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Creating a sensory space

8/7/2019

1 Comment

 
Hi everyone, today I thought I would write about my experience of creating sensory spaces in specific relation to bathrooms. As humans, we depend on our five senses to guide us through the world and how we interact with it. We also use these senses to derive pleasure and improve our wellbeing. Being aware of and considering these senses when designing your home and spaces within it is vital, as it helps maximise the positive experience we take from these spaces. I will delve further into each of these senses, and how, I have found ways of improving the sensory experience when designing a bathroom, in collaboration with my favourite pieces from Geberit and some pretty fun surprises.
Sight
This seems obvious when talking about interior design as it is mainly thought of as a visual art. But our sight is so complex and has many different considerations from the perception to the interpretation of what is around us.  Our vision as humans is dependant on light and the quality and intensity of it changes how we see everything. Our eyes help us see colour and our bi-occular vision (two eyes) gives us 3D appreciation of a space. All of this is processed in our brain and this is why people can be seeing the same colour, and depending on their situation, light intensity and mood, they will describe it differently and have various emotional responses to it.
Keeping this in mind when designing a space really helps focus the thought on light and colour. What is the orientation of the room in relation to the sun? Where is the light source coming from? When will this room be used and for what purpose? Lots of light is generally thought of as a good thing, it wakes us up and energises us, so it's great when your room has large windows that flood the room with light. It is also important to consider appropriate task lighting, such as a mirror with a backlight (check out the video) or your worktop/space having good lighting.
Next consideration is mood lighting, so when creating an intimate or relaxing space choose a softer lighting mode. An ingenious mode of lighting for night time which keeps us in our natural circadian rhythms is navigation lighting, which is a very low glow from the objects that we want to use or need to interact with at night time to allow us to not disrupt your natural wake/sleep patterns. The Geberit orientation lights which can either be under the WC or incorporated into the flush plate emanate a soft glow that allow the body to not fully wake up when using the space at night time, and therefore allowing you to drift back off to sleep easily afterwards.
sink with back lit mirror from the geberit myday range on a taupe console
sink with back lit mirror from the geberit myday range on a taupe console
guide light from the monolith flush system from geberit can have customised colours
Touch
This is an incredibly intimate sensation and often not as highly valued initially when considering a space, but has such impact. Think of when you are in your favourite store, you want to touch everything you see - its emotive, its raw. Like how you know which jumper you are grabbing for in a bag full of stuff when you feel its material, our tactile sensation is very powerful and through it we determine a lot about our surroundings, which is why its imperative to consider this sensation when designing a bathroom. Incorporating different textures and finishes gives your bathroom personality and depth. Think of the smooth surface of glass, the slightly rougher texture of wood, the fluffy towels and the clean ceramics. The Geberit Aquaclean WC is quite frankly a work of art. You can get models whose lid lifts without having to touch it. The toilets come with an incorporated bidet, giving you a shower clean finish with every use. You can have your personal preferences memorised using the app on your phone. These can specify what water pressure you like, at what angle and what temperature you want it at! To really ramp up the luxury why not have a heated WC seat? I first experienced this calibre of WC when travelling in Japan and was gobsmacked at the luxury and level of hygiene I felt after using it and shocked at how most homes in Japan have one but this is still an emerging trend in Europe. Come on! We need to up our game!
furniture detail shot of a wooden cabinet in a bathroom space by geberit
toilet shower, bidet, douche, aquaclean, waterwipe
Smell
Our sense of smell, despite not being honed to hunt, definitely evokes within us emotions and reactions that we can use to our advantage when designing a space. Think of that smell of freshly cut grass in spring, or the smell of mulled cider and bonfires in winter - these evocative smells bring back memories and transport us to a different place and time. Aromatherapy is a great way to relax and help improve balance, both physically and emotionally. It allows us to focus on the smell and a memory, creating moments of mindfulness and helping restore calm. When one thinks about the sense of smell in relation bathrooms, it can evoke a mixed reaction - but this shouldn't be the case. The smell of our favourite shampoos or face creams all form part of our daily routine and we buy these products based on how they perform and make us feel, including their perfume. So if we extended this concept further to the interior of the bathroom space, we can use scented candles or reed diffusers to creating a soothing space to be in and relax. Geberit have also thought of odour extraction within their WC systems. "WHAT?!" I hear you say, yes! Apparently so! There is a small extraction vent that removes any of the unpleasant odours from the air through a ceramic honeycomb filter. Insanely brilliant!
styled photo of a backlit mirror in a bathroom showing the acanto range and greenery and candles in a bathroom all creating a sensory space
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Sound
With all the hard surfaces in a bathroom, they can sometimes become an echoic chamber and that is the opposite of a relaxing sensory space. So to tackle this, I advise upping the soft textures as much as possible, be it with open shelves displaying beautiful towels, lovely woven floor rugs and even lush planting to soften the space and create a better acoustic space. The sound of flowing water when running a bath or having a shower is another relaxing sound that we are drawn to. We associate it with freshness and cleanliness and imagine ourselves being under a beautiful waterfall, bathing ourselves (you have the visual now I'm sure).  Maximising the positive sounds in a bathroom is great, so I always recommend playing some relaxing jazz or soul music when having a bath, it allows the mind to distract itself from our thoughts and just be in the moment, with the water and the music. Geberit have thought of this element too in reducing sound transmission from the waste pipes in your home and even the way the toilet flushes. They are real sticklers for the detail - they even have a sound lab in Switzerland! They use three unique ways to test sound. First is to have their entire flushing and drainage system on a pre-wall including having a wall hung toilet, this reduces the vibration and hence sound going through the walls of the house. Secondly they have silent drainage pipes, that dampen the sounds of the water going through them. Last but not least, their rimless Turboflush WCs have the most silent flushes I have EVER heard - or not heard... You get what I mean.
creating a sensory bathroom space involves thinking of all the senses including  touch, smell, taste, sight and sound.
Taste
Now this sensation is probably the least stimulated in the bathroom of all rooms. But our taste buds are stimulated by the toothpaste and mouth cleaning products we use and even possibly the glass of wine we sip on slowly when having a bath. So despite not being the most obvious space that will stimulate our taste buds, remember its also something worth considering when developing the sensory space. 
styled bathroom with a towel over the bath, and lovely green palm and plants in the room. Geberit dual flush plate show how versatile it can be
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[This is a paid partnership with Geberit. To find out more head to their website: https://inspiredbygeberit.co.uk/in-your-area/cheshire/]

