Get the look of this industrial bathroom space with natural materials and muted hues
These homeowners rebuilt their bathroom from scratch using stone, oak, and quiet colours to create their perfect sanctuary
Refits and renovations are equally exciting and stressful so inspiration is always welcome. The owners of this home refurbished their bathroom as part of a complete house rebuild in their semi-detached cottage in East Molesley, Surrey.
Spending just over £28,000 (excluding the vanity unit and bath), they were able to create an industrial bathroom aesthetic that felt timeless and calming. Here's how they did it - and what you can do to recreate it.
Before
'The only bathroom we had was tiny, freezing and dated,' explains the homeowner.
‘Having demolished and rebuilt most of our 1852 cottage, we created three extra bathrooms and made our former en-suite bathroom much bigger. The old bathroom with the kitchen below had been added in the 1970s.'
After
'Once the building work began, we rented a flat nearby. The bathroom took three months from being a shell to becoming the understated haven it now is. We wanted an industrial look with subdued colours that will last us a lifetime.'
'As well as the bath and vanity unit in reclaimed marble, we also chose a resin floor, oak for the door and drawers, and concrete-effect wall tiles – all in quiet, natural colours with nothing that shouts at you or looks out of place.'
'We think our simple bathroom design is timeless, and calming. We love the continuity between the flooring, the door, and the drawers – it’s just simple and uniform.'
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Get the look: Epoxy resin flooring, from £85sq m, Sika. Oak drawers made using UN102 Oak Rustic Wharf Grey from V4’s Urban Nature Collection, £86sq m, v4woodflooring.co.uk
Focus on ApaiserMARBLE
The ideal choice for anyone who would love pure stone bathware but is put off by the cost and weight.
- ApaiserMARBLE was developed in Australia in the Barossa Valley and launched in 2004 after years of research to replicate the sensual quality of marble or stone.
- Its virtue is that it is much lighter than natural stone, less expensive and warm to the touch. Made from a blend of up to 90% reclaimed crushed marble (which would otherwise go to landfill) and high-quality resin, it feels like marble or stone and is as durable. The bathware comes in a variety of colours and textures.
- ApaiserMARBLE is also naturally slip-resistant, non-porous, and resistant to stains, scratches, mould and bacteria.
- A team of highly experienced craftsmen and craftswomen will spend more than 300 hours creating each piece of Apaiser bathware, from basins to vanities and baths. The designs are cast and then meticulously hand-sanded.
- Due to fluctuating costs of transport at present, Apaiser says its items are priced on request.
The bath
'We would have liked a stone bath, but in the end we chose reclaimed marble, which was much more affordable.’
Get the look: Seascapes bath in Nimbus, Apaiser, price on request
Mirrors
A wall of bathroom mirrors brings a lot of extra natural light into the bathroom.
Basins and bench
‘We teamed the basins and bench with oak joinery of our own design and Downtown Ash tiles in Graphite at the base.’ says the homeowner.
Get the look: Catalano Canova Royal wall-mounted pan, CP Hart, Pastille double vanity in Nimbus (with basin inserts), price on request, Apaiser.
‘The Ghost chair dates back to the 90s – something we gathered on our journey. It’s a classic and looks as great today as it did on day one. The epoxy bathroom flooring is low-maintenance, seamless, hard-wearing, slip-resistant, and hygienic.’ explains the owner.
Shower fittings
The controls sit on a splashback of Downtown Ash tiles.
'We wanted the valves and other shower fittings to look as simple as possible.’ explain the owners.
Get the look: Vola shower valve/diverter in stainless steel, £1664.40, CP Hart.
Tiling
Get the look: Wall tiles Downtown Ash and Graphite wall and floor tiles, £18 each, ABK Tiles.
‘We chose extra large (800x800mm) concrete-effect porcelain tiles in Ash for the walls and Graphite for the shower area, for an industrial look.’
Millie Hurst was Senior Content Editor at Ideal Home from 2020-2022, and is now Section Editor at Homes & Gardens. Before stepping into the world of interiors, she worked as a Senior SEO Editor for News UK in both London and New York. You can usually find her looking up trending terms and finding real-life budget makeovers our readers love. Millie came up with the website's daily dupes article which gives readers ways to curate a stylish home for less.
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