‘it’s got a chic industrial vibe’
Heidi, 37, has transformed her wasted loft space into a stylish master en suite that’s filled with personality
Fitting a master bedroom and bathroom in the attic may sound a tall order, but Heidi Stone rose to the challenge
Our three-bedroom semi on a busy road was starting to feel a bit cramped, what with our 5-year-old son max running around and another baby on the way,’ says Heidi. ‘so my husband matt and i started looking for a new place and it didn’t take long until we found a bigger house in a much quieter street close by.
Although it needed quite a bit of work, we decided to go for it, knowing we could do a lot ourselves. As Matt is an electrician, he is very handy at all kinds of DIY, and he has lots of friends in the trades, so they all help each other out. Plus I enjoy decorating and styling, so I knew I could help, too.
First steps
There was already a family bathroom on the middle floor and three bedrooms, one each for the boys and another for guests. As well as this, the previous owners had converted the loft into a fourth bedroom, which we decided to earmark as our own. Fortunately, the basics were all there, so it didn’t need any structural work. It was just the decor that wasn’t to our taste, with deep purple walls and blinds, but I had a strong vision of how I wanted it to look.
The big question was what to do with the mezzanine level that formed the part of the room to the right of the stairs. It made sense for the bed to go against the wall under the windows, but the other end was wasted space. We put a dressing table there temporarily, but I became more and more convinced it should be an open-plan en suite. I’d always wanted a roll-top bath that looked out of the window, and this provided the perfect opportunity.
Bathroom basics
One of Matt’s friends who is a plumber had a look and said there was no reason why we couldn’t install a bathroom. Luckily, the heating tanks used to be in the loft so the plumbing went all the way up to this floor. And as it was going to be open plan, we only wanted to fit a bath and a basin, plus the other bathroom, which is just at the
foot of the stairs, already had a loo and shower. i sourced some lovely furnishings from the old london range at ultra, which fitted in with the period of the property.
Rustic vibes
i wanted to create a soft industrial look, and key to this was an exposed brick wall. You can recreate this by using old ones and you don’t need the whole brick, just part of it – it’s similar to cladding. a friend of matt’s had some bricks left over from a job and they were put up over a weekend.
our old bed was a victorian-style design and needed replacing, so we splashed out on a metal frame in a bronze finish, along with some new linen bedding. i also had a couple of leather vintage suitcases that i’d picked up at an antiques markets and had never found the right place for them. they now look great under the bed and provide the perfect storage for old photos.
a soft wool carpet was also an essential and some pale grey blinds have replaced the old mauve ones. then, once matt had made my statement arrow light, i was all set for my first, luxurious bath – bliss!’
‘I fell In love with this retro arrow – my husband jazzed It up a bit and turned It Into a light, so It’s very functional’