The seamless blend between Parisian and Victorian elegance was what initially drew our attention to the Moreton Grange project. This 1850 build displays beautiful interior design, home to our stunning Notion Freestanding Bath as the focal point of the master bedroom/bathroom. We contacted the homeowner, Laura, who told us all about her amazing renovation of this period property and the reason she chose Lusso Stone products to use throughout her home.
Can you give us some background on your project?
We purchased Moreton Grange in 2017. It’s a large, Victorian detached home which was built in 1850. On the ground level, there were three reception rooms comprising of; an office, utility room, large working kitchen, cloakroom, entrance hall, and WC. On the first floor, there were seven bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a separate WC all next to each other. Attached to the ground floor is a small cottage and there is also a separate plot with a garage and additional gardens/outbuildings. The house when we purchased it was loved, but tired- the layout did not work for us. There is a lovely big garden but only the kitchen looked out onto the garden through the courtyard. We decided to combine the office, one reception room and part of the hallway on the ground floor and extend out by a further four metres, creating a large downstairs open plan living space. Upstairs we just didn’t see the point in having two bathrooms next to each other so we decided to make one bathroom for the children and combine ours with our bedroom. Our bedroom was originally two bedrooms and rather than extend outwards like downstairs, we put a balcony onto it. The bathrooms in the house originally disappointed me, they were small and east facing so quite dark.
Where did you draw inspiration from when designing your project?
I am a designer myself, my Master’s Degree is in Product Design, and I’m a little obsessed with beautiful, functional statement design. We stayed in a large house in France whilst holidaying in 2015, it was a former mill and the rooms were spacious with marble tiles and exposed stone. I love natural materials and chose Honed amber Marble tiles for the children’s bathroom. The pieces we chose for this bathroom worked well with the tiles as the pieces are clean and beautifully engineered; I adore the clean edges and matte stone. Originally, I couldn’t make the layout of the children’s bathroom work, I didn’t want it to feel crowded and I was adamant that I didn’t want to share the wall with anything else, so very last minute I decided to get out the sledgehammer and knock through into the toilet next door meaning we could fit the shower and the toilet in this area. It was one of the best last-minute decisions we made! For our bedroom, I wanted to effortlessly combine the Victorian elements of the house with the new extension. I’d love to say Pinterest but in actual fact, the inspiration for this room came from knowing exactly what I did want and what I didn’t. I was keen for it to flow and not feel like a bathroom with a bed in there.
What was it that made you merge the master bedroom and bathroom into one open space?
The bathrooms in this house were small and dark, it just made sense to combine it with our bedroom as we planned on extending it and wanted to create the wow factor. I wanted to feel every morning like waking up in a hotel room! We use one of the other bedrooms for a separate dressing room so we are lucky that we don’t have to fill the space with lots of stuff! It’s fuss-free and eclectic.
The interior is a beautiful combination between traditional and modern, what was it that made you go for this theme?
I love combining old and new pieces, I wanted to be sympathetic to the Victorian origins of the house whilst acknowledging the new build. We have three original sash windows in the bedroom as it was originally two bedrooms and a landing space, I decided to keep all three. We did not need to as it is a big bright room, but I just loved the original sashes. Along the front are full-height glass sliding doors, so the light floods in. I choose the dark Amtico flooring in a herringbone design & gold border, the dark colour offsets beautifully against the white Lusso pieces and the gold accent in the floor subtlety complements the Lusso gold hardware. The flooring is also waterproof which meant I could run the same floor across the bedroom, if I had to have a transition between two different types of flooring it would have disrupted the flow of the room and made it feel disjointed. I love how the clean Lusso bowls sit beautifully on top of the sideboard like two porcelain teacups. For me, it was important to create a space that felt luxurious, and I feel like the pieces I chose, create that. The bed is a statement piece just like the bath, but yet they don’t try to compete. The sink sideboard is an original piece which we picked up in an antique shop in Leek, I saw it in the corner and I knew it was perfect, we got it adjusted to fit the pipework (a very small job) and the cupboards underneath are really practical for hiding toiletries and towels. There are lots of French accents throughout our house as we very nearly moved to France in 2016! I think when a room has such a purpose like a bathroom/bedroom you pick your key pieces and everything else has to work around those, we chose the bath/basins, tiles, flooring and bed, all in that order and each item paved the way for the next. The soft furnishing certainly softens up the room and adds the finishing touches. What I absolutely did not want it to feel was dated, but I think we managed to strike a good balance creating a functional space that is both effortlessly traditional and present.
What attracted you to Lusso Stone products to use for your project?
The material to begin with, the feel of the beautiful matte resin stone. The clean lines, fuss-free, and practical. I wanted statement pieces and we certainly have that. We were surprised by how affordable Lusso Stone is. It’s affordable luxury. Very often the items on your wish list are out of budget but we found that Lusso Stone provided us with exactly what we wanted in terms of contemporary style and price. No matter who visits our house, they always comment on the bathrooms. I would advise anyone, even those on a small budget to invest in key pieces for their bathroom as you have to love them for many years.
What is your favourite Lusso Stone product you have used for the project, including the master bedroom/bathroom and children’s bathroom?
I love the double sink unit in the children’s bathroom, it’s just so practical, easy to keep clean and the children love that they have a sink each! Our bath I love too, we call it the big bath! That’s how we differentiate which type of bath we are having in our house, big bath or small bath (even though the small bath isn’t that small). We spent ages deciding which size to purchase the bath in, it’s a big space and we didn’t want a bath that looked lost. We also cut out a large template which we had in various positions on the floor to decide exactly where to position the bath; the taps we positioned to the side so that they didn’t obscure the view out of the garden whilst in the bath.
How was your experience dealing with deliveries and customer service from Lusso Stone?
Lusso Stone customer service is exceptional, we had a large order as we ordered all three rooms at the same time. We were missing a couple of bits for the sinks which were sent out straight away. The items were packaged incredibly well, in large wooden boxes.
Do you have any more projects planned for the future?
Yes, we are starting work on our garage next year, we have plans to convert it into a creative space/B&B. It has outline planning permission. For this project, we will be absolutely using Lusso Stone again, but this time around we will be looking at smaller pieces as it will be multifunctional. Watch this space!
Who else loves the project by @renovating_the_grange? If you love traditional home interiors, check out our Deco collection for traditional vanity units, roll-top baths and polished nickel accessories.
