Big Ideas: A spa-style bathroom

I’m sure we’ve all had days where we’ve wished we’ve had a spa to walk into as soon as we step through the front door, and while that may not always be possible, and we may have to plan our spa visits in advance, there are some style tips we can adopt to make the most of our own bathrooms to make them a haven of relaxation.

The Big Ideas for this bathroom are:

1. Tactile finishes such as natural woods and limewash tiles

2. A neutral palette which enhances the hygge design, but is also easy to update

3. A relaxing vibe, as we all know a calming atmosphere promotes wellbeing.

For me in this bathroom, it’s the tiles that make it. I’m sure they’re the type of tiles that builders love to hate and will tell you how hard they are to put up, but if they can look this good, I think that’s worth it. And if they are hard to put up, then I think I’d recommend a builder than trying to do them yourselves. I’ve said before that MOH and I are DIY-incompatible, and these don’t look like materials that would help with that.

He’d be a big fan of the shower though, even if the tiles aren’t quite his thing.

The other thing about this bathroom is that it’s full of texture. The wood, the tiles, the mats, even the basket with the candles in on the bench. Texture is satisfying for our eyes, and our soul I think.

It’s unusual to have artwork in a bathroom, often because they’re small and steamy places, and so it’s not practical. But if you have the space, then it’s worth considering. I like the picture above even for a non-bathroom space - it’s the type of image that challenges your eyes and brain, but also rewards them with a pleasing image once you’ve really seen it.

Even if we can’t fit all of this into our own more normal sized bathrooms, some of the Big Ideas would be relatively easy to incorporate, and I’m sure the benefit would be ten-fold.

Zoe Murphy: Loving what belongs to you

I’m continuing my 2016-fest today with a few photos from my visit to the London Design Festival, where I took these photos of Zoe Murphy, a young designer’s work. I’ve realised that I’m quite a fan of mid-century furniture, especially when it’s had a bit of attention and brought up to date.

In its original state I can admire the furniture, but it’s when it has either simple colour blocking like the unit in our Porto apartment, or the bold designs at this year’s Grand Designs Live. Zoe pieces take a similar approach, but there’s much more detail and colour. She says she takes her inspiration from her seaside hometown of Margate.

She also promotes the idea of ‘loving what belongs to you’ using the shapes and textures inspired by her home town to decorate the furniture, none more so evident than the buildings in the table below.

What do you think? Are you a fan, or do you prefer your mid-century modern furniture unadorned?

The hedges at Montacute House

Over the weekend my 2016 photo book arrived, yes a little delayed, but it was a busy year. And a busy year means a lot of photos. One of the things that stood out was our visit to Montacute House in Somerset, and so today, I’m sharing the hedges from there.

Well, you know me and hedges. And these are some hedges.

Ok, I was teasing you there. You might be wondering what is so special about the hedges, but as well as the more traditional hedges, there was also what you could call a cloud or a bubble hedge.

The sheer size of it was amazing. Not just its height, or length but also how deep it was. As you can see from the photo below, I decided I needed a closer look, and not only found a path and another flower bed behind the hedge, you could quite clearly see how much it had been cut, I’m sure to reclaim the path.

The house, which you can see part of in the photo above is ‘a masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance’ according to the National Trust website, and the glass in the house and the garden you can see through its windows are pretty special too. Our visit, how it was three years ago I don’t know, was on one of those crisp and clear autumn days, and the dahlias were still full of flower.

The hedge is yew, and the photo below gives you a sense of its size.

I told you the hedges at Montacute House were pretty impressive, didn’t I? It’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area, and I haven’t even told you about the windows yet…