SENSUAL SPA The aim of this project was to create a space of retreat for the parents of a young family on one floor of their home; incorporating areas of privacy for bathing, dressing and sleeping. Two rooms were merged into a suite so allowing this necessary isolation from the rest of the house. A degree of separation was maintained within the scheme, so ensuring a sense of personal space for each individual combined within the shared, inherently intimate space.
CLIENT COMMENTS When we wanted to convert two bedrooms, one with a tiny en suite, into a master bedroom/bathroom/dressing room we asked Julie to design the new plan. She had wonderfully fresh ideas for opening up the space, including floor to ceiling doors, a clever screen wall that separates the toilet from the bathroom proper and a beautiful curling snail shell of a walk in shower. She also proposed a stunning polished plaster for the bathroom walls and a floor covering of marble chips in the bathroom and rubber in the bedroom, which gave the overall scheme a wonderfully textured feel. We have loved living in the rooms she created.
CATEGORY
RESIDENTIAL
SERVICES
RIBA STAGES 1 - 6
AREA
45 SQ. M.
LOCATION
SW17 LONDON
The three areas interact on a number of levels; through material, colour and visual lines. However doors are incorporated into the scheme so as to be innocuous when open, fitting flush into recesses within the walls, but may close off areas as desired. The simple tranquillity of the bedroom juxtaposes the sensual opulence of the bathroom.
A sense of fun was desired in this project, this was achieved through the use of marble-resin flooring in the bathroom and rubber in the bedroom. An interesting play of materials; to both create a tactile division between the two main areas, but also maintain a visual continuity through similar neutral colouring. This was set against a vertical background of highly polished Venetian stucco, adorning all walls in the bathroom including the spiral shower enclosure.
Lighting is used to emphasize certain features within the scheme; artwork focal points and sensual materials incorporated into unusual spatial forms. The sunken floor lights illuminate the spiral wall reflecting off the polished surface. The bedroom storage running around the perimeter of the room at low level has a glass countertop which is illuminated by concealed fittings. This emits a green strip of light onto the opposite walls, mirroring the effect. The glass is continued at a higher level behind the bed acting as a headboard and reading light. Within the dressing area, light permeates through sandblasted glass shelves.
The bespoke bathroom storage units are designed around the wall-hung basins. The proportions are derived initially from the depth of the counter being flush with the basin. The internal storage space alters due to demand, but also for structural stability where necessary. The glass slab with mirror below allows for an opalescent play of light on and through its surface by reflection and refraction.