Bathroom Butler: Inspired by In-City Living

Bathroom Butler brings us inspired mood boards by current Alexandra Jackson projects in Johannesburg.

Alexandra Jackson is one of the lead designers at Blue Tangerine Interiors – the exclusive interior specialists for the architectural firm, Messaris Wapenaar Cole Architects. BT Interiors was established in 2013 and focuses on development projects in residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Alexandra is currently working on a few apartment block projects in Rosebank, and surrounding areas, which she is keeping simple and neutral with the idea that the designs would appeal to a large audience and would be move-in ready to suit any décor, style or taste. Alexandra has used these residential projects as her inspirational ‘backdrop’ for Bathroom Butler’s next round of mood boards:

Brushed Bronze

For this mood board, Alexandra chose to keep the board quite neutral as far as the brick and mortar materials were concerned and made use of subtle accent colours that complement the bronze finish. “I used colours that complement ‘brushed bronze’ as my inspiration and drew from there,” says Alexandra. This look can be taken into the rest of the rooms in the house provided the colour palette works together.

Alexandra has used a wooden vinyl flooring as this is proving rather popular at this stage of design and suggested using soft furniture finishes to bring in the colour. She recommends using a plain tile on the walls and possible accents in the shower or bath areas.

Polished rose gold

For this look, Alexandra used wall paper to add texture and dimension to the board and drew inspiration from the coloured rose gold accessories themselves. She has used fabrics and surfaces that work well with rose gold and has suggested adding additional fittings and finishes such as pendants or door handles in rose gold to connect the bathroom accessories with the rest of the décor in the space. Alexandra has also used natural elements like the palm leaf to soften the look.

Matt Black

For this look, Alexandra used a grey textured tile and contrasted Bathroom Butler’s matt black accessories with the white tile choices which she has softened by using grey and beige wood finishes – whether this be solid wood or wood inspired tiles or floors. The black, grey and white colour palette was inspired by city living, and the matt black accessories offer a striking focal point for the mood board which she paired with a rich, deep red colour as a suggestion for the rugs or towels.

Brushed stainless steel

“I love how sophisticated the brushed stainless steel finish is – we actually used this finish for one of our apartment projects on Jan Smuts in Johannesburg,” says Alexandra. People are often afraid to mix brushed and polished accessories and finishes but Alexandra says that if you use quality products, the results can be quite striking. The brushed stainless steel gives a great illusion of texture, so she’s kept this mood-board simple with a grey colour palette complemented by white tiles and natural wood. If budget allows, opt for a textured tile or wallpaper to use as a feature wall to create depth and for impact.

Polished stainless steel

Blue Tangerine Interior’s has what they call a ‘purple couch theory’. A client or buyer that owns a purple couch should be able to move into and easily live within any space designed by BT Interiors. The idea is that they focus on designing modern spaces with neutral enough finishes that even a purple couch would fit quite effortlessly into its surroundings and not clash with any of the interior design elements. Alexandra sees aqua blue as a neutral colour, which was specified as an accent colour in one of the design colour schemes for The Apex apartments. This colour was the inspiration behind her next mood-board which combines white floors, concrete finishes and polished stainless-steel accessories. She then adds a steel mesh piece that can be used as either a screen between the bathroom and bedroom or as a unique art feature.