8 Retrouvius Designs Featuring Vintage and Salvaged Components
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Maria Speake and Adam Hills specialize in what they call “tales of transformation.” Driven by the belief that “good materials and well-made things are precious,” they inventively repurpose parts of old buildings and help others do the same. The couple met in 1988 as architecture students at the Glasgow School of Art, and, appalled by the needless destruction of historic structures, found themselves in the reclamation business. They began in Glasgow by rescuing elements from derelict churches, and soon started working with all manner of architectural findings.
Retrouvius, their combination salvage operation (run by Adam) and interior design studio (run by Maria), has been based in London’s Kensal Green since 1997 and is a longstanding Remodelista source of inspiration. The firm takes on a few remodeling projects a year and typically overhauls whole dwellings, both urban and rural. Within those, a favorite room to tackle is the bath, “often the only place in the house with a lock on the door,” points out Maria. Here are some of Retrouvius’s loo solutions, all of them models of creative reuse.
Photographs courtesy of Retrouvius (@retrouvius).
1. Victorian Sink Meets Salvaged Wood Paneling
Above Bathroom furniture tends to be clunky and large but reclaimed freestanding washstands are often delicate and practical items that can easily be installed in the corner of a guest bedroom or in a bathroom short on space says Maria They typically lack tap holes which allows the faucet to be wall mounted
Shown here in a children’s bath in North London: a Victorian-era cast-iron sink stand paired with an Edwardian porcelain basin with new copper fittings (source, unfortunately, not available). Salvaged wide pine boards extend from the floor halfway up the wall, where it hides the pipework but still provides easy access to it. The blue stained glass window was commissioned for the room.
2. A Touch of Bright
Above In a Buckinghamshire farmhouse bathroom Maria and her design team transformed a claw footed tub with water based eggshell finished paint in a shade called Heat from Little Greene The colorful rug is a vintage Moroccan design<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 868 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height250pxmin width250pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above The room has a vintage pedestal sink and towel rod The painted paneling hides the water pipes and provides a handy ledge The rewired 1940s glass pendant light is from Retrouviuss ever changing vintage Lighting stock The fringed mirror was the clients own
“It’s possible to mix and match old and new sanitary furniture, however, vintage plumbing is often not compatible with modern systems,” notes the company’s website. “Make sure your plumber has worked with vintage sanitary ware previously as there will be various sizes of taps, drains. and fittings that may need to be altered.” For energy efficiency, Maria recommends modern mixer taps and shower heads: “they’re designed to aerate water and minimize waste.”
3. Tidied Old Tub (on a Mezzanine)
Above In a six story Holland Park townhouse that Retrouvius remodeled for a family the top two floors are the childrens zone Because the kids love being social while bathing an existing tub got moved onto a mezzanine near three bedrooms The Dinesen flooring was discovered by the Retrouvius team when renovating the boards were stripped of their paint and resealed Go to Steal This Look to see another London bath clad in Dinesen woodAbove The double height room with a window wall is thought to have originally been an artists studio The vintage zinc topped table is used for homework and crafts Go to Retrouvius Shows the Elegant Side of Salvage for <em>Elle Decorations<em> spotlight on the house<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 874 class=ezoic adpicker ad>
4. Color and Privacy Courtesy of Stained Glass
Above Retrouvius introduced a salvaged leaded glass window in a formerly uninhabited Buckinghamshire farmhouse that Maria and team restored and refurbished for its all female residents to retreat to as a home and a place for writingAbove A new skylight was inserted over a claw foot tub painted in a green from Emery Cie The wicker mirror and green stool are from Retrouvius The wooden beam Maria points out is original but the patinated wood floor is a new addition See other rooms in the house on the Retrouvius website<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 876 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>
5. Recast Parquet and Flamboyant Marble
Above In the Holland Park townhouse with the mezzanine shown above the parents bath has a salvaged cast iron sink on a support built from oak parquet floor panels See another basin like it in Retrouviuss Rustic London Townhouse Remodel Read the case for wall mounted faucets in Remodeling 101<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 877 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above The showers boldly patterned pink and green marble was sourced from MGL Warehouse in Londonit was sized to work with minimal cuts and waste the company notes on Instagram and should be reusable in the future if and when folks want a change Retrouvius stocks a small collection of salvaged marble and stone which tends to get snapped up fast<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 878 class=ezoic adpicker ad>
6. A Reuse for Copper Verdigris
Above Creative reuse involves thinking beyond the materials original applications Case in point the Retrouvius designers cloaked this sink cabinet and shower in patinated copper sheets salvaged from a London rooftop water tank<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 879 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above A single salvaged material used well and widely creates calm says Maria<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 880 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding0text aligncenterimportant>
7. The Sideboard Washstand and Other Antiques
Above In a North London townhouse a carved antique sideboard got repurposed as a stand for a new porcelain basin Introducing old furniture is a really good way to add character to a bath notes Maria The early 20th century round mirror came from Retrouvius
Above A salvaged marble insert from a fireplace frieze is used as wall decorationAbove The shower screen was built from a salvaged window Admiring the pale pink walls Theyre tadelakt a water proof Moroccan plaster finish
8. All-Over Paneling from Reclaimed Flooring
Above Maple flooring from a school gym was applied in this childrens bath set in an Edwardian turret in central London The paneling here is actually the leftovers from a larger project that made use of the wood Small quantities of remnant salvage can be perfect for reuse in small rooms such as loos says Maria Though the tub and sink look shiny and new they too came from demolitions Reclaimed wash basins are not hard to get hold of says Maria Try eBay or a local salvage supplier
The Retrouvius showroom and warehouse in Kensal Green, London, are open weekdays by appointment. Here’s a Retrouvius Notting Hill Townhouse Remodel that we featured a while back.
