The Brief
Having undertaken the interior design of various rooms in this former Victorian mews house in St John’s Wood, London, interior designer Claudia Ludwig, founder of Claudia Ludwig Design, was recently tasked with tackling the master bathroom.
A problem space, the bathroom needed some reconfiguration to improve the layout. The shower was located in the middle of the room against a chimney breast and was disproportionate to the size of the room, resulting in poor flow. The client wanted to make more of a feature of the chimney breast and position the bath there. In addition, the floor needed replacing as the joists had been damaged by bathroom refurbishment projects under previous owners and it was no longer stable. The client decided she wanted to replace the marble-effect porcelain tiles with real marble, and redo the joinery as the finish was poor.
‘She wanted to integrate more luxurious materials and amazing finishes,’ says Claudia. ‘She was keen to evoke a soft, feminine look but one that was restrained as she shares the space with her husband and their children use it when taking baths.’
The Project
Claudia advised moving the shower to the far end of the room where there was more space, thus freeing up the chimney breast. An important consideration while addressing the client’s requirement of a feature chimney breast was that the room has no windows. Claudia was concerned about the lack of natural ventilation. ‘At first, the client was considering wallpaper or a piece of art, but I was worried about the longevity of the product,’ says Claudia. Instead, to fulfil the brief of creating a soft and feminine scheme, she conceived the idea of a large bespoke rose mosaic to take pride of place on the chimney breast. Made from petite glass tiles by Bisazza, it combines pale pinks and fresh greens to create a statement feature. ‘The colour palette stemmed from it,’ says Claudia. Walls were then painted in a soft green, Mizzle by Farrow & Ball, to tone with the mosaic and link through to the hues in the master bedroom. Below the mosaic sits a generous freestanding bath tub by ABI Interiors, which injects a contemporary edge.
To evoke an opulent aesthetic on the floor, Claudia showed the client some marble samples from Artisans of Devizes. ‘Because marble is a natural material it has depth and texture,’ she explains. ‘It gives the space a very luxurious look.’ The client immediately loved Aliseo. ‘It’s classic and pared back but it has some interesting soft grey veining.’ Because the client wanted to incorporate a dramatic marble on the vanity top and shower splashback, she chose Viola to team with the Aliseo and they blend beautifully together. The Viola marble also links to the purple palette in the master bedroom.
To complete the look, warmth was introduced with a bespoke oak double vanity, a large linen cupboard and a wooden staircase that leads to the walk-in wardrobe. Period-style antique brass fixtures and light fittings by J Adams & Co imbue additional elegance.
