On show

Designed by Carmel Wylie, GIA Renovations

From the designer:

The owner renovating his kitchen really kick started this powder room renovation. 

He had a small 'beige' existing powder room which was located straight off the dining room in the brick veneer home and given the proximity, the brief was to work within the existing footprint and deliver a reinvented powder room that was worthy of looking at from the dining table.

Let there be light

An existing skylight in the space was to remain for natural light but the homeowner requested more light to be brought into the room – which is situated in the middle of the house and as such has no external walls.

We addressed this in several ways.

Removing the frosted diffuser from the existing skylight and opened up the skylight with a flared plastered flue optimised natural light penetration with the flue allowing natural light out into other areas of the room. 

We also designed and installed a large full height mirror cabinet to reflecting the skylight into the room further. 

Plus, a fluted glass door sliding door and glass dividing walls were installed to borrow light from the areas outside the powder room and reflect this light through the space. 

A quiet place

With the space being just off the dining room, addressing noise and privacy was also a large part of the brief.

To address sound issues, sound insulation batts were installed into the walls and the new door to the powder room was double glazed.

The full height glazed walls also helped with the sound.

Divide and consolidate

The powder room is loosely divided into areas of use – this was done with the fluted framed glass full height walls. 

We divided the space so that with the door open (as it often is given the owner's frequent multi-generational visitors), you have the best view in the room – ie: the beautiful free standing pedestal basin; plus, as the most commonly used item, it was appropriate that the sink would take centre position. 

This divisional approach also allowed us to hide the toilet from view – it has its own space off to the side with the shower area directly opposite.

In keeping

Externally, within view of the bathroom there were red brick pavers and the adjoining kitchen was in forest greens.

To create a flowing design connection, I echoed the red brick hues in the powder room with the red travertine floor and shower tiles, while the herringbone pattern echoed the outdoor paving.

In addition, the kitchen in the house is a forest green so I pulled the green basin in to connect with that, too.

Storage

Storage wasn’t a huge priority as the home has one inhabitant – however, the mirror cabinet did provide what was necessary.

Stunning

The resulting powder room also fulfilled the owner's more abstract brief – he wanted a space that was visually stunning.

Story by: Trendsideas