‘We squeezed in A SHOWER, TOO'

Joanna shopped smart to ensure she maximised her bathroom’s floor space without losing out on storage

- Joanna

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Joanna Thornhill, 39, an interiors stylist and writer (joanna thornhill.co.uk). I live in an 1890s terrace in Walthamstow, London, with my partner Paul Hughes, 40, a TV development executive. We moved here in 2012 and initially gave the dilapidated bathroom an inexpensive makeover, but it took us seven years to get round to properly renovating it.

MY CHALLENGE The floor wasn’t level, which was causing the tiles to crack. There was no built-in storage, aside from a rotting under-sink unit.

MY WISH LIST I wanted a separate walk-in shower, and to create better built-in storage. I also hoped to bring more unity to the room through design, and create a smarter space.

Our house was rented before we moved in, so while on the surface it all looked relatively clean and neutral, albeit a little tired, we soon realisedhow bad its condition was,’ says Joanna. ‘However, this gave us the opportunity to strip everything out (aside from original features) from top to bottom and create a space which was totally to our taste.

Starting from scratch

While budget prohibited us from relocating the basin and toilet, we knew that due to the faulty sub-floor and waterlogged plaster walls we’d need to completely gut the room and start again, which gave me the opportunity to work out how to incorporate the walk-in shower of my dreams. There was a wasted space at the end of the bath behind the door which was the perfect spot, though with most baths coming in at around 170cm long, frustratingly this was too tight to fit in an adequate 80cm width shower tray.