We spoke to artist and interior designer Suzy from @suzybroome about the renovation of her joyful Victorian family home in Sheffield, including her newest and now-favourite room: a colourful bathroom transformation featuring a burnt orange basin, brushed brass fittings and a bespoke vintage vanity unit.
A Victorian family home with room to grow
Suzy lives in a Victorian end terrace in the Endcliffe area of Sheffield with her husband Iain, their four children - Seth, Jasper, Frida and Peggy - and their pet axolotl, Diego.
The family moved into the four-bedroom home just over three years ago. While the house was in good condition and full of period charm, many of the interiors were pale grey and lacking the warmth, colour and personality Suzy knew she wanted to bring in.
“We loved our old house and had spent years renovating it, including building a really cool extension,” Suzy explains. “But we were ready for a change and this house offered us more functional space for our family to grow into.”
With a basement already converted into useful living space, the house had the right bones for busy family life. Suzy and Iain quickly reimagined the lower level as a cinema, gaming room, library, work space and studio, while the rest of the house became a canvas for Suzy’s love of art, colour, vintage finds and playful pattern.
The family bathroom brought back to life
The bathroom is the newest room in the house and, for Suzy, one of the most meaningful.
“It had been a dream of mine to completely renovate the bathroom for years, but knowing how much work it would involve meant I kept putting it off,” she says. “Now, it’s probably my favourite space, not just for how it looks, but for what it represents in my journey with this home.”
Suzy spent five weeks stripping the bathroom back to brick before replastering, tiling and bringing in her 80-year-old father-in-law to help with the plumbing and electrics. The project was a real hands-on family effort, saving thousands in labour costs.
“We have undertaken all the work ourselves. I’ve spent hours and hours painting, wallpapering and tiling around the house; blood, sweat and tears have gone into every inch,” says Suzy.
Creating a bathroom full of warmth and personality
As an artist and interior designer, Suzy often starts with artwork, colour or a single object and builds a room from there. For the bathroom, she wanted to create something practical enough for a family of six, but still full of charm, warmth and personality.
“I aim to create spaces that feel warm, joyful and a little playful, while still being practical enough for everyday life,” she explains. “Vintage finds are a huge inspiration too. I’m drawn to their uniqueness and the stories behind them.”
The standout feature is the tiling. Suzy designed a layout using 10cm blue and white tiles to mimic the look of a vintage tapestry or quilt.
“I wanted to push my tiling skills, so I designed a layout using 10cm blue and white tiles to mimic a vintage tapestry or quilt,” she says. “Working out the pattern repeats around the corners was a real challenge, but the end result feels so special and completely worth it.”
To add contrast, she finished the space with bold red prints and a striking burnt orange basin, creating a bathroom that feels layered, creative and completely unique.
Shop Suzy's look
How Drench products helped bring the look together
For the sanitaryware and fixtures, Suzy sourced everything through Drench, choosing pieces that worked with the character of the room rather than feeling too new or out of place.
“Drench made it easy to find pieces that felt both practical and full of personality,” says Suzy.
The Harbour Concrete 390mm Round Countertop Basin in Burnt Orange became one of the defining pieces in the room. Suzy placed it on a £25 charity shop chest of drawers, transforming it into a bespoke vanity unit with a wonderfully personal feel.
The basin was paired with the Harbour Clarity Knurled Tall Basin Mixer Tap and Harbour Concrete Unslotted Extendable Basin Waste, while the Uniwaste Waterless Waste Space-Saving Trap helped make the vanity setup more practical behind the scenes.
Brushed brass fittings helped pull the whole scheme together, adding a warm, slightly vintage edge. Suzy chose the Butler & Rose Caledonia Cross Exposed Brushed Brass Dual Outlet Rigid Riser Thermostatic Shower Set, Butler & Rose Beatrice Brushed Brass Bath Filler, Origins Living Baxter Brushed Brass Towel Rail and Origins Living Turner Knurled Toilet Roll Holder to create a cohesive finish.
The Harbour Grace LED Mirror Cabinet with Demister Pad and Shaver Socket added everyday functionality while keeping the space feeling polished and practical.
A bathroom designed for real family life
While the room is full of bold design choices, it also needed to work hard for a busy household.
The new shower was a particularly big moment for the family, as the previous thermostat had been broken since they moved in.
“The first proper shower in here was a revelation,” says Suzy. “The previous thermostat had been broken when we moved in, so for three years we kept the water temperature low to make sure the kids didn’t get burned!”
Now, the finished room feels like the perfect balance of design and function: practical for family life, but still packed with creativity and character.
The wider home
The same joyful, personal approach runs through the rest of Suzy and Iain’s home.
In the living room, dark blue walls provide a dramatic backdrop for Suzy’s “portrait of an artist” series, alongside a special print by Kojo Marfo. An antique chandelier, checkerboard orange and white sofa, leather safari chair and tiled fireplace help the room feel grown up but still playful.
The dining room is another favourite space. What began as a pale grey room has become a bright gallery-style space filled with art by Suzy, her children and artists the family love.
“The dining room is my other favourite,” says Suzy. “The gallery wall feels so representative of us as a family, and I never get bored of looking at the mix of art up there.”
The kitchen also had good bones, including marble worktops and a Belfast sink, but Suzy