Bold and bright floral takes centre stage in this budget-friendly revamp. Whether you have a lot to spend or just a little, bathrooms don’t have to be boring!
Who lives here?
Annick Larkin (writer and stylist), Tim Larkin (director), Lottie, Esther, and Tom.
The project
Annick Larkin: “Three years ago, I installed a horizontal black and white striped wallpaper on the end wall by the bath. This looked great for a while but unfortunately, with three young children who splash about in the bath each night, the paper had begun to peel, tear and look unsightly. The replacement cream walls looked dull and I wanted to give the room a quick freshen-up without spending too much money.”
The bathroom design
The vanity was a collaboration between myself and my sister-in-law Amy Rennell, from furniture upcycling business PopCycle Shop. Amy restored an old art deco dresser that I’d got at auction. All it needed was a basin, and I instantly fell in love with the form and shape of the Toto Le Muse oval basin and extended mixer tap from Plumbing World.
I came across the ‘Romantic Pop’ Komar wallpaper (available from Resene) when styling a home for a photoshoot last year. I wanted the bathroom to feel light and fresh so I opted for crisp white walls painted in Resene ‘Alabaster’. As the feature wallpaper is very bold, I chose a pale blue finish on the vanity so it complemented, not competed with, the bright paper. I went with chrome finishes to match the hardware already installed in the bathroom.
Budget
- Upcycled vanity $690
- Basin $195
- Tap $535
- Mirror $300
- Wallpaper $380
- Blinds, paint, accessories $400
TOTAL $2500
Komar wallpaper from Germany (available at Resene); walls painted in Resene ‘Alabaster’; vanity upcycled by Amy from PopCycle Shop and painted in Resene ‘Cut Glass’; Toto Le Muse basin and tap from Plumbing World; towel rail and ring from Mitre 10; mirror custom-cut by Howick Glass; custom-made 60mm poplar Venetian blinds from Brightshine Blinds, colour-matched to walls.
Words by: Annick Larkin; Photography by: Emma MacDonald.
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