This one started with a shower room that had basically given up. The existing shower was leaking through into the hall, and the walls were starting to crumble, so this was never going to be a case of giving it a lick of paint and hoping for the best. Once we started taking things apart, it made sense to strip the room right back and deal with the problems properly rather than hide them behind a nice new finish.

While we were opening everything up, the client decided they wanted to make better use of the space too. One of the walls was coming out anyway, so we built in a pocket door rather than putting another traditional door back in. It meant losing less usable space and gave the room a much cleaner entrance. Obviously, this also meant I had to make sure the new framework, boarding and all the surrounding work was done properly before we could start putting the pretty stuff back in.

From there I pretty much did the lot — strip-out, framework, boarding, waterproofing, levelling, plumbing, tiling, hanging and fitting, right through to the finishing details. The client’s brief was pretty straightforward: easy to clean, warm, a bit boho and definitely some plants. So basically, make it practical, but don't make it look like a bathroom in a Premier Inn.

The finished space is a big change from what was there. The natural and earthy finishes give it the warmth the client wanted, while the clean lines and practical surfaces keep it easy to maintain. The pocket door makes the room feel less cramped, and the plants and softer details stop it becoming too clinical. It's still a shower room, obviously, but it feels like part of the home rather than somewhere you've been sent to wash.

And that's probably my favourite part of these jobs — taking something that has genuine problems underneath the surface, sorting the boring but important stuff properly, and then making the finished space look like it was always meant to be that way.