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Bathroom Tiles

Found on dulux.com.au
Found on dulux.com.au

I am trying to put together plans for the bathroom in the loft, which is slightly tricky as it’s a room that doesn’t yet exist so it’s hard to visualise how the light will fall never mind how it will feel in there. We have already decided that it will have a sliding door to maximise the space both in and out of the room. I am leaning towards having one made from reclaimed floorboards as I think that will be the easiest solution and one that will fit with the overall industrial look of the space (not to mention that a steel one will cost several hundred – well all right, nearly a thousand – pounds).

there will not be a chandelier in there image found on wealdentimes.co.uk

We are also agreed that the walls will be painted in gloss. I want them to look almost lacquered and the condensation should just slide right off as well as giving a luxurious feel which should contrast well with the rustic door. However, I am also wondering if we should leave the walls white and paint the ceiling in black gloss instead.

from poppytalk.com
from poppytalk.com

“They” say that painting the ceiling dark doesn’t bring it down but will cause it to recede and, as it’s in a loft, it could do with a bit of receding frankly. I feel it’s my duty to try it and let you know. Also, as the bath will be sited under a sloping ceiling (and used mainly at night) I’m thinking that painting the ceiling and window frame in black will make it also feel like you are bathing under the stars. Or in this case the light pollution from a London street but hey we can dream a little.

via countryliving.com
via countryliving.com

So we’re imagining a window in the sloping roof over the bath and the ceiling painted black. The window in the above picture will be solid wall and have the basin on it and where the dual showerheads are will be the sliding door. Got it? You are sitting on the loo as you take this picture and the room will be about this size. With me?

So now we get to the next bit. Tiling… And I have found these. And I LOVE them.

topps tiles

They are the new Archivo collection from Topps Tiles. The range also includes this one below as well as a plain version both of which you can see in this image. They cost £1.49 each but I don’t think we will need that many as there’s no shower in there. Just a splash back for the basin that carries on round behind the bath. The bath won’t be freestanding and I think we will clad the side plan in reclaimed boards to match the door. Or, maybe, these tiles? What do you think?

topps archivo image

Naturally I’m leaning towards the black and gold ones although sadly the budget doesn’t run to brass taps. So perhaps the black and white ones are better. In the event we decide to paint the walls navy blue (which is not out of the question) then the end tile might be the one we go for. The floor will be white painted floorboards as everywhere else in the house.

What do you think? I love the way the tiles are aged round the edges so that, hopefully, they will look as if they have been there for ever. I shall be ordering samples this week.

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

5 Comments

  1. Don’t forget you’ll have an extractor fan up there so the gloss will barely be affected by steam, it’ll just look all gorgeous and glossy all on its own. And if those tiles are thick – 20mm or so – your contractor will hate you because the adhesive will need to be applied really thickly to get them to actually stay on the wall…

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