Katrina’s beautiful calming bathroom

Surrey-based Katrina Thomas realised her vision to turn an awkward attic space into her nautical-inspired dream bathroom

When Aris and I decided to buy a property, I had my heart set on a pale yellow Georgian house with a weeping willow in the garden,’ says Kat. ‘Amazingly, this house ticked every box – right down to the tree that reminded me of my gran’s.

The house had a lovely feel and plenty of potential for us to gradually put our own stamp on it. In July 2015, we snapped it up. As this is our forever home, we wanted to take time and enjoy transforming it.

Starting point

Although I was keen to convert the cramped attic bathroom, there was a lot to be done before we could embark on this project. One of the main problems was the sloping ceiling. Aris is 6ft 1in and there wasn’t enough head height for him to stand up properly. I knew exactly how I wanted the room to look, but didn’t feel I had the knowledge to realise my ideas.

Help from the pros

Luckily, I discovered NK Living (nkliving. co.uk) while searching for inspiration, and sent them a heartfelt message, asking for help. As part of the renovations of the rest of the house, we learned that part of the roof needed some repairs, so I suggested we could simultaneously enlarge the dormer in the attic bathroom to gain more height. Before tackling this project, we first updated another bathroom in our home, to ensure that when one was out of action, another would be useable.

Choosing the style

I wanted to retain and enhance the character of the space, to create a happy room with a rustic feel and French influences. I thought a monochrome scheme, with subtle touches of

colour, would look fantastic. Having fallen in love with antiques at the age of ten, I’d been a collector for many years and was determined to incorporate some of my many treasured finds here.

The hard work

By August 2019, after the dormer had been enlarged, this project started in earnest. The room was gutted, a stud wall removed and a new shiplap-style wall was built, set further back in the room, to enlarge the space, which meant the bath fitted neatly under a beam in the eaves.

Plain sailing

The project went smoothly and nothing was too much trouble for the NK Living team. When challenges arose, they’d say “leave it with us” and find a solution. Despite spending ages sourcing a bath the perfect size, I still worried it wouldn’t fit up the narrow staircase. Luckily it did! I had great fun sourcing items that would work with my much-loved antiques and paintings. Now, every time I walk up the stairs to our beautiful bathroom, I’m absolutely thrilled with the result.’

‘ALTHOUGH A ROOM IN THE EAVES CAN OFTEN BE AN AWKWARD SHAPE, WITH CAREFUL PLANNING YOU CAN MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY’

‘Layering towels is a practical and handy way of injecting interest’

TURN OVER FOR MY SHOPPING LIST IDEA TO STEAL ‘Trawl antiques fairs, stores, Etsy and social media to track down beautiful antiques and vintage pieces’ TOTAL £3,931

COSY CORNER ‘Layering the black wrought-iron chair with cushions and a throw has created a relaxing and handy place to sit’

FRENCH INFLUENCE ‘I wanted the floor to resemble the floorboards in a French farmhouse. These porcelain tiles are perfect and practical, too’

NAUTICAL TOUCH ‘The shiplap-style wall is so warm, tactile and cosseting. It’s also a link to our shipping roots’ STAR STRUCK ‘I love barn stars and started collecting them long before they became popular. They add wow-factor and hold a special place in my heart’

IDEA TO STEAL TIME WELL SPENT ‘A huge amount of time and effort went into sourcing a basin with curves to echo the bateau bath‘