Contemporary Bathroom with a Heritage Influence in Cromwell

These new homeowners wanted an update for the bathroom of their 100-year-old house close to Cromwell’s Heritage Precinct. The clients contacted Kathleen Magon of Refresh Renovations to help with their project. They knew that there had previously been a leak that had since been fixed but were wanting to ensure that they weren’t going to have any further issues as a result of previous damage. In terms of the style, they wanted to remove the old bathtub and relocate the laundry to that space and replace the existing shower alcove with a modern fixture.

Major Challenges

Due to the age of the home and previous water damage, the Refresh team did find a number of remedial issues that needed to be remedied once the demolition of the room had been completed. This included rebuilding a section of the subfloor due to rot and replacing a portion of the existing wall framing as well as some exterior cladding and some sections of window frame. This due increase the cost of the project and lengthened the time frame for the overall project.

Design Highlights

To pay homage to the age of the home and its location carewas taken with the selections to influence the overall look and feel of thespace. A heritage style floor standing vanity and traditional style toilet (asopposed to a modern back to wall style) where selected. These choices weresupported by traditional style mirror, handles and tapware.

In terms of the layout the shower alcove was removed toallow more light to pass through the space. With relocating the laundry to theold bath space this paved the way for the vanity to be reorientated from underthe window to the adjacent wall. This meant a feature mirror was able to beinstalled. This adds character as well as provides a more functional layout forthe vanity.

Project Execution

The renovation was completed in just under 5 weeks, the timeframe was slightly longer than expected due to the additional remedial worksrequired due to previous water damage. The original budget indication was$47,478 however with the additional works required to repair the previous waterdamage the total build budget increased to $52,518. Leading to roughly a 10%overrun. The need for a contingency budget had been discussed with the clientsdue to the element of unknown water damage and fortunately their contingencybudget covered this overrun with not all of the additional funds needing to beutilised.

With careful planning and execution, Kathleen Magon and herteam of Refresh Renovations® delivered a modern update that wassympathetic to the era of the home for this bathroom space.

Client Feedback

The clients were thrilled to be able to create a modern,contemporary space that is comfortable and gives them a better use of the spacewhile still being able to retain old world character and charm.

Trades Involved

• Builder
• Plumber
• Electrician
• Plasterer
• Painter
• Tiler
• Flooring installer

Final Finishes and Touches

Attention to detail was important in this project tomaintain the heritage influence. This includes items like the colonial styleskirting boards, the old style tap and toilet lever. It’s these small touchesthat help sell the design. The introduction of a soft blue colour Resene Casperto the feature wall and bathroom entry door adds a pop of colour within keepingof the heritage theme.

Refresh® Renovation Renovation Consultant KathleenMagon and her team at Solasta Ltd delivered a quality kitchen update thatenhanced practicality and durability.

Would you like to transform your bathroom or home? Contactyour local Renovation Consultant today for a free consultation.