bathroom special H G
AUSTRALIAN HOUSE&GARDEN| 189
PRIORITISEYOURPREFERENCES
Youcouldarguethatanensuiteisthemost
personalspaceinthehouse,saysAaronWong,
principaldesignerforAlexanderPollockInteriors
inMelbourne.“Everyonehastheirquirkswhen
it comestocleanlinessandorganisation,soI use
theseasastartingpoint,”hesays.“What
constitutesa ‘must-have’willvary:a couplemight
insistontwovanities,forexample.”Thesame
levelofpersonalisationdoesn’tapplytoa main
bathroom,whichneedstocatermorebroadlyto
thewholehousehold(andoften guests, too).LOOKTOLUXURY
“Focusonluxuryandcreatinga senseofsanctuary
asa keydesigndriver,”advisesShaunLockyer,
principalofShaunLockyerArchitectsinBrisbane.
“Afamilybathroommightnotneedtoencompass
luxuryinthesameway.Ideally,anensuiteshould
feelresort-like,soitsusersfeela senseof‘escape’
ona dailybasis.”Becausetheensuiteis sometimes
theonlyroomthatisn’tsharedbythefamily,
itdeservesspecialtreatment,saysVanessa
Cook,designmanageratSmarterBathrooms+.
“Homeownersarealmostalwayswillingto spend
moretomakethisspaceexceptional.”SEEKACENTREPIECE
Whetherit’sopentothemainbedroomornot,an
ensuitebenefitsfromhavinga strikingvisual
focalpoint,saysVanessa.“Itcouldbefull-height
tiling,a doublevanity,special-finish tapware or
a spectacularstatementlight.”SAYBYETOTHEBATH?
Inmanyensuites,spaceisanissue.Thatmeans
weighingupwhatyoucanandcan’tinclude,says
Vanessa.“InsomecasesI adviseclientstodo
withouta bath,becausethere’sgenerallyonein
themainbathroom.”Thatspaceisbetterused
fora generousshowerarea,saysFrancoParisi,
chiefoperatingofficerforParisi.“Whetherit’sa
showerpipeincorporatinganoverheadshower
anda handshowerora separateceilingshower
andrailshower,thesecombinations will give a
couplethebestofbothworlds.”DOADOUBLETAKE
A doublevanityisa lovelyinclusioninanensuite
but it’s not strictly necessary, says Vanessa.“Sometimesit’smoreefficienttohaveonebasin
andmorebenchspace,sotwouserscangetready
comfortably.Thekeythingis tohavepowerpoints
ateachendofthevanitysocordsfromhairdryers
andthelikedon’tbecometangled.”GETSMARTABOUTSPACE
Noteveryonehasroomfora generousensuite,
butyoucandoa lotwithina littlefootprintwith
therightdesignapproach.It’sa matterofseeking
outfloatingvanities,utilisingwallspaceby
buildinginnichesandrecessedcabinetry,and
ensuringeverythingiskepttoscale.“‘Dead
spaces’,suchasabovea toilet,canbegreatspots
forextrashelves,”saysFranco.“Robehooksfor
thebackofthedoorandladdertowelrailsare
greatinensuitesandrememberthatincluding
largemirrorshelpsmakea roomfeelbigger.”A
wall-hungpanwithconcealedcisternwillalso
projectabout 170 mmlessintoyour bathroom.LOOKTOTHELIGHT
Naturallightisn’tabundantineveryensuite,but
it iscrucialthateveryensuitehasgoodlighting.
“Askylightcanbeanassettoanensuite,”says
Franco.“GooddownlightsandLEDstriplights
undershelvescanalsohelp.Backlitmirrorswith
anti-fogfunctionalityarepopular,too.”Focus
firstongreatvanitylightingonornexttoyour
mirrors,addsShaun.“Theyshouldprovideeven,
warmlightforshavingandmake-up.Bathrooms
needtobelight-filled,well-ventilatedspaces;
theyshouldn’tfeellikeserviceareas.”CONSIDERTHENOISEFACTOR
It’simportanttoconsidernoisewhenyou’re
planninganensuite,saysFranco.“It’sgoodfor
themainwaterandplumbinglinestorunalong
theoutsidewallofthehouseorhallway,where
possible.Selectgood-qualitytapwarethat
incorporatesfeaturestopreventnoisetransfer
andwaterhammer.”Andneverhavea toiletsuite
backingontothewallwhereyourbedis positioned.FUNCTIONMEETSFUN
Anensuiteisoneofthosespacesinyourhome
whereyoucantakea slightlymoreadventurous
designapproach.“Thinkoutsidethebox,
challengeyourownpreconceptionsand,above
all, have a little fun with it,” adds Shaun. #Styling by Lisa Quinn-Schofield. Photograph and artwork by Jody D’Arcy.