Managing an interior design project – final thoughts

With any project large or small – you need a plan!

My bathroom project actually started the day I moved in. Something about the 80′s vinyl wallpaper in faded peach florals, or the avocado suite, or the false ceiling with its aluminium frames and inserts of opaque plastic panels, or maybe it was the crumbling plasterwork – whatever it may be – the planning begins, the ideas formulate and a plan is hatched!

Your style – what is the look you are going for? Make a list of what you want and start researching – go on-line, go to the high street, look through magazines – create a mood board. A mood board is a place where you gather images, and ideas including colour, furniture or maybe it just starts with a picture or item of something that you want to incorporate in the room. Remember my bunch of lavender?

The team – talk through your ideas with several companies to get the best value for your money. Go with the company that you feel comfortable with, who have listened to your ideas and have given you some great advice. Also determine the time scale of when the work is to start and finish.

The pennies – how much is this going to cost me? I started saving … six years later … a beautiful bathroom! Get a least three quotes – but what really makes a difference is to create your own brief so that you can measure the quotes against the same brief. Make a list of what you want and what do you don’t what. Look out for the sales and buy items when you can and if you can store them safely before the works begin!

Oh, and don’t forget to take photographs of each stage of your project – it will remind you of what you are capable of! You can do it!

I would love to hear from you about your projects – leave me a message!

Nicci

Finicky Finishes

Now it’s down to the details! I love the phrase “God is in the details” – yes they may be difficult but they are beautiful! Details are the finishing touches that makes the whole work.

When creating or following a particular style, look at the components that make that style. For example, radiators. My house is an Edwardian terrace, so that already gives me the style! I didn’t go for the usual flat panel radiator, but choose a heated towel rail that had elements to it which matched an ‘older’ look.

Another example are the walls. They were treated with the appropriate finishes to give the bathroom an ‘Edwardian’ look with panelling up to dado height. To achieve the look of a quintessential Edwardian timbered panelled room, I choose mdf boards which were marked to emulate panelling. We finished them off with timber skirting at the floor level and a timber shelf at the dado height to hold items such as tea light holders, bottles of bath oils and salts.

The colour also were chosen to match the Edwardian palette but used carefully to create warmth where we needed it and lightness for practicality.

TIP Use a colour palate that is relevant to the style you have chosen.

The lighting is another key detail in any interior space. Lighting gives the atmosphere to a room its final touch. Of course a finished interior can be completely ruined by the choice of lighting but lets keep to the positives! I needed task lighting by the basin – clear and bright for putting on make-up, brushing teeth and shaving. This was provided by recessed ceiling down lights spaced across the length of the room giving a measured spread of light to the whole room.

My bathroom, however, was going to be a haven, an oasis, a place for pampering, so I added accent lighting in the form of a candle chandler. Another detail that gives a nod to the Edwardian style.  We hung the chandler from the ceiling (making sure the fixing is into a support strut or beam) over the end of the roll top bath. It fills a corner of the bathroom to perfection and enhanced the light provided by candles by positioning four small decorative mirrors on two walls to reflect the candlelight. Luxurious bliss!

A further detail is the window treatment. This we did very simply by a full length, double width of white lace draped over a wrought iron curtain rod. For further privacy we placed lily plants on a high plant stand, also reminiscent of Edwardian style. We choose white to blend in with the white bathroom suite.

Now we’ve just got the walls to fill! Do you like your walls bare or with a bit of art on it?

A bathroom traditionally usually only supports mirrors on their walls, but I wanted to show my initial inspiration; lavender. I did this with hanging a number of prints featuring lavender around the mirror, and a vintage creamware jug filled with dried lavender. Over time we added a French turn of the century country style clock, a watercolour of hydrangea, both with colours that match the wall paint.

Last but not least we added decorative hooks for our hand towels and bath robes, in an old grey metal finish – again complementing the deep purple wall paint.

Here are some photos to show you some of the details of my Edwardian bathroom: