Hey guys!

Long drooling linen creates a softer space.

When buying this apartment, we knew we’d have our work (mental planning) cut out for us in the bathroom which was full of pink tile, a dingy tub and a bidet not making practical sense for the space. With an idea in mind, we knew we wanted to keep the bathroom light and airy and most importantly free from clutter collecting cabinets.

Originally our Architect and friend, Aurelie-Anne offered some original ideas of changing the placement of the sink to rest along the long side of the room and placing a modern faucet on top of wall to wall quartz slab that I insisted on having to match the kitchen. Well as it turned out, the move for the pipes deemed very challenging and so we agreed not to change anything at all by keeping the original pedestal sink as is. You’d have to agree that it does fit perfectly along that narrow wall and by leaving it there, we didn’t have to sacrifice any open space. I’m very happy that it worked out in the way that it did because the free-standing sink rests neat and topped free from toiletries and makeup. Having a countertop can easily make a bathroom look very messy, at least for me that is and since moving in, I’ve only had a jar of soap and a wash cloth resting on it.

Originally I thought wainscotting would feel a little “too country” for my more modern-nordic taste but honestly I’ve grown to like it. Every wooden board was cut right in our living room! Can you imagine the saw dust residue left along the walls? Oh my poor collection of white rags and sore arms. Anyways, this non-prefabricated look offers a more natural look to the bathroom and I’ve even grown fond of noticing some of the sap seeping. HaHaHa.

As this building is over 100 years old, bringing in some historical touches into this space such as the vintage looking faucets in brushed brass was a good choice. Aurelie-Anne found the ones for the tub while I hunted out Amazon for the sink. She also found the gold-plated mirror by LaRedoute in France while we picked out the Acorn pendants from VITA lighting from Copenhagen. Mixing an old look with the new really helps balance out the age and original features such as the doors, their handles and our water heater radiators.

The large window was such a bonus here and I love how much light we receive in the corners of two streets. Originally I didn’t want to hang up curtains but after a few months, I had realized that for daytime baths, drawing a curtain over the window was much better than closing the shades and blocking out the natural light. I choose white linen fabric from Ikea and have kept the long length for more of a dramatic wispy-like draping on top of the octagon tiled floor. Aurelie-Anne found the Italian enamel porcelain stoneware tiles from Leroy Merlin’s and because they were out of stock of the dark anthracite, we settled on using only the eggshell and grey cement so that our move in date wouldn’t have to be postponed for an additional 2 weeks. This was another fortunate design planning set-back because I feel that by having those dark splotches of tile mixed in would of have been too harsh for this space.

I told our friend that I really wanted a “tub for two” and she was able to find us the biggest one and such a reasonable price! This one, an acrylic tub, very light weight and easy to clean was also bought from Leroy Merlin. Since there’s an absence of cabinetry, I keep all our bathroom essentials, towels and laundry in baskets thus keeping things minimal and tidy at the same time. In case you are wondering, shower essentials are tucked away behind/next to the bathtub!

Lost nearly a foot of space due to the boards but I like it that we can rest things on top.

Baskets help keep towels and laundry in order.

The ever changing light makes us very happy!

The brightest room in the apartment and great for a sun-bathing dog.

Little frog to help mask an ugly hole.

Not ready to cut the Acorn lighting cords and still adjusting to the unrefined look.

The octagon tiles keeping Laffy cool.

I painted the walls myself with color ‘gris ciment’ from Dulux.

White make-over to the ladder which was originally bamboo.

Laffy’s a bit too big for the sink!

Special thanks to Aurelie-Anne! If any readers from Paris would like a recommendation from her for planning or myself for styling, you know how to get in touch!

Bisous,

Jeni