HOW CAN I GIVE MY NEW SHOWER BATH A DESIGNER LOOK?

We would like to replace a separate shower and bath with a shower bath. Can you suggest ways to do this that will give a boutique-style hotel look? CS, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

I talked to Jane Gilchriest, director of Alternative Bathrooms, 020 3375 9001,

alternativebathrooms.com, for a designer’s opinion on creating a boutique hotel look at home. A hotel bathroom is an exercise in total design, she says, with the emphasis on seamless finishes and a full lighting scheme. She suggests that one trend you could follow is to construct an extra-wide bath surround in quality joinery or clad it with stone or tiles. However, if you don’t want to have to wipe away splashes from the surface of the surround, limit its width to the head end and consider recessing the plinth and insetting LED strip lighting for a floating effect. Many hotels choose natural stone for the walls or porcelain tiles that resemble marble or other stones. Reflective tiles are another favourite and recesses with contrasting tiling can be illuminated. Overhead or slide-rail showers should be installed at the end, but a separate hand shower can be fitted away from the overhead, perhaps as a pull-up shower from the rim of the bath. A bath filler waste is also an option to avoid a projecting spout. For a chic finish, use a frameless 10mm bath screen or a quality shower curtain.