We Revamped The Sixties Decor

Tracy gave her small cottage bathroom a fab new look and traditional feel with chic styling and clever buys

Both my husband Simon and I have a bit of a passion for home renovation, and this house was one we couldn’t resist,’ says Tracy. ‘It’s anold terraced cottage in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, an area we know well and somewhere we knew we’d be happy to live for a few years. We’re serial movers – we constantly revamp houses and then move on to the next project.

The property was a good price, but it needed major renovation work. On the outside it looked like a pretty chocolate box cottage, but inside it looked like something out of the Sixties. The previous owners had tried to modernise it, but the decor wasn’t in keeping with the house’s character – it’s over 300 years old.

We tackled the renovation room by room, re-exposing the beams in the main living areas and removing anything that wasn’t working. The bathroom is very small and situated downstairs at the back of the house, off the kitchen. We thought about taking space from one of the bedrooms and relocating the bathroom upstairs, but when we looked at the cost and the work involved, the finances didn’t add up. So we decided to keep it where it was and make it work for us.

Figuring it out

We wanted the design and style of the bathroom to be quite modern, but it also needed to reflect the heritage of the cottage… and my big ask was to try to fit a roll-top bath and shower in the room. Because it’s a small space (only 2.2m by 3.3m), we were restricted in what we could do. The original layout would still work for us, but we needed to get rid of the fitted Sixties-style built-in units and horrible old shower.

I spent ages searching for a roll-top bath that was short enough to fit the space and eventually found this corner-fitted design, which came with a shower screen and elegant chrome legs, online at Victoria Plum.