,' she continues.

'The warm white wall color, use of plaster, as well as the wooden doors, vanities, trim, and baseboards are all consistent throughout the house and help keep a cohesiveness even if the tile color or patterns change from room to room. The art pulls in all the room's colors but doesn't distract from the nature outside.'

The artwork takes pride of place in the bathroom, perched atop a statement fireplace – a feature Robin describes as non-negotiable, with the whole design revolving around its success. 'Once I'd decided that the fireplace and a tub facing it were a 'must', it gave me the parameters I needed to fit in everything else.'

But if there's one thing that truly stands out in this design, it's the unrivaled sense of symmetry – most notable in the vanity area, where two wooden units flank the fireplace – that instantly captures the eye, creating a balanced and visually appealing finish. And it's a detail that was entirely intentional.

'I primarily gravitate towards older homes where there is a constant play of symmetry vs asymmetry. But in this space, whether it was a reaction from how the room looked before, I didn't want your eye to fall on a "quirk" or to have one thing hold your attention. I wanted your eye to fall on the entire space and have a harmony to it,' Robin explains.

There's no single feature that stands out in the design for Robin, rather the combination of many and the way the room makes you feel. 'I love the tile – its variations, how it plays against the light with all its imperfections, and how it brings the outside in. And the things a picture can't capture,' she construes.

'The bathroom has radiant heat, which is always cranked on. Coming in from the sauna or hot tub on a cold day to the fireplace crackling quietly and dogs asleep on the warm floor. That's my idea of a perfect experience and the height of luxury.'

This redesigned bathroom ticks all the boxes: well-suited to the home, complementary to the landscape, and filled with just the right amount of character and personality. It also makes a strong case for adding a statement fireplace to a bathroom.

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