This Aberdeen room began as a cloakroom with a blue basin and toilet, built-in cupboards and a considerable amount of household storage. The owners wanted a proper bathing space, with a freestanding bath and finishes they enjoyed, while keeping useful places to put things away.
The low ceiling shaped the project from the outset. We developed a layout around the room’s proportions, then refined the furniture, mirror and colour choices with the owners. The finished bathroom brings together an oval bath, anthracite storage, grey tiles and wood-effect feature walls, with lighting placed on the walls around the bath and basin.
Working with the height available
In an older granite home, the preparation needs to suit the building as well as the desired finish. The owners asked about insulating the walls, floor and ceiling. We explained that adding to the floor or ceiling would reduce the already limited headroom, and discussed wall insulation instead. That became part of the agreed work.
The same attention to height carried through to the fittings. Their first mirror choice was too tall for the space, so we proposed a simple round version without the hanging detail. The installed round illuminated mirror sits above the basin within the available wall height, giving the vanity a clear focal point without crowding the ceiling.
A freestanding bath forms the centrepiece of the room. Its rounded outline sits against the straight lines of the tiled walls, while the black floor-mounted filler keeps the bath rim clear. The layout provides a dedicated place to soak without trying to accommodate a separate standing shower in this unusually low room.
Choosing storage the owners wanted to live with
We discussed a custom-built unit that could run from wall to wall, as well as a standard vanity. The wider fitted arrangement would have offered more storage, but the owners preferred the furniture they had selected. They also wanted us to consider how useful storage could be retained elsewhere.
That conversation matters because the largest possible unit is not automatically the right choice. The finished vanity provides drawers directly below the basin, keeping everyday toiletries close to where they are used. The basin and toilet now sit along the side wall, leaving the bath on the opposite side and a route through the middle.
Resolving the finishes before installation
The original furniture selection had a wood finish. When the owners reviewed the design, they felt it competed with the wood-effect tiles behind the bath and vanity. They liked the feature tiles and asked us to suggest a different furniture colour.
We proposed anthracite, which they approved. The finished room shows why that adjustment worked: the dark furniture connects with the grey wall and floor tiles, while the wood-effect areas remain distinct. Black taps, the bath filler, towel radiator and wall lights continue that restrained palette. The ceiling and woodwork were also finished in grey, following the owners’ preference.
This is one of the practical benefits of developing a design before fitting: it gives homeowners a chance to judge combinations together and resolve details that might otherwise only become obvious once everything is installed.
Light where it is useful
Slim wall lights frame the bath and basin feature areas. They illuminate the wood-effect texture and provide light around the fittings without relying on suspended ceiling lights. Together with the round illuminated mirror, they give these two parts of the room their own identity.
The transformation goes beyond replacing the old blue suite. It makes a bathing room from a space with specific limits, while respecting the owners’ storage needs and finish preferences. If you are planning a bathroom in an older Aberdeen home, we can help you work through the layout, headroom and fitting choices before committing to the final design.
Before and proposed layout
The original room and the design proposal.
