My favourite room in the house is now my bathroom
A few months ago I went dark and changed the wall colour in my bathroom from crisp clinical white to a deep grey. I loved it, but it just didn’t work. So I decided to change it again. This is what I did.
The entire room is covered in Porter’s Paints ‘Lace’ wallpaper in Aniseed by Catherine Martin (Baz Luhrmann partner in work and life). I also swapped the vintage industrial pendant light to an amazing French Belle Epoque (c. 1900) crystal chandelier which I found in a local antique shop. One of the great things of the mid-century furniture revival is that antique objects are not so sought after and therefore more affordable. I left the ceiling white, but the wood trim is painted in Porter’s Low Sheen Aniseed. Otherwise everything else is unchanged: all the fittings, mirrors, cupboards, accessories and tiles. For those of you who knew my old bathroom and like the vintage Villemot poster, don’t fear, that’s just been relocated to the dining room where it really works.
Thank you also to Matthew Collins for his meticulous work hanging the paper. Having never done this myself, I decided the unconventional shape of my bathroom and intricate pattern required an expert. I am glad I did. Matthew is a incredibly talented designer in his own right and his range of bespoke wallpapers are beautiful and well worth perusing.
Incredible what a difference just some paper and a new light can make. Whenever I walk into the bathroom now I smile. It’s my favourite room in the house and in the afternoon when the light trickles through the windows I like to sit on the floor with a cup of tea and simply enjoy the room.
Photos and styling by Emilie Smith and me.
Wow. Just wow. The wallpaper – wow. The colour – wow! The pink chair – wow! The lighting – wow!
I love this so much!
O my gosh. Your bathroom looks AMAZING Kate!! Well done, really beautiful! Congrats!! It looks like you did just what it needed. Love the red plastic chair by the way, and of course your cat in the back
And… Your pics are truly gorgeous.
OMG – Kate, you have OUTDONE YOURSELF!!!!!!
Just beautiful Kate… but I course I knew it would be! Amazing how small changes can give such a dramatic impact. Will have to come and have tea on your bathroom floor x
Wow – you must be very clean by now – G’luck
Oh my. I feel a bit dizzy. But I like it very much. It’s very opulent. Congratulations.
oh wow, this is perfect!!! love the wallpaper and the chandelier, and that pink chair fits in perfectly. go dark rooms!
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. Matthew, the wallpaper hanger, warned me that it is addictive. I now so understand what he means. While I don’t have any tattoos, I imagine it’s similar: I see all these white spaces and fantasise what I could do with them.
That’s fabulous! You have absolutely nailed it to perfection. Well done!
stunning!!!
I realize this post is close to a year old, but I just found it through pinterest and had to give you kudos. So so lovely. Great job!
Thanks! Much appreciated.
Do you think this dark wallpaper would work in quite a small bathroom? I am in love, but I do not have high ceilings or much space…
Melinda, Absolutely. it would look incredible. Only warning is that the paper is no longer hand-made, but is now machine printed and unfortunately not as nice. It’s now shinny and rather than having a worn look the black is a solid block. Rather spoilt it, but is a bit more affordable. Would love to see how your bathroom turns out.