This peach 1980s bathroom was in desperate need of an update. Everything had to go, but re-thinking the layout meant taking a brave decision to knock down a few walls.

The existing space threw up several challenges which face many renovation projects:

• How to create the feeling of more space when you are limited with the existing location of the plumbing?
• Do you pinch more space by making the walk-in robe smaller?
• How do you create the ideal feature wall or focal point when you have two doors to the bathroom?
• Does the focal point become the view or the vanity, or the bath?

As the family had all grown up and left the nest, the room was mainly used as a guest suite. Being a second bathroom, for resale, we had to keep the two-way access for the three bedrooms attached. The major decision was to turn the shower into a walk-in shower stall with no screen. The feature wall became the stone tile behind the vanity, which had a touch of sparkle, and ran the full length of the wall, into the new shower.

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After:

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The next decision was to place the toilet cistern in a new wall for a stylish look. To create the wall for the walk-in shower we had to lose some width in the entry to the bathroom.

A great design tip for narrow spaces is to trick the eye by adding a large mirror which then reflects the view and visually opens up the space.

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After:

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Another dilemma was the choice of window covering to enhance the view without the choice of colour or product distracting from the view. The usual safe choice of white, would be clean and fresh but would then dominate the room, as well as the stylish look of shutters would also become the feature, so we decided to choose a beautiful bronze metallic blind, which gives off a bold moody feel to the room but does not interfere with the view. Selecting dark colours can be a daunting step, but the result is amazing.

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After:

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Overall, the design resulted in a practical and stylish renovated bathroom with a dash of drama.

Check out the entire project here!