The Blenheim Ensuite...

The Blenheim Suite bathroom will be a lighter colour than the other bathrooms (beige marble for Brideshead and Master suites, and red marble for Chatsworth suite). The plumbing is also going to be silver (not chrome) instead of the gold which the other bathrooms have.

I really fancy these very simple open basin stands. There are several on the market - Rowe and Perrin and Restoration Hardware being 2 popular manufacturers.

We are importing the marble tops from Greece, and so will have to find someone to manufacture the stands separately.

The rest of the bathroom will have a similar white and grey marble floor and walls to match the basin...

 

There are more White Marble bathrooms here at Whole Lotta Love

Bathroom Waterworks 2: Showers and Spa Therapies...

Not everyone likes to wallow in a bath, some people like the invigorating blast of a well pressured shower to start their day or a nice hydro-massage at the end of a weekend's gardening.

 P&R did have lovely shower set ups ranging from the traditional to the modern...

I initially was going to go with the shower set above, but then changed my mind in favour of the one below (in gold), as it had the 2 vertical rainbars at the side, and I was not sure that the shower head on a slider was going to add much to the 12 inch rose above (the only time we really use the shower head on the hose is when we shower Willoughby, and he is going to have his own shower head downstairs in the carriage house).

I am still not quite sure whether to go for cross-head taps (above) or levers (below) Both have their own distinctive style.

One thing is for sure, we will not be having an i-Tap...

Body Jets...

The idea of water flying at one from all directions may not be everybody's cup of tea, but as one who suffers from muscle aches it sounds very appealing...

  

I have designed the posterior wall of the shower room to have a marble bench with 6 directional body jets at custom measured heights. After a hard day One can sit on the bench and relax...

I am concerned about how much water we might churn through...

There are a variety of body jets on the market, ranging from ones which are almost like wall mounted shower heads (above) to ones which are flush to the wall like Kohler's (below). We have gone for the Kohler ones.

I take it back, maybe not water from all directions...

To top it off there is also a waterfall spout above the bench for an added je ne sais quoi.

Now I'm really worried about the water usage!

Below: Bench, Body jets and high shelving.

Finally there needs to be somewhere to store One's grooming products. I don't like those little baskets which hang from the shower and invariably tip over if the products are not balanced correctly. Much nicer to have glass shelves recessed into the marble walls...

The end result of the bath and shower planning...

Kitchen Waterworks...

We have been looking at Perrin and Rowe, and their variety of finishes. We have chosen chrome for the kitchen,  polished nickel for the Blenheim Bathroom and gold for the other bathrooms.

Above and Below: The Perrin and Rowe chrome kitchen taps with side hose for rinsing vegetables and plates.

Below: The pot filler.

Below: The built in Hand wash dispenser.

Wall mounted faucet for the scullery, which shall similarly have a marble splashback arising form the marble benchtop.

but shall have levers instead of cross-head taps...

It seems that P&R (or R&P as I have also seen them called) hold the standard when it comes to style and quality. We have looked at many many plumbing fittings over the last 6 months, and the taps which look similar are not the same quality. So, the P&Rs have been ordered and should arrive in a couple of months (NZ is a long way from everywhere else!). The NZ retailer is In Residence.