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Ensuite with Japanese influences

Display Room

Natural light through wooden shutters softens this comfortable ensuite.

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Rachel and her husband were lucky enough to have an ensuite with a bath just off their bedroom and decided to maximise its potential with a makeover by Shaynna Blaze-Vaughan of Blankcanvas Interiors. Shaynna delved into the needs of the couple to create a private and luxurious space, complete with plenty of character and a warm, inviting ambience.

The owners use the ensuite as a parents' retreat, where they can lie back in the tub and soak away the worries of the day without interruption. The delicate touches of the Japanese wooden basket and decorative stool, combined with a subtle ikebana-style flower arrangement and soft natural lighting evoke a feeling of day-spa indulgence.

The unusual wooden shutters create a feature in the small bathroom, providing a welcome shield from the view of neighbours. Painted an uplifting shade of white, the shutters also allow a stream of natural light into the room.

Echoing the tones of the adjoining bedroom, the white tiles, shutters and bath could have appeared harsh in the small ensuite. But Shaynna has offset the whites with small, dark, diamond-shaped feature tiles and has introduced a brushed metal grey tone in the floor tiles. She has also softened the look of the room by using the wooden basket as a towel holder.

"It actually holds about six rolled-up towels so it works really well," says the designer. "Sometimes you can make things decorative but they actually don't function well - that's not the case here."

As the house is relatively new, Shaynna's task wasn't too challenging. With streamlining and softening in mind, she introduced some connectivity between the existing shower and bath by bridging the two with a hob. Acting as a bench for the towel holder and other decorative items, the hob is made from a medium-density fibreboard (MDF) frame that's been covered with tiles.

"It was a straightforward job because it was a fairly new house," says Shaynna. "The clients were pretty open to my ideas and it flowed really well. The bathroom was well planned anyway, so it was just a case of filling in the gaps and making it look great."