Sympathetic Bathroom Designs for a Farm House in Cambridge

These two beautiful wet rooms form a recent renovation enacted by the Refresh Renovations Cambridgeshire team, who were approached by the new owners of a beautiful rural farm house. The first of a couple of planned renovations, the owners were keen to revamp their downstairs WC and upstairs family bathroom – but insisted that the design must remain sympathetic to the aesthetic and look and feel of the rest of the home.

Contacting Refresh Renovations

Knowing that they needed a specialist team to take on the renovation of this very old property, the homeowners contacted Refresh for an all-encompassing service. This meant that a single team would be created of the most appropriate tradespeople for the job and the whole project overseen by a dedicated Refresh project manager. In this case, the renovation team included architects, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, decorators and flooring specialists as significant building work was required alongside redesign and redecoration.

Minimum Disruption to the Homeowner

Working on a downstairs WC with shower facilities and a full upstairs family bathroom, Refresh managed this project over a 5-week period. While this may sound at first like a long time for just 2 rooms, it was actually done on purpose. Scheduling each bathroom in to be completed one after the other meant that the homeowners were never without such facilities in their home – minimising disruption to their daily lives and ensuring there was no requirement for them to go and stay elsewhere while the works were taking place.

Striking Shower Design

The downstairs WC proved a real challenge and originally, the homeowners had proposed an openness to extending the space to provide further square metres for the room. However, upon analysis of an extension, we agreed that it may not be the best decision financially – as an extension would require a great deal of building and structural work given the age of the property, and may not add sufficient value to justify the expense. Instead, we provided an architect’s design based on the existing space; and they loved it!
Bold black and white tiling alongside a black-lined shower screen provides a Japanese feel to the room, and the transparency of the surfaces open up the room rather than allowing the shower to feel closed off. Choosing to really ‘pop’ the design with an olive green reminiscent of the rolling fields outside, high shelves were added in for storage, and an unusual square shaped WC and sink. The floor was finished with wipe-clean wood-look hard flooring to continue the bright feel, and the homeowner completed the look with contrasting bold orange-print towels. 
This small shower room is truly a delight to be in; and makes the perfect place to wake you up with a morning wash before a busy day!

Tackling Tricky Bathroom Shapes

The upstairs family bathroom presented a challenge in its shape – with a severe sloping ceiling sitting right through the room. Building in a dormer window provided more physical space for those standing with a flush basin situated within for great views over the surrounding landscape while washing hands or brushing teeth. A white WC was placed at one end in a cubby hole otherwise likely unusable, and a standalone bath tub (again in white) placed along the longest part of the sloping ceiling… so those underneath it will usually be reclined!
Upon investigating into how best to proceed with the utilisation of this unusually-shaped space, we found some timber and stone work – and it looked so good, we decided to keep it! Working with the homeowners to slightly amend the agreed-upon design, these original features were incorporated into the room to further enhance the farm house feel. Embracing such original kinks and quirks are a fantastic way to stay true to the property design.
Rather than embracing all-white, a more countryside chic colour scheme was introduced, contrasting real-wood doors and window frames with jade-coloured tile borders and beautifully-crafted ornate black-and-white tiled floors. Further wood was introduced through cleverly positioned shelves for storage items and accessories in complementary greens, stone shades and wicker combine beautifully to contrast with a small marble trim.
It's worth noting here that a common misconception in looking at this room is to make the assumption that most of the budget was utilised here. This isn’t correct – a large amount was required for the supply and installation of a new plumbing cylinder in the loft above to ensure adequate hot water through not just the bathroom but the whole house once a new heating system was introduced. 
The finished effect is farm house chic but in a modern manner, brightening and emboldening this trusted British countryside aesthetic.

So, What’s Next?

The homeowners are thrilled with both of their new wet rooms, and the Refresh Renovations Cambridgeshire team are certainly pleased their hard work has paid off in such stunning spaces. But that work is not yet done!
The rest of the house remains very aged and there’s certainly areas still to be renovated. The kitchen is next on the list and having seen the great job the Refresh Renovations Cambridgeshire team pulled off on this, they’re sure to come back for this and future property projects, too.
Refresh Renovation’s full end-to-end project management approach means that every detail of a renovation is taken care of by the team, with a dedicated project manager overseeing and managing all parties to keep the job to budget and time. This causes minimal disruption to the homeowners and allows them to continue with their day-to-day life without the need for intervention. Regular updates are given to all involved parties and everyone kept up-to-date with the schedule and responsibilities constantly juggled to ensure the quickest and most efficient project management possible. 
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