The Making Of A Sublimely Cozy And Tranquil Bathroom Space

For the past couple of days, we had been busy with a bathroom makeover unlike most others – this one at Jean Gardens. And if the Mtambisis' kitchen makeover in the same complex was an ideal example of optimal kitchen space utilisation, then Mmapitsi's bathroom makeover stands as its perfect counterpart for bathroom space.

Now, incidentally, while handing over the apartment to Mmapitsi after completion of the work, Ina – the caretaker – confirmed what had been my assumption all along: the Jean Gardens apartments are a product of the late 1950s to early 1960s. The evidence? Cast iron bathtubs and all those other archaic cast iron accessories.

For this makeover, our brief was simple: rid the bathroom of all those bygone‑era fittings and accessories, create a passage leading to the bathroom and bedroom, and finally, brighten up the apartment overall.

The finale: "Large
Mirror on the wall,
tell me..." 😊

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Structural Surgery: Breathing New Life into Old Walls

With regard to the bathroom, that meant: out with the "Victorian era" fittings, and in with what I would call top‑notch contemporary luxuries.

The splendid Victorian Tub as seen
from near the Floor-standing
Water Arm

Key building alterations – the creation of a new passage against the apartment's inner exterior wall – had been inspired by alterations Mmapitsi's neighbour had done for her own apartment a while ago. Faithful to that concept, we breached two new portals in the walls to the right of the bedroom and bathroom walls. Simultaneously, the lounge‑to‑bedroom door had its steel frame ripped from the wall and bricked up. The bedroom‑to‑bathroom door met the same fate.

To complete the new passage, a drywall partition was erected one thousand millimetres from the exterior wall on the right, thereby creating enough space for a decent passage. Finally, through this partitioning, a new door into the bedroom was installed.

Of course, other necessary alterations followed: new light fittings, associated switches, and so on.

And since the hot water geyser was in the corner – directly in the space where the new bathroom door was to be erected – the geyser had to shift. Pipes were extended right past the drywall partition into the bedroom, roughly over the bricked‑up section that used to serve as the bedroom‑to‑bathroom door.

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The Fittings: Old Faithful Retires, Luxury Arrives

So, in place of the cast iron bathtub came a magnificent Victorian tub. (Talk about contemporary luxuries!) The water supply and waste lines for the wall‑hanging hand basin were shifted to the far corner of the adjacent wall. The basin

Vanity with Quartz Countertop

was replaced with a simple but elegant, grey‑shaded vanity – topped with a slab of white quartz countertop, complete with subdued specks of grey. And a premium brand close‑coupled toilet

Newly installed Close-couple Toilet 

took the place of the retired "old faithful", long‑suffering installation.

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Surfaces: From Entrance to Bathroom, a Seamless Story

Having effected all these alterations, it was time to turn our attention to the surfaces.

From the entrance, we centralised a 600mm Isibindi Wood Mate ceramic floor tile – designed, as CTM claims, to "recreate the relaxed atmosphere of maritime retreats with this striking reproduction of reclaimed wood" – and spread it through the dining room, lounge, all the way to the bathroom. This Isibindi tile is a truly durable product, meant for high‑traffic areas.

The impeccable Isibindi Tile
interacting with it's environment 

The bedroom, however, would be excluded from the ceramic surfaces. Instead, its existing wooden floor was sanded and recoated with Woodoc 25 polyurethane sealant.

Restoration of stripped
 wooden flooring

For the bathroom walls, the client settled on Aries Charcoal – a vibrantly shiny, darker grey 500mm tile that stretches and sketches an illusion of a space larger than it actually is.

We then skimmed the drywall partition with Rhinolite, topping it off with aluminium angle bars on either side of the partition – sitting against the partition on the side, and anchored into the aluminium stripping below the straw ceiling on top.

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The Finale: A Sublime, Cozy, and Tranquil Retreat

The finale – especially for the bathroom – is a sublimely cozy and tranquil atmosphere, perfectly suited for a relaxing retreat at the close of another hectic day at the office.

The beauty of the whole setup is that all amenities are within easy reach of the tub. The towel rail is, as it were, just over the shoulder, below the shoulder‑level window. The huge mirror (1000mm x 1000mm) and the other wall – opposite the main mirror, where floating shelves will be installed – are also within arm's length. And so is the vanity. (You can view Mmapitsi's Apartment renovations as well as Bathroom Makeover Project on two photo albums here and here. The official video is undergoing editing and will be posted here when done.)

And what better way to accomplish this level of coziness than in an environment of low shades of grey? Grey is the overall theme of this bathroom and apartment makeover.

To be certain, it never occurred to me that there could be exuberance in grey. It literally took this tiny space makeover to convince me otherwise. And as it turned out, I wasn't alone. The neighbour – from whom the basic idea emanated – now also wants her bathroom redone, as well as her kitchen. And the Mtambisis just might be sold on the idea of going ahead with a bathroom makeover of their own – three years after the kitchen makeover.

Superfluous but, beautiful 🥰 

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For further details on my built‑in cabinet and general home renovation services, please feel free to contact me – whether by WhatsApp, SMS, or call – on 063 888 5573.