Give the fittings separate addresses
The basin occupies the nearer side wall; the WC sits beyond it. That stagger matters more than making a matched pair look symmetrical from the door.
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ROOM 74 · Bathroom
Oxblood, behind the smallest door
Published
A compact downstairs cloakroom, conceived for a 1930s suburban semi.
A small downstairs loo can take a large decorating decision. Oxblood walls, bright porcelain and a pink floral print give this cloakroom its character; compact fittings leave room for the person using it.
See the product sourcesTHE DESIGN
The temptation in a little cloakroom is to add a shelf, then a basket, then something decorative to make it feel finished. Soon the smallest room has the most things to step around. Here, almost all the embellishment stays on the walls. The basin sits near the door, the WC occupies the far end, and the pale floor remains visible between them.
White sanitaryware can look like the default choice until it meets a sufficiently committed colour. Against oxblood, the Chancery basin’s shaped rim and the cistern’s stepped lid become part of the decoration. The chrome mixer keeps that detail crisp. Brass belongs to the mirror and wall light, where its quieter surface picks up the yellow centres of the flowers opposite.
Rose Pink Garden II brings a different mood to those rather proper fittings. Its crowded flowers provide the pattern, leaving the walls free of competing repeats. The rounded mirror catches a fragment of the print, while ribbed glass gives the basin wall a detail of its own. A pale ceiling and speckled floor keep the red contained without reducing it to a token feature wall.
WHY THE ROOM WORKS
Spend the drama on the walls, not the floor space.
Colour palette
- Oxblood
- Porcelain
- Petal pink
- Antique brass
- Chrome
Let porcelain draw against the red
Continuous colour makes the white rim, pedestal and cistern legible as shapes. There is no need to repeat a contrasting tile strip around each fixture.
Use one densely patterned surface
The floral print supplies several colours in a single, bounded area. Its thin black frame ends the pattern cleanly, so the surrounding wall can stay quiet.
Decorate with things the room needs
A mirror, a light and a tap already bring rounded metal, ribbed glass and polished chrome into the close view. Extra ornaments would have much less work to do.
Keep a visible floor between the objects
Pale terrazzo separates the white fixtures from the red walls. The narrow border follows the room’s perimeter without introducing a rug beneath wet hands.
WHAT TO BORROW
Before choosing another accessory, mark out the basin projection, the door swing and where a person will stand. Put the next decorative decision on a surface that leaves those spaces free.
THE PIECES BEHIND THE DESIGN
Shop this room
The design began with these pieces from our Shop. Open each product for its exact size, finish and retailer details.
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Old London Chancery Compact Basin and Full Pedestal
White · Vitreous China · 500mm
Wholesale Domestic
£79.95
Nuie Beaumont Mono Basin Mixer Tap with Pop-up Waste
Chrome · Brass · 50mm x 105mm
Wholesale Domestic
£87.95
Old London Chancery Close Coupled Toilet Pan and Cistern with Ceramic Flush Lever
White · 500mm x 870mm x 705mm
Wholesale Domestic
£152.95
Old London Chancery Round Soft Close Toilet Seat
White · MDF · 373mm x 60mm x 460mm
Wholesale Domestic
£123.95
Ungura Rounded Mirror
Small · Antique Brass
Nkuku
£150.00
Akurdi Bathroom Double Wall Lamp
Clear
Nkuku
£175.00
Rose Pink Garden II
ArtFab · Black (5/8″ Depth) · 24"x36"
Big Wall Decor
Example option: US$165.00
Check availability at retailer