#Inspiredbygeberit
1 Comment

Bathroom Makeover with Topps Tiles

13/5/2019

10 Comments

 
Hello everyone! I am super excited to show you my latest bathroom refurbishment using Topps Tiles. My client came to me with the desire to create a fresh and bright space in her main bathroom. The apartment had a slightly odd layout with a loo in the separate room which, due to reasons beyond our control, couldn't be incorporated into the main bathroom space, so we focused on creating an oasis of calm in this small but crucial space.
pre-renovation shot of a problem bathroom with old tiles, no storage and dark setting
Pre-renovation shot of the problem bathroom with old tiles, no storage and dark setting
pre-renovation shot of a problem bathroom with old tiles, no storage and dark setting
So we worked on the layout, as the staircase  headroom came up through this bathroom we had to think creatively to find a solution for turning this challenge into a positive aspect of the space.  We decided to include built in storage above the sloping wall to make the space work for my client and also make it a beautiful feature of the room.  As we didn't want it encroaching too far into the room we only used a small section of the slope at its highest point. At the lower end of the slope we later built a foot rest, perfect for a pedicure and grooming. 


Mid renovation of a bathroom this photo describes how the sloping floor was used to incoroporate a storage boxed system above it
Mid renovation of the bathroom: The sloping floor was Incorporated into a boxed storage system above it. A small foot rest was built over the remaining slope.
Another challenge was where one can have a mirror in the bathroom as the sink was directly in front of a mirror there wasn't any obvious wall space, which is when I was inspired by a photo on my Pinterest (see below) to have the mirror suspended in front of the window! It makes perfect sense as you still get the natural light allowing you to use the mirror without a silhouette effect and  it doesn't obstruct too much light coming into the room
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Our inspiration image for the mirror dilemma as featured on House and Garden
Next we went tile shopping! This was the exciting part of the process as we went to our local Topps Tiles showroom and picked out three tiles that we loved the most. It was so easy to place them next to each other and be sure that they all worked harmoniously with our scheme.  For the floor tile we went for the Variato Tile, which is a porcelain tile which has a natural stone look. The other two tiles we used were both from the Wild Blossom collection. We used the plain tiles in two colourways, the Milk tile and the Sea Grass tile. The milk tile has a soft, off-white colour, and the sea grass is a muted or greyed/sage green, both with a very subtle ripple finish. We chose the green tile as a feature tile across the shower wall to create another interesting feature for you to look at and discover while within the space. It isn't overwhelming despite being a large wall due to its mellow colouring and being the same size as the other wall tiles. 
green, white and grey tile samples
green, white and grey tile samples
green, white and grey tile samples
I always recommend buying a sample so you can refer back to it at a later stage when developing your scheme and also to look at it within the light context that you will be placing the tile. Here you can see how the colours, despite being the same 3 tiles, can look different in different lighting conditions. 
We also included more storage by changing the pedestal sink into a vanity unit that has a hidden drawer and a full  drawer. The front of the sink is clad in a wood veneer which injects a warm and natural element into the space that would otherwise have mainly hard surfaces and cool colours. 
moodboard of the grey, white and green bathroom
Mood Board for the bathroom
So our mood board was developing nicely and I created a 3D image the space to help the client and bathroom fitter visualise the space and for us all to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Have a look at the video and then the final photos below and see how with a bit of elbow grease and good design planning we managed to create this space. Have a look at the photos below and let me know your favourite bits in the comments below.
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10 Comments

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Peter Grech in Altrincham, Cheshire, UK on Houzz
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Peter Grech in Altrincham, Cheshire, UK on Houzz
Peter Grech in Altrincham, Cheshire, UK on Houzz
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