Interior designer advises: “Ditch your bath”


Looking for a radical way to create space in your small bathroom? Then get rid of the bath – the chances are that you’re not using it that much anyway.

That’s the view of Chelsea-based interior designer Hugh Leslie, asked to give recommendations for a style piece in the Independent newspaper.

That rather brutal assessment of bathroom space requirements shatters our romantic view of a place where you take long, relaxing soaks and positions it as somewhere relentlessly practical, used for short, invigorating, water-efficient showers. But that could be just what you need…

And we definitely like his idea of using striking colours and finishes rather than resorting to neutrality – an idea taken even further by another contributor, the Nina Campbell, also hailing from London’s fashionable SW3 district.

Here are her tips, which we like a lot:

Soak up the style: How to make the most of your bathroom

[…]

If you’ve got a window or a good extractor, consider using wallpaper, says interior designer Nina Campbell. “But opt for an open design – something that you feel you’re looking through like branches, rather than some little, intense design,” she warns.

Unlike Leslie, Campbell believes baths can work in small bathrooms. “Just don’t box them in. Replacing it with a freestanding one means you suddenly see all the floor and that alone can stop you feeling squashed in.

“The change can be incredible, particularly if you give your tiles a border round the edge.”

Read the full piece here…