Black bohemian style for beautiful Belfast home
With a love of all things vintage and an eye for the extraordinary, jewellery designer Samantha Bell had a clear vision of how she wanted the family bathroom to look when it came to giving it a revamp. Indeed, as a fan of dark décor, she had a clear starting point: “It had to be black.”
With her bespoke jewellery creations designed for everyone – “from the dreamers to the free-thinkers … the minimalists to the extroverts” – Samantha has a distinct style which carries over into her interior décor. Indeed, her home reflects her love of all things bohemian – her Instagram tag and business name is notably @bohemian_vixen – with a colour palette defined by atmospheric black tones, while unique furniture and décor add layers and texture to each room.
The kitchen features black cabinetry and large black and gold marble-effect floor tiles which add lustre to the room.
For instance, in the kitchen, matt black cabinetry and accessories create a statement look, complemented by luxurious black and gold marble-effect floor tiles with a gloss finish which add depth and character to the room.
With black décor a theme throughout her home, Samanatha has added pops of colour via soft furnishings, artwork and accessories, which add visual interest and help to break up the black. Unique furniture including a vibrant dresser and bedroom vanity area with vintage vibes adds further characterful style, while wicker is also incorporated throughout the house, creating a softer, nature-inspired aesthetic.
Noir theme for family bathroom
The corner shower has a black frame and curved space-saving front.
When it came to the bathroom décor, Samantha was subsequently keen to continue the black theme, as well as creating more space for the family within it.
“We’d needed the bathroom done for a really long time,” she said. “There’s five of us in the house and just the one bathroom. We had a shower-bath in it before, which took up a lot of space.”
Giving the entire bathroom a makeover, everything was reworked to transform the space into one which suited the needs of the household much better – and which complemented the rest of the home décor. This involved ripping out the old shower-bath and replacing it with a modern, black-framed quadrant shower, complete with space-saving curved front and sliding glass door.
The matt black toilet is complemented by a gold cobra wall light and brass accessories.
With the shower located behind the bathroom door, it is subsequently the matt black toilet from Bathshack – the Olympia Milady Fully Back-to-wall Close-coupled Toilet and Soft-close Seat – which is visible as soon as you step into the bathroom.
Fitted flush against the wall and with a rimless bowl design, the Olympia Milady Toilet is very easy to clean around and inside, the rimless style being much more hygienic and efficient. The slim soft-close seat also gives it a sleek aesthetic, complemented by that elegant matt noir tone.
We found it really hard to find a black toilet,” said Samantha. “We were looking at wall-hung styles originally, but that would have eaten up more space as we would have needed to change our plumbing and various other things in the bathroom.
“The toilet was the best thing we found for the bathroom. The only thing we couldn’t get for it was a brass flush button which fitted this model, so that’s the only accessory which isn’t gold in the room. We’re thinking about spraying it gold, though, to match everything else.”
Indeed, directly above the toilet is a gold cobra wall-light which emits a warm golden glow when switched on, along with a brass hand toilet roll holder on the wall beside it. A matching brass hand towel holder is fixed to the wall on the other side of the toilet, next to the wide black oak vanity unit. This features a black oak countertop with an open shelf underneath featuring a sliding door and bars, while a double cupboard with a textured ribbed front adds further detail and visual interest below.
The dominant tone in Samantha’s family bathroom is black. This is complemented by gold and brass accessories, along with a colourful stained-glass window situated over the vanity area.
Brass accents are brought in again at the vanity via a tall brushed-brass mixer tap which stands over the round limestone countertop basin, an Etsy find which Samantha said, “breaks up the black but still fits in with the overall look.” A brass shelf also sits higher up over the vanity, above a vibrant stained-glass window which adds an extra pop of colour to the space. A black-framed wall-mounted cabinet with fluted glass detailing positioned to the right of this adds further storage to the area as well as texture with the ribbed glass design.
“All the products are sourced from different places,” said Samantha. “We also don’t have an outside window in the bathroom – the stained-glass window over the vanity area actually looks out onto the kitchen.”
She added: “My husband wasn’t expecting everything to be black in the bathroom and he wasn’t so sure about it until it was done. He loves it now, though. He thought initially that maybe because it was a small space it would make the room feel small, but it doesn’t. The guys who had to install everything also asked if we were sure about it, as they said it was very dark!”
Samantha's home has an eclectic style, with vintage and other unique décor.
Pops of colour feature throughout the house, in quirky furniture and soft furnishings, along with natural wood and wicker.
With the door, walls and ceiling all painted black, along with a black tiled splash-back at the vanity, black floor tiles and then black wall panels in the shower with white veining detail, the bathroom has a dramatic style. This is softened, however, by those brass accents – including a brass-framed mirror to the side of the shower – while artwork by the toilet also adds colour, along with the stained-glass window and light fittings. A black beaded ceiling shade in a chandelier style also adds a touch of gothic opulence to the room.
“I love the bathroom – it gives me Malmaison vibes,” said Samantha. “I get migraines so it’s a nice place to go to relax, as it isn’t too bright. I knew right away that I wanted everything to be black in the bathroom – from the floor to ceiling. I’m a jewellery designer but I can’t draw or sketch – everything I design is in my head, so I had a clear vision of what I wanted without needing to create mood boards. We did try a patterned floor tile at first, but it didn’t work.
While black features throughout Samantha’s home, wood and wicker are also used to create relaxing spaces.
“Because we weren’t buying a complete suite, we were also a bit worried in case things didn’t match, because there are so many different shades of black, but I’m so happy with it all – and the black toilet is perfect. It had to be matt as well – we didn’t want anything shiny.”
With the project taking around five weeks to complete, Samanatha said she was delighted with the final result, adding that she had received lots of compliments and interest about the bathroom on social media. She also described her experience with Bathshack as “super-easy.”
“We went to the showroom in Lisburn and saw the toilet there,” she said. “When we decided that was what we were going for we then ordered it online and the delivery was really fast.”
Jewellery designer, samantha Bell, loves bohemian and vintage décor.
Describing her interior décor style as being “quite eclectic,” Samantha said that she liked items which were “quirky and things that are quite different.” “I love vintage, bohemian and Moroccan, with lots of different tones and textures,” said, adding, “if it’s not black, it’s not for me!”
You can follow Samantha on Instagram: @bohemian_vixen
If you’d like some help with choosing products for your bathroom or ensuite, just email our team at info@bathshack.com or call us on (028) 9077 0188. Alternatively, our online chat is also available if you have any queries.
