Tonal tiles, black fittings and a sleek terrazzo floor are the perfect picks for this Dublin bathroom renovation
Photography Philip Lauterbach
BATHROOM MAKEOVER DETAILS
Project: With a small baby, Sarah Drumm’s bath-free family bathroom wasn’t up to scratch. Dated a dull, she wanted to give it a glamorous and useful makeover.
Homeowners: Sarah Drumm, husband Ray O’Hara and daughter Frieda
Bathroom makeover budget: €7,500
What they did: The old bathroom was completely reconfigured and an existing shower was removed to make space for a bath. New sanitaryware, wall and floor tiles, storage, lighting and a new water tank and pump were added to create a brand new bathroom for the family.
BEFORE
AFTER
After a house hunt that felt like it went on forever, interior designer and co-owner of Dust (dust.ie), Sarah Drumm finally hit a home run with her Dublin 6w home.
“When we first went to view the house, [our daughter] Frieda was just a couple of weeks old and we were supposed to be taking a break from house viewings. But there was something about this house that just really appealed to us both, it looked homely and well looked after. We already knew and loved the area, so we went to view it and totally fell in love with its charm,” Sarah says.
Luckily, most of the nitty gritty had already been done. “The house was in good shape,” she recalls. “We were lucky as previous owners had put money into the things that are important, but that you don’t see. They insulated the roof, the attic and the perimeter walls. They also installed a new gas boiler and replaced the radiators.”
That meant the couple could do the fun stuff and spend money on the interiors – arguably Sarah’s main focus. “We painted and decorated the whole house, which has completely updated the look and feel,” she says.
Next, she turned her attention to the family bathroom which just wasn’t fitting the criteria. Dated and bland, “it was the one part of the house that was really crying out for a complete makeover,” Sarah says. And apart from cosmetic concerns, the room didn’t function, either. “It didn’t have a bath,” she adds. “Our daughter was only four months old when we moved into the house and that was something we felt we’d really use.”
Designing a clients’ home is one thing, but when it’s your own space, does the process differ? “It was similar to how I’d approach a project with any client,” Sarah reveals. “It started off very visually with us looking at lots of images pulled from Instagram and Pinterest to see which styles we were both drawn to. I then narrowed down the images to our favorites and these became my inspiration.”
Pink tiles quickly became a focus. “From there I developed a concept that we both agreed on,” she says. “Once the concept was finalised I spent lots of time sourcing the various elements and making sure that our choices were within our budget. It was so much fun designing for ourselves, finally I could create my dream bathroom that I would get to use every day.”
The old bathroom was completely ripped out including all tiling and the old water tank. The layout was reworked to accommodate a bath and a new storage was added as well as a new water tank and pump. The room was fully tiled and new lighting was introduced. All-in-all, the work took two weeks. “It all went to plan and ran smoothly, which was great,” Sarah says. “The only issue was being without a shower for two weeks, thankfully we have family living up the road who we could call on daily,” she laughs.
Now that it’s complete, how does she feel about it? “I absolutely love it. The pink wall tiles are so beautiful, and the terrazzo floor tile is stunning. I love the black fittings and every time I have a bath it reminds me that all the work was worth it.”
SOURCEBOOK
- Bath and sink taps, shower unit and screen, sink, bath, mirror, cabinetry and radiator: Sonas Bathrooms; Sonasbathrooms.com
- Wall tiles: Equipe Ceramicas Artisan tile in Rose Mallow, from Best Tile; Besttile.ie
- Floor tiles: Mosaic del Sur Terrazzo Cement Tile; Cement-tiles.com
- Wall and ceiling paint: Colourtrend paint in Templar Grey; Colourtrend.ie
- Towel holder: Ferm Living; Fermliving.com
- Marble and brass table: Swoon Editions; Swooneditions.com
- Concrete toilet roll holder, Dust; Dust.ie
