Shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA House of the Year, and winning a RIBA London Award, Sunday Times homes commendation, Manser Medal Shortlisting and NLA nomination the handmade Makers House is a new build detached family home in East London. Having bought the site in 2012, David and Sophie won planning permission, raised finance and built the 2,390 sqft house – by hand as the main contractor ​–​ over the following four years. They set their own brief ​–​ to explore the ideal texture and atmosphere of domestic architecture. This experimental objective was achieved while simultaneously satisfying the constraints of speculative residential development. The house’s asymmetric form is an elegant solution ​– it ​emerged from scrupulous computer analysis of the site’s constraints (proximity to listed buildings; neighbours’ rights to light); it deftly captures key moments of available sunlight while forming apparently regular interior spaces. The pursuit of craftsmanship and tactility is reflected in the house’s rich palette and varied processes of fabrication. The exterior combines roman brickwork with inky pigmented zinc roofing and bleached larch carpentry. Internally, the structural steel and timber work is exposed, and married to a restrained palette of reclaimed industrial materials.

This family bathroom was a delight to design. The only tiled wall is straight ahead, behind the bespoke wall hung vanity unit, with grid-like grout lines abutting the seamless, natural flow of the other wall, floor and ceiling. Notice the large, hand crafted liquid metal veins in the walls. The rimless LED puddle mirror provides a contemporary feature for the space.

The owners of this classic “old-growth Oak trim-work and arches” 1½ story 2 BR Tudor were looking to increase the size and functionality of their first-floor bath. Their wish list included a walk-in steam shower, tiled floors and walls. They wanted to incorporate those arches where possible – a style echoed throughout the home. They also were looking for a way for someone using a wheelchair to easily access the room. The project began by taking the former bath down to the studs and removing part of the east wall. Space was created by relocating a portion of a closet in the adjacent bedroom and part of a linen closet located in the hallway. Moving the commode and a new cabinet into the newly created space creates an illusion of a much larger bath and showcases the shower. The linen closet was converted into a shallow medicine cabinet accessed using the existing linen closet door. The door to the bath itself was enlarged, and a pocket door installed to enhance traffic flow. The walk-in steam shower uses a large glass door that opens in or out. The steam generator is in the basement below, saving space. The tiled shower floor is crafted with sliced earth pebbles mosaic tiling. Coy fish are incorporated in the design surrounding the drain. Shower walls and vanity area ceilings are constructed with 3” X 6” Kyle Subway tile in dark green. The light from the two bright windows plays off the surface of the Subway tile is an added feature. The remaining bath floor is made 2” X 2” ceramic tile, surrounded with more of the pebble tiling found in the shower and trying the two rooms together. The right choice of grout is the final design touch for this beautiful floor. The new vanity is located where the original tub had been, repeating the arch as a key design feature. The Vanity features a granite countertop and large under-mounted sink with brushed nickel fixtures. The white vanity cabinet features two sets of large drawers. The untiled walls feature a custom wallpaper of Henri Rousseau’s “The Equatorial Jungle, 1909,” featured in the national gallery of art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46688.html The owners are delighted in the results. This is their forever home.

A contemporary guest bathroom that features a sophisticated green glass tile shower surround, grey textured porcelain tiles and a dark free standing single sink vanity.

We reconfigured the space, moving the door to the toilet room behind the vanity which offered more storage at the vanity area and gave the toilet room more privacy. If the linen towers each vanity sink has their own pullout hamper for dirty laundry. Its bright but the dramatic green tile offers a rich element to the room

Green Bathroom, Wood Vanity, Small Bathroom Renovations, On the Ball Bathrooms

Teal Blue tiles laid in herringbone style in shower enclosure and black and white floor tiles.

"Kerry Taylor was professional and courteous from our first meeting forwards. We took a long time to decide on our final design but Kerry and his design team were patient and respectful and waited until we were ready to move forward. There was never a sense of being pushed into anything we didn’t like. They listened, carefully considered our requests and delivered an awesome plan for our new bathroom. Kerry also broke down everything so that we could consider several alternatives for features and finishes and was mindful to stay within our budget. He accommodated some on-the-fly changes, after construction was underway and suggested effective solutions for any unforeseen problems that arose. Having construction done in close proximity to our master bedroom was a challenge but the excellent crew TaylorPro had on our job made it relatively painless: courteous and polite, arrived on time daily, worked hard, pretty much nonstop and cleaned up every day before leaving. If there were any delays, Kerry made sure to communicate with us quickly and was always available to talk when we had concerns or questions." This Carlsbad couple yearned for a generous master bath that included a big soaking tub, double vanity, water closet, large walk-in shower, and walk in closet. Unfortunately, their current master bathroom was only 6'x12'. Our design team went to work and came up with a solution to push the back wall into an unused 2nd floor vaulted space in the garage, and further expand the new master bath footprint into two existing closet areas. These inventive expansions made it possible for their luxurious master bath dreams to come true. Just goes to show that, with TaylorPro Design & Remodeling, fitting a square peg in a round hole could be possible! Photos by: Jon Upson

A "Home" should be the physical 'representation' of an individual's or several individuals' personalities. That is exactly what we achieved with this project. After presenting us with an amazing collection of mood boards with everything they aspirated to, we took onboard the core of what was being asked and ran with it. We ended up gutting out the whole flat and re-designing a new layout that allowed for daylight, intimacy, colour, texture, glamour, luxury and so much attention to detail. All the joinery is bespoke. Photography by Alex Maguire photography

chase thuente

Small shower room with a bespoke made hand wash basin and polished concrete flooring.

Bathroom remodeled to accommodate wheel-chair access.

Hood House is a playful protector that respects the heritage character of Carlton North whilst celebrating purposeful change. It is a luxurious yet compact and hyper-functional home defined by an exploration of contrast: it is ornamental and restrained, subdued and lively, stately and casual, compartmental and open. For us, it is also a project with an unusual history. This dual-natured renovation evolved through the ownership of two separate clients. Originally intended to accommodate the needs of a young family of four, we shifted gears at the eleventh hour and adapted a thoroughly resolved design solution to the needs of only two. From a young, nuclear family to a blended adult one, our design solution was put to a test of flexibility. The result is a subtle renovation almost invisible from the street yet dramatic in its expressive qualities. An oblique view from the northwest reveals the playful zigzag of the new roof, the rippling metal hood. This is a form-making exercise that connects old to new as well as establishing spatial drama in what might otherwise have been utilitarian rooms upstairs. A simple palette of Australian hardwood timbers and white surfaces are complimented by tactile splashes of brass and rich moments of colour that reveal themselves from behind closed doors. Our internal joke is that Hood House is like Lazarus, risen from the ashes. We’re grateful that almost six years of hard work have culminated in this beautiful, protective and playful house, and so pleased that Glenda and Alistair get to call it home.

Green and pink guest bathroom with green metro tiles. brass hardware and pink sink.