the perfect bathroom

Well, I do love a good bathroom. No joke, it's the make or break point when it comes to finding a place to live for me. I originally posted about my favorite bathroom here. Today, I'm featuring a guest post by Ms. Helen Davies from across the pond in the UK. She's posting about her perfect bathroom. Read her sumptuous description below!

I live in a Victorian house that’s been styled in sympathy with the era in which it was built. I love the decor and all its period features, but sometimes.... sometimes I dream about decorating my home in a totally different style!

So, my perfect bathroom (this week) would be a large, opulent room on two levels. In the centre of the raised area, I’d install a huge boat-shaped bath with a freestanding waterfall tap. The bath would be side-on to a large, central, floor to ceiling window framed by wooden plantation shutters. There’d be a side table carved from a large solid piece of tree trunk; this would be the place I’d keep a pretty bottle of bath oil and rest my glass of wine while bathing. I’d have some vanilla candles displayed in hurricane lanterns on the floor around the bath – just enough to add a little atmosphere on a winter evening.

Down the step would be the rest of my bathroom. Another floor to ceiling window would cast light across the floor - in my dreams, solid planks of reclaimed oak treated with a dark stain to show up all that gorgeous detail – and glint in the Venetian mirror above my basin. The basin and mirror would be opposite my bathing space, so I’d be able to see the bath and the large window reflected in the mirror.

The basin itself would be a vessel sink sitting atop a freestanding wooden cabinet. I’d have another waterfall tap, this time deck mounted on my basin cabinet. I’d add a couple of tall bathroom cabinets either side of the basin, for storage and to lend symmetry to my layout; one would incorporate a linen cabinet section to hide away my laundry out of sight.

There’d be a large, rectangular walk-in monsoon shower with a frameless screen, and my toilet would be a simple, modern, wall hung WC with a concealed cistern. I’d have another piece of freestanding bathroom furniture next to the shower area, to hold towels and perhaps a couple of berry coloured votive candles in opaque glass holders.

My walls would be part tiled in natural stone and I’d have some rich, deep coloured wallpaper above the tile: something like a deep berry coloured damask pattern – it would look really warm and welcoming. I’d have chandelier lights, too – one over the bath and one in the main area near the basin. And finally, on one wall (maybe opposite the shower) I’d have a full length Venetian mirror.

Helen Davies is a bathroom designer and writer, currently working for Better Bathrooms, a UK company in (you guessed it) the bathroom trade. She has written recently for UK based interiors magazines such as Real Homes, Homebuilding & Renovations and Period Living and has just started her own blog.

What about you? What's in your PERFECT BATHROOM?