‘ WE’VE KEPT ITS PERIOD CHARM’
Hamah turned a tired, disjointed bathroom into a characterful space that combines a traditional suite with modern styling
After 14 years of living in London, my husband ben and i decided to make the move back to our home town of hastings to be closer to our families,’ says hamah. ‘Since having our daughter, iris, now two, we've wanted her to have a childhood beside the seaside, like we had both enjoyed.
Taking on a huge project like this dated Victorian house was a little daunting, but the price was just too good to pass up, and so we took the plunge and have been in renovation mode ever since!
Starting point
We decided to make the bathroom our first task, as it could be done in just a few months and we wanted to have at least one room that felt finished while the rest of the work was carried out. Reconfiguring the space was the first thing we looked at, as the previous layout with a separate toilet felt old-fashioned and not suitable for a family bathroom. We had the two walls of the toilet knocked down and incorporated a section of the corridor to make one large space that would accommodate both a bath and walk-in shower. As each previous section had a window, doing this made the new room triple aspect, so it always feels very bright.
Building works
Ben and I chose a local builder who specialises in period renovations, as we wanted the new design to be in keeping with the history of the property. He was fantastic at researching panelling styles and suggesting the best ways to make period pieces fit in with the space and work with our budget and vision.
Unfortunately, not long into the project, our builder discovered that the existing
plumbing was in very poor condition and needed to be replaced, which added extra time and costs. The work took around two months to complete.
Design decisions
initially, we had our hearts set on a very traditional, elegant victorian look, but then we stumbled across some fantastic statement tiles that changed our vision. instead of sticking religiously to one style, the new space is now a mixture of classic fittings and fixtures with some more modern touches. Our main source of inspiration was instagram, as we found it was the best place to look for similar and attainable bathroom ideas. My own account, @paperingthewindowpanes, has documented the renovation and i’ve found it to be a great way to share tips with others tackling similar projects.
With the rest of the house still to renovate, Ben and i were conscious of sticking to our bathroom budget as much as possible. We researched every piece to source it at the best price and hunted around auction houses and charity shops to find bargains. The tiles cost under £30sq m and are the focal point of the whole room, and i found the vintage mirror at an auction house for just £90.
With our bathroom now complete, it’s our lovely little slice of calm amid the rest of the renovations and with just a few structural alterations, we’ve created a spacious family bathroom that will suit us for years to come.’