Laurence advises

House Beautiful online 21.01.2008

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen makes a pink bathroom pleasing with a lifestyle rethink and some glam accessories

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and a modern living room
"Please help! I have been thinking about tackling my bathroom for the past year -
see photo, right. It's something I can put up with, as we have other, far more pressing, projects to be getting on with, but I desperately want to draw the eye away from the rather lurid colour of the suite.I have had a few thoughts about possibilities, but they change daily due to lack of confidence in my styling abilities. I've considered new flooring or accessorising with a total contrast, like willow green. I also thought some sort of shelving feature or mirror above the bidet and toilet might detract from the suite itself. Pink and red bathroom
Pauline's pink problem bathroom

I'm able to do all the little jobs like making blinds and upholstery, but as I live out in the country I do have difficulty with sourcing some of the products I see in magazines. I must also admit I am stuck in a time warp and still love the feminine, chintzy look. When my House Beautiful is delivered, the first thing I do is flip through looking for solutions for this room. I can usually find some ideas to copy - but no pink bathroom suite in sight so far! Please could you help me?"
Pauline Ezard, Bedale, North Yorkshire

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen says:

Red oil lamp,red rose candle, red and white fabric and a red glass vase.
Laurence's chosen accessoriesWhat a lucky, lucky human you are. Imagine having every morning enlivened by the sight of that pulsating, fabulous bathroom. I can only dream that one day I'll meet the designer of such a marvel so that I may congratulate him personally. Seriously, who on earth would dream that lot up? The fact it's quite so many shades of prosthetic pink is an achievement the like of which I've never seen before.

Matalan chairs in stiped fabrics
Louis charirs, £16, Matalan

I have to congratulate your bravery in taking it on and commend you on your commitment to become a custodian of it. But as you so rightly point out, the whole thing needs taming.Don't, whatever you do, throw in an accent colour. Willow green would be like dousing a forest fire with a vat of brandy. Green, as red's competitive opposite hue, would simply intensify the intense clash of colours.No, I believe your best bet is to simply lie back, unpeel a chocolate bar and let yourself be subsumed beneath a warm tide of pinks and reds. In other words, you're going to have to live up to it. That bathroom, if adorned Moulin Rouge style, may look sensational. Currently, the bits of your not-so-sweet suite look like angry pustules on a pasty face, but imagine them surrounded by a licentious red. I see some quite operatic soft furnishing solutions feeling more than at home - gold-fringed blinds, tassels, gathered lampshades, a red plush-upholstered gilt chair right in the middle, perhaps a fan, maybe opera glasses, but definitely a chilled bottle of Perrier Jouet left casually by the bath. Oh, and yes, a mirror above the bidet would work perfectly.