A geometric retro theme for a Surrey family bathroom

When Louise and Adrian bought their 1930s Surrey home, the interior decoration was distinctly 60’s.

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It had single glazing, no central heating and even an out-house. All the surfaces seemed to be full of “brown, green and blue carpets and awfully fussy, swirly wallpaper,” explains Louise.

The couple went for an all or nothing approach, drawing up plans that would double the footprint of the house. An extension allowed the extra space for the kitchen expansion and (alongside using a little of the original space) a bigger downstairs toilet.

Here’s how it came together.

The project in a nutshell:

Who lives here? Louise and Adrian Cherry, and their young family

Location: Surrey

Designer: Joanne Sangster, Senior Designer at Ripples

Decade property was originally built: 1930’s

Although it was easy to find sources of inspiration on Pinterest, Louise says she struggled turning those ideas into concrete design choices. That’s where Joanne Sangster came in.

Louise explains: “I had pinned a lot of geometric retro styles and colour because I really wanted the downstairs bathroom to stand out.

“We needed someone to really feel enthusiastic about the project and help bring the mood board to life.”

The tiles chosen are a subtle nod to the original retro feel of the property, but they also have a slick modern feel. They used large format tiles in dark grey contrast with a white three-dimensional geometric design that opens up the room.

“Joanne found the tiles for us and I fell in love with them.

“She then did three hand drawings using the tiles in slightly different variations and we stuck them up in the space for a week to help us decide which worked,” says Louise. The result is a bold modern twist on a retro classic look.

The furniture selected amplifies minimalism and calm. Floated shelving, under-counter storage, a sleek minimalistic shower screen and a wall hung toilet leave the maximum free space available.

Open plan shouldn’t just apply to kitchens. The shower tray has been installed at exact floor height to allow ease of access and cleaning, and not to break up the limited space. The shower screen also has an anti-plaque treatment to ensure water runs off and leaves less limescale.

Designer Joanne Sangster worked hard to combine a sleek look with practicality. But the difficulty of this room was it’s shape. “With the room being rather narrow, the difficulty was ensuring it didn’t have a corridor effect when finished,” says Louise.

The main challenges involved the original pipework and electrics. Louise explains: “We needed to move electrics out to the cupboard space behind and the waste pipe for the shower had to be dug into the concrete floor.” Pipework was carefully concealed in the walls in a way that left as much space as possible.

“The bathroom is everything I dreamed of and more, it feels serene and luxurious. I’m so pleased we didn’t get scared to be bold with our choices, ” smiled Louise.