Sweet curves! When Susan Cleveland, Smarter Bathrooms interior designer, arrived in the city at one of Melbourne’s old converted commercial buildings, she had no idea what was in store for her. The client, who works for the Australian Ballet, had a total makeover on his score. Together they created a work that was strong and curvaceous, but light and fresh. When asked about the challenges, Susan said, “This one bedroom apartment nestled in a beautiful old building in Melbourne was architecturally designed in the 1970,s. All elements were still on track except for the bathroom. A 3m high curved wall from the living room contained the door looking directly on to a not so good looking hand basin and toilet suite. It also looked onto the back of very dull mosaic curved shower cubicle and beyond a typical laundry tub and washing machine. There was very little storage and the owners found it frustrating to use.” She put her bathroom design skills to work and came up with a stunning new bathroom breathing life into this tired apartment. How did you achieve this fresh, light flowing and practical space? “Working closely with the build team we managed to retain the curved shape by splicing the veneer and filling in the area with a new wall where the client will display art work. We moved the bathroom entrance to the bedroom via a translucent glass sliding door. The new sliding door looks onto the streamlined vanity and mirror area. We made full use of the ceiling height in the new laundry storage area for washing machine, dryer, hot water service and further storage. Maximising the space we installed a large walk in shower with a single pane of glass, concealed cistern toilet and a long mirrored cabinet with floating vanity. For a fresh finish, Susan used the beautiful Bizazza pearlescent mosaic tiles at the bottom of the room reaching to white along the newly formed curved wall to reflect a cascading waterfall. The calacatta marble benchtop, and clean white cabinetry was used to enhance and not compete with the colour scheme. The bathroom has been restored to the prestigious luxury deserving of Old Melbourne city apartment buildings.” After the curtain fell on this stunning bathroom renovation project, Susan’s client was signing her praises on and off stage. The team at Smarter is so proud of the project that we will be entering it in the next HIA and Kitchen and Bathroom Designer Institute Awards…stay tuned.