Elicyon’s Charu Gandhi shares her advice for creating a standout scheme

All bathrooms have the potential to be beautiful, decorative spaces. Some may be a little more focused on functionality than others, but by exploring creative ideas for lighting, surfaces and fittings, they can all be given a point of difference.

Lighting is a wonderful way to add interest.

One of my favourite tricks is a hidden LED strip on the underside of a vanity. It skims light across the floor and creates a lovely glow. It’s practical too, particularly for late-night visits to the bathroom.

You can create amazing decorative effects with tiles.

We’re using ombré tiles in a child’s bathroom, which allows us to commit to a strong colour that fades to a lighter neutral. Ombré has a painterly effect that I enjoy.

Wallpaper is another way to create the wow factor.

In our Lancaster Gate project (shown), we’ve used a delicate hand-painted silk wallpaper above the basin, covered with a removable glass panel. If you choose vinyl wallpaper and it isn’t adjacent to a wet area, it doesn’t need protection.

I love polished-plaster walls,

which can range from highly polished surfaces to ones that are more textured. Polished plaster can also be tinted to almost any colour to personalise a space and it chimes well with the current trend for natural materials.

When it comes to natural stone,

I always try to do something interesting, even if I’m working with quite a classic stone. At 1 Hyde Park, for example, we’ve used book-matched statuario marble to make the client feel as though they’re standing inside a slab of stone. To achieve this, we ran the stone detail across the drawers of the vanity unit so they blend with the walls.

For some clients, baths are functional but for others they’re the focus of attention.

Either way, baths are always interesting to work with. We’ve installed a number of beautiful stone tubs. However, they do come with a weight implication. If you fall for a stone bath, be prepared to reinforce the floor. A standout bath for me is the one we designed for 1 Hyde Park. It’s made of Corian, so is soft to the touch and has a sculptural quality that can’t be replicated by other materials.

In homes with multiple bathrooms

I often work with a linen company to create a bespoke towel set for each one. We either keep it simple with a co-ordinated colour scheme: towels for a pink bathroom with a pink edging, for example. Or we’ll do something more ornate such as embroidery detail.

My general approach to bathroom design is to build in as much inconspicuous storage as possible

without affecting the aesthetic. After all, the more storage you have, the more functional your room will be and the easier it will be to keep it looking fabulous. A vanity unit with discreet push-to-open drawers is my storage go-to.

Or, if I’m planning a big mirrored wall, I integrate a hidden cupboard behind it.