There are only so many ways to tackle the design conundrums that a typical Victorian terrace will present, and many of us in the UK will have mulled them over at some point or another. There's the classic kitchen extension that goes into the back garden and down the side return, there's the mansard attic extension that inevitably ends up at the top of the house, there's the ‘middle room’ between the front sitting room and the kitchen at the back, and there's what we might optimistically call the ‘master suite’ on the first floor. In almost all houses of this type that we see (and we see a lot), the bedroom occupies the front room on the first floor, with very often an ensuite bathroom that takes up the space at the back.
There aren't endless options for how to lay this room out, but there are ways to optimise the space and make it as stylish as possible – even if you're renting. Here we take a look at three favourite examples and break down the ideas to steal.
Lucy Williams' stylishly streamlined Victorian bedroom and bathroom
A typical bed placement for this kind of house is essentially right in front of the door you come into from the landing, with the bed placed parallel to the windows – in the picture above you can see that this is the way creative consultant Lucy Williams has decided to go in her west London house. Often this can seem like the only option for the bed because it's the only wall with nothing on it – there may well be a fireplace or a chimneybreast on the opposite wall, a pair of large windows on one side, and doors on the other. What we really like in this room is the the vast set of wardrobes that span the other end of the room, bridging what would have been a chimneybreast and providing varied options for storage, from small cupboards near the ceiling to drawers at the bottom.
As usual, the bathroom adjoins the bedroom, and in this case has been neatly connected by a narrow opening and a small passageway, on either side of which is more clothes storage, hidden by curtains. Everything has been done in a pale, fresh colour scheme, so that no one feature makes a huge noise, and we rather like that calm, streamlined feeling for a suite of rooms like this. The bathroom continues that feeling, with the same paint colour, equally graceful window dressings, and an organic feel from the natural wood finish on the bath.
Alexandra Tolstoy's rented bedroom with freestanding furniture
If you rent a Victorian terraced house, you probably won't have the ability to install your dream set of built-in wardrobes, in which case the next best option is to go for a really generous freestanding piece of furniture, as Alexandra Tolstoy has done in her rented house in London. The large, rustic wardrobe, which Alexandra sourced through her business The Tolstoy Edit, has a natural home against the one free wall in the room, since the chimney breast interrupts the other one. Alexandra then placed the bed in the bay window – an unusual choice but one which gives the room a pleasingly distinctive feel. The alcoves around the chimney breast (often a classic place to put wardrobes) have been filled with freestanding chests and tables, and Alexandra has added a large marriage chest at the foot of the bed for extra storage (and a place to perch).
Polly Ashman's Victorian bedroom with walk-through wardrobes
When she embarked on a gut renovation of her London house, interior designer Polly Ashman found it an easy decision to sacrifice a third bedroom for the sake of having a generous ensuite bathroom connected to the bedroom by a set of walk-through wardrobes. ‘Wherever I can I will always try to make the master bathroom as big and light as possible’, she says. The bedroom itself feels especially light and airy, since it doesn't need to have much in it other than the bed. This rests against the chimney breast, where there would originally have been a fireplace.
Connecting the bedroom and bathroom is an arched walkway with wardrobes on either side. The view through to the bathroom is important, so Polly has made it as lovely as possible with an artwork and an elegant glass lantern centred on the arch, plus a bath and shower swathed in marble. The colour scheme is the same throughout the entire space, with Edward Bulmer Natural Paints' ‘Clover’ on all of the walls – this creates a sense of calm and cohesion.
