Baked in Clay; our bathroom makeover inspired by an artist's retreat.

Jan 25, 2025

The Inspiration

Back in September last year we stayed at Mencora Experimental, a beautiful 19th century finca tucked away in the rural south of the island. I loved the concept of the hotel, it was designed to look and feel like ‘an artist’s retreat’. I really liked from the use of natural materials like pale olive wood and farmhouse stone, exaggerated curved architecture and all the tiny considered details such as the shape of hook or pattern of the floor tiles, it certainly encapsulated the theme ‘experimental.’

So I decided to bottle our amazing experience and bring it to my English countryside home, so I could enjoy it every day !

Bathroom at Menorca Experimental (image owned by hotel)

The Layout

Our family bathroom is definitely on the small side coupled with being an awkward narrow rectangle shape. We didn’t have the option to change up the layout too much so we decided to stream line the wet areas such as the toilet, sink and shower so they were situated along the back wall, you viewpoint when you enter the room. This made the space feel neat and streamlined and allowed for an opportunity to great a walk in shower, something I really wanted to include in the design. I have a real pet hate of glass shower doors, high quality ones are so expensive but look a bit boring plus they are a nightmare to clean ! Shower curtains aren’t really practical for stand-along showers either. It was at this point I delved into the idea of creating a ‘pony wall’, a practical solution to the shower block and a good way to minimise the use of glass. Our tiler followed the pattern I had seen on Claybrook Studio’s website mixing the Idillio clay and cream gloss tiles to add contrast and differentiation. He also create a custom shower tray using Claybrook Studio’s Marmorino tiles so the flooring felt like a continuation. We used a local glass merchant to make a custom hinged glass door and window to sit on top of the pony wall, both were pieces of glass cost around £120 making this a great cost saving option.

Colour

I’ve always loved desert inspired hues such as dusky pinks, baked terracotta and sandy tones. Equally I am always conscious of these colours feeling overtly feminine and a little on the sickly side. With this in mind, I decided to experiment with depth and texture working with clay gloss, silky creams, matte finished powderpuff, chalky marbles contrasted with deep black contemporary fixtures.

Shape

This bathroom is our main family bathroom so whilst I wanted to it to feel like a hotel experience, I liked the idea of including an element of play. The oversize arched mirror and large crosshead taps were a purpose design decision for sensory exploration; you want to look at your reflection in a huge mirror, you are intrigued to twist and turn the shape of the taps.

Overall

I really hope our bijou bathroom shows that you don’t have to have tons of room to enjoy a luxury setting ! Our space also defies many other wants and desires of a dream bathroom in that there is no natural light and it is long and thin in shape. We tried to focus on working with the positives such as tall ceiling height and preserving original farmhouse features like exposed wooden beams within a contemporary bathroom. Incorporating suspended furniture such the wooden vanity unit and wall hung toilet also helped to save on space too. Working with one silhouette, in this instance ‘curvature’ as seen in the shape of sink, mirror, vanity unit, towel rail even the hooks and bathroom bin also helped the room feel cohesive and considered. Colour drenching the room in Powderpuff by Claybrook Studio also helped to maximise the space, this barely-there colour was the perfect choice to recreate the tranquility and serenity of a luxury spa retreat.