Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - Imagining the Possibilities

Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - Imagining the Possibilities

Over the years, bathrooms have gained an ever more important place in the home, and the bathroom design profession has expanded considerably. Homeowners invest increasing amounts of money every year in what has become a real spa culture - bathroom design today includes Jacuzzis and whirlpools, water jets, huge bathtubs, saunas and steam baths, indoor swimming pools, and even high-end audio-visual equipment for the ultimate cinema-spa-bathroom experience. The possibilities are really endless. In this series of blogs, I rely on my experience as a London-based bathroom design professional to uncover the secrets of how both historic and contemporary bathrooms can be wonderful spaces to luxuriate, unwind and refresh.

Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - A Brief History of Bathing

Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - A Brief History of Bathing

Exploring London bathroom design schemes is often very fascinating - and not only because of the wonderful sense of tradition and connections to the past! Most British people love to wash and get dressed in a designer bathroom that feels seventy years out of date, because it appeals to the cultural sensibilities of the nation. We Londoners love to make do and hold onto the familiar, rather than having to deal with all the hassle and disruption of a bathroom design update! We absolutely adore anything that seems antiquated or historic.


In the 1800s, many London houses did not feature a room that was designated for ablutions. Indeed, in those days the profession of bathroom design was only just beginning. As far as we can tell, residents of London in the 1850s washed much more infrequently than we do today. The lack of good approaches to bathroom design meant they would typically wash themselves in bedrooms or walk-in wardrobes. Their key implement was a piece of furniture called the "washstand" and plenty of waterjugs that the servants would fill from the local public fountain and heat over the kitchen fire. Only the poshest bathroom designs would include a bathtub with its own water supply via built-in pipework. Even though London 's first ever piped-in bathtub dates from the 1100s, such luxuries did not become widespread in British bathroom design until many centuries later!

"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional

"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional

Multi-Surface Wall Creativity

Why cover a wall with just one type of tile when a bathroom design project can be so much more? For this particular London residence, I decided that I really needed to minimise the number of walltiles - accordingly, I instructed my team to only tile the splash-protector zone surrounding the shower. The result was a more dynamic London bathroom design that could showcase more designer flair. One more thing - prior to tilework, my crew of creative London-based plumbers got to work to majorly redesign all of the underfloor piping. Thanks to their efforts, the bathroom design now features a much-enhanced drain-out profile. The water flows away just like a whirlpool spa!

A Classy Loo is Just the Ticket

"Drab to fab" is easier said than done! In bathroom design, sometimes one needs to just go for the high-end unit because only that will guarantee the authentic designer look that your client craves. For this particular high-end London bathroom project , we selected a luxury lavatory that slides right up to be fully flush with the back wall. This fine lav is a great option for a nice contemporary look, but it is critical to use a soft plastic flexi-pipe to suitably connect with the building's drainage system.

Say No to Sewer Rats!

In many London bathroom design projects, rats can be highly problematic. Not everyone realises how crafty these critters can be -they can easily clabber up many storeys of piping and get to within centimetres of your residence .... London sewer to flat in less than a minute! Eeek. This is not normally a problem but it can be a major issue when we need to use flexible piping to accommodate a classy back-to-wall lavatory unit for a high-end bathroom design as I described in my previous blog posting. Those razor-like claws can pop a major hole in flexible piping within seconds. I don't normally make product recommendations on this blog, but in this case I cannot overstate the fabulousness of the McAlpine Anti-Crossflow Rodent Barrier. This high-quality durable plastic system is a swivel-type one-way flap valve that guarantees water will flow out when the lavatory is flushed, but ensures that no rats can get into the system from the exterior building drainage piping. And at less than £20, it is a major value that no London bathroom design should be without!

A Delighted Client

This is the last blog posting in my series about a certain bathroom design project I worked on in Central London about a year ago. I hope you've enjoyed this deep-dive into the details on a few different "lessons learned" from the experience! All that remains is for me to reveal the ultimate output - great news, my client was completely thrilled when they saw their 100% redesigned London bathroom ! He would never have imagined how breathtaking the results could be - especially given the challenging original that we had to work with. I'm always delighted to share my design know-how with designers and enthusiasts alike, and I'm honoured when thought leaders in the industry ask me about my max-flair tips for bathroom design. Feel free to leave any thoughts/ideas in the comments! Thank you for reading. From Central London, this is Global Interior Design.

"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional

"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design

Professional.Identifying Bathroom Problems

This blog posting is the first in a series of eight about a certain bathroom design project I worked on in Central London about a year ago. I've blogged about this remarkable London bathroom renovation before, but with this new series I will deep-dive into the details on a few different "lessons learned" from the experience! Thanks for joining me!

This particular bathroom design project was huge in scope - 100% of the bathroom needed to be redesigned. The client complained that the original seemed too aged and cramped - completely incompatible with his busy modern London lifestyle. As soon as I visited the bathroom to offer our signature free no-obligation consultation I was struck by the massive possibilities that this interior space offered. I made a list in my head: on the left was "drab" (old!) and on the right was "fab" (magic that we were going to create!). Read the next blog to find out what we did next for this exciting bathroom design effort.

Shells, but not Seashells!

I tell my clients all the time about the importance of the "shell" for any major bathroom design project. By this I mean the walls, floors, doors, etc. - everything that is on the periphery and that forms the "foundation" for any real interior design work. This bathroom design project in London began with removal of 100% of the existing tiles from the room. Sometimes we had to dig many tiles deep - my skilled London-based renovations crew had to roll up their sleeves and get to work pronto! While this was happening, my designer flair kicked into high gear and I began to think of all sorts of ways to max out the potential of the rather cramped space and difficult nooks and corners for this London bathroom design. Read the next blog in this series to learn what happened!

Beautifying the Envelope and Installing Lights

I asked my team to renew the plasterwork as a key first step in this London bathroom design project. We used pricey but fabulous angle beads for a close-cut, fresh appearance on the corners that really added dynamic flair to this slightly dated interior. I was delighted to be able to sink the ceiling down by a few centimetres in order to incorporate beautiful recessed illuminator units. We used LED-based options for this bathroom design to reduce the eco-footprint. I made sure to position the lights just perfectly in order to guarantee a subtle downward wash of illumination, sure to enhance the beauty of any Londoner that looks in this mirror! This fabulous approach guarantees that any lines and wrinkles fade completely. It's my philosophy that your bathroom design should always help you look your very best!

Making Cramped Look Spacious

I required that my team work with high energy to address a pressing problem: an old-style radiator was impairing my London bathroom design antennae and could never have been compatible with the smooth, sophisticated, contemporary feel that my client craved. I insisted that it be removed and taken away for recycling pronto. But what to do about the consequent lack of warmth? Every bathroom design needs to have what I call a "coziness factor" - nothing worse than getting up during a London winter and feeling the chill of an underheated bathroom! The answer for this particular bathroom design was an underfloor thermal system. I used fabulous ultra-large 60cm square tiles to make the floor area seem expansive while also vastly reducing the groutwork linecount.