Let’s talk bathroom trends and dream bathrooms

At this year's Ideal Home Show, as well as the wellness bathroom room set, bathrooms were much in evidence as I stumbled across a further three bathroom room sets towards the back of the show.  I wasn't expecting to find them, but it's always great to get as much inspiration as possible when at shows like this, and the extra room sets (there were two more kitchens too) did go some way to make up for there not being any garden “room sets” at the show. 

I've been sorting through my photos from the past few months - there are too many, I'm starting to think I should show some restraint, but I also know that's unlikely to happen - and I saw the photos and thought they would fit in nicely with a post on my dream bathroom.  You know how much I like a loo or two, so it makes a change to think about the rest of the room.

In case MOH is reading I should say I'm not looking to update either of our bathrooms in the near future before he has a bit of a cold sweat, but of course that doesn't stop me looking and taking a whirl around the trends in bathrooms this year.  I also know that if we were even thinking about updating our bathrooms, he'd be pushing for a wet room.

We toyed with the idea of a wet room before, but although we were keen it was a while ago (more than ten years!) and the concept wasn't as normal as it is now, and the relative newness in a domestic setting dissuaded us, along with the additional work that we were sure our bathroom would need. Instead we opted for the shallowest shower tray we could get (and afford).  It's not as shallow as the one in the photo below, from one of the extra room sets I mentioned above, in the Industrial bathroom and would, I think, still be in the running for our bathroom.

THE INDUSTRIAL BATHROOM ROOM SET AT THIS YEAR'S IDEAL HOME SHOW

I like the geometric patterns, and the mix of tiles too.  So I'd be keen to adopt something similar in a future bathroom, and black and white in bathrooms is just a classic isn’t it?  All three of those were in the trends for this year, and like many of the interiors trends you’re probably more aware of them than you think you are.

Mixing tiles appeals to the patchwork loving me, but in our shower room we've gone for another classic approach with the same tiles for floor and walls in a natural colour, and while it's a smaller room than any of these room sets looking at these photos, while it’s still perfectly lovely, it does now feel kind of dated. 

I need to be careful here, or else by the end of this post I'll have convinced myself we need to update our bathrooms!

House & Home magazine say that matte black finishes are one of the bathroom trends you'll see everywhere in 2018 and I tend to agree with them.  The finish was used in the open plan bathroom in the Houzz of 2018, as the photos below show and I was quite taken with it at the time (less so with the open plan approach though) and while it's quite a step away from the traditional chrome it is something I'd consider, and something I think would be a relatively easy sell to MOH too.

IN THE HOUZZ OF 2018

THE BATHROOM IN THE HOUZZ OF 2018

His and Hers showers and metallic glamour were two of the trends the Ideal Home tipped to be big this year and while you might think the His and Hers showers is unrealistic - and maybe it is depending on the space you have available - I think I prefer this than a double shower, but perhaps I just like my own space!  

If you have the space, the aqualisa electric shower might be one of the ways you could make it work, and incorporate some of the other trends at the same time, as on their site they have the shower, what I call "control boxes" in both a graphite and chrome finish.

METALLIC GLAMOUR AT THIS YEAR'S GRAND DESIGNS LIVE

I couldn’t end this post without including a shot of what is probably my favourite example of the metallic glamour trend. It’s from this year’s Grand Designs Live and part of their lavatory project, which I’ve yet to share here but made me smile, and I couldn’t help but think that Kevin and his team were jumping on my loo bandwagon...

But it’s gorgeous isn’t it? 

* This is a collaborative post but all views are my own.

Chelsea Flower Show: The David Harber and Savills garden

The Chelsea Flower Show is long gone, and the RHS have even had another show already at Chatsworth and are no doubt gearing up for Hampton Court at the start of July, but I’ve much more to share from my day at Chelsea. You might have already seen pictures of the show gardens, but today I’m starting a series of blog posts sharing my views and thoughts on them. But be warned, I’ve quite a few gardens to cover so we could be doing this for quite some time...

First up is the bronze medal winning David Harper and Savills garden with its fantastic, and striking structures.

For something so large and imposing to also have the delicate pattern was a real contrast.  It was a garden whose structures drew your eye through the space, which I learnt after the event was best viewed head on, and had much more going on than you first thought. 

The plants add colour and interest to a gravel path, and dry gardens like this fascinate me. Its openness and lightness is quite the opposite of my own garden, which you’ll know is narrow and full of trees, so more like a woodland space, but maybe it’s because it’s so different, almost the opposite that it appeals. 

Looking at the individual components of the structures, I couldn’t help but see a resemblance to grave stones, and once that thought entered my head I couldn’t shift it. Don’t get me wrong, the structure great, but his is one where it’s better to view it as a whole, rather than components.  

I caught a glimpse of turquoise and so investigated further, by moving a few steps this sculptural bench was revealed. It’s the type of piece that would look good in any season, isn’t it?

And notice how the path has changed to brick.  It’s almost like the garden equivalent of zoning an interior space to signify another purpose, and as you’d expect from a show garden at Chelsea is done, spectacularly well.

PEONIES ALMOST READY TO POP

At the very far end of the garden there was another burst of turquoise, and once again I headed round to see more, and when I did, I wondered how the local cat, or wildlife population would take to this one. I loved it, but can see this one might be a bit marmite.  

My verdict: A garden I liked and admired for its boldness and colour, but one that I can see few elements of being replicated on the same scale in domestic gardens.  

What do you think? 

Around the streets of Victoria

I knew from my previous visits to the Chelsea Flower Show that the surrounding area tends to join in and this year I heard more about the Chelsea Fringe - a festival of flowers, gardens and gardening, celebrated with a series of events that runs alongside the  more well known event.  I didn't manage to get along to any of these, but maybe next year. 

This year I travelled to Chelsea from home, and so took a different route arriving at Victoria instead of Sloane Square so I wasn't quite sure what to expect in the surrounding area, I wasn't disappointed though as the photos in this post will show, as once again the route to the Royal Hospital was bedecked with gardening goodies.

The photos above, taken outside Linley's, were the first I encountered and paid homage to bees, as well as giving a nod to the Chelsea favourite of lupins.

Other shop windows had bold and wonderful displays which were simply stunning, and clearly quite colourful.

This simple display of ferns and foxgloves made me smile as it seems I wasn't the only one enjoying them.

And further along a table full of cacti and succulents in terracotta pots caught my eye.  Simple but effective, aren't they?

Other displays almost hinted at spending more time enjoying the displays, I'm not sure if anyone taking a rest here would be welcomed or not, but it'd be a great place to stop a while.

Later in the day heading back to Victoria I took a slight detour along a row of shops, wondering what I might find.  These too were decorated, and flamboyantly so.

I mean if you're going to have a floral wreath, you might as well make it a big one hey?

Or how about pastel blooms to match the exterior of your shop.  Once again the beehives made a reappearance, but I had to hurry past this one as the cakes were calling loudly to me, but I resisted, although right now I wish I hadn't.

Not to be outdone by the giant floral wreath, there were floral hearts and more.

After a long day walking around almost every inch of the show, these windows really did put a spring in my step as I headed back to my train home.  So there's much more to Chelsea, and this year I discovered just a little bit more of it without trying, quite a find indeed...