Having previously lived in a 200-year-old property full of character, when Julie and her husband Phil moved into a new build property in Oxford twelve years ago, they wanted to put their own stamp on their new family home.
As the first owners of the house, Julie and Phil benefitted from a brand new en-suite with a spacious floor plan and neutral design with grey tiling; however, this was not to their taste. Over time, the en-suite required an increasing amount of maintenance and when the shower and taps started leaking, the couple saw this as the perfect opportunity to transform the space completely.
Speaking of the transformation, Julie said: “We were never particularly fond of the en-suite design, but as it was brand-new and neutral we simply couldn’t justify re-doing it when we first moved in and instead focussed on other areas of the home first. However, over time, the en-suite began to look tired and when it required money to be spent on repairs, we decided it was time to renovate the space completely.
“Whilst planning our new en-suite design, we were set on having small herringbone tiles inside the shower enclosure. Our bathroom fitter, however, advised us against using traditional tiles due to the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of grout, which makes it harder to keep them looking good for long periods of time. Instead, our bathroom fitter recommended using Showerwall panels, with the option to choose from a range of existing designs or to customise and create our own bespoke acrylic wall panels, and after doing some research, we were immediately sold on the idea.
“We chose to go for a bespoke design for the back wall of the shower enclosure, along with the Navy Subway wall panels, which look almost identical to herringbone tiles, to complement our bedroom, which the en-suite is connected to.”
It was important to Julie and Phil, who both have a background in photography, that the en-suite and bedroom flowed together and it was a continuation of their existing jungle theme, which was achieved in their en-suite renovation through the creation of an Amazon rainforest feel.
Julie began the search for a bespoke design for the custom Showerwall wall panel by looking at free image sites and soon found the perfect design, featuring a large-scale lily pad, peaceful river and palm trees. She commented: “I was immediately taken by the image of the lily pad, which reminded me of the paintings at Kew Gardens from the Marianne North gallery, one of my favourite places in the world.
“I love the antique, Victorian style of Marianne North’s botanical paintings, where she often used shades of blue and green around pops of colour to neutralise the background and create a dramatic focal point. This inspired our design choices where we opted for a darker green and blue, alongside the vibrant bespoke wall panels, to complete the Amazon rainforest feel, without it looking too busy.”
To further add to the sense of nature, Julie and Phil opted for wood-effect flooring and placed an array of house plants throughout the space.
Speaking of the process, Julie commented: “The whole experience, from choosing the bespoke design and Navy Subway wall panels to having them fitted, has been an easy and straightforward process and we are very happy with the choices we made and the overall finish of our en-suite. “
Shower’s Custom Acrylic Collection allows you to choose from a library of images or use your own design, such as a piece of artwork or a favourite photograph, to create a bespoke wall panel.
To find out more about Showerwall’s Custom Acrylic Collection, visit: https://showerwall.co.uk/product-category/the-acrylic-collection/
