of sea and sand

From Habitat magazine - issue 19

This bach bathroom takes its colours from the nearby sea and beaches.

When it came to deciding on colours for the bathroom of a rebuilt bach north of Auckland, the owners Ian and Sharon couldn't look much further than the local environment. Blessed with a sweeping view of the sea and sand dunes, the colours were right there, almost at their feet.

Resene Periglacial Blue seemed the perfect match for the sea-foam blue of the water, so was used on the half-height tongue-and-groove paneling, while Resene Rice Cake is a warm white that reminded them of the sandstone rocks at the local beach. Elsewhere in the bach, Resene Parchment and Resene Double Parchment echo the golden sand.

The bach had once been a badly built unattractive box. Rebuilding it became a labour of love for the couple – and an exercise in forbearance for their two children as mum and dad spent many a weekend working on the house rather than taking them to the beach.

Ian loves baths so, although like most bach properties this one relies on limited supplies of tank water, the bath was an important component. An annual mega-sale by Auckland-based Mico Bathrooms saw him pounce on the normally expensive but now knocked-down-in-price bath.

Normal ready-made vanities didn't match the Cape Cod style of the room, so Sharon found a rustic sideboard from an Auckland store, and painted it in a diluted Resene Half Rice Cake for a whitewashed effect. The small drawers were perfectly set slightly apart to allow room for the basin pipework underneath. Baskets bought at Storage Box are home to the necessities of bathroom life.

The basin reminded Ian and Sharon of a banana leaf shape while the Briscoes mirror came with a similar whitewash finish to the vanity.

The couple chose to build a large walk-in shower with a wall that is half tiled and half glazed. Initial fears that water would splash out onto the floor haven't materialised and the shower is easy to clean at the end of each bach visit.

Did you know... that the Resene Kitchen & Bathroom range of paints combines anti-bacterial silver protection and MoulDefender mould inhibitor, perfect for minimising unwanted nasties in kitchens, bathrooms and laundries?

Accessories: Basin: Trenz Group. Bath: Villeroy & Boch, Mico Bathrooms. Floor tiles: Berica Bianco from Tile Warehouse.

pictures: Peter Davies

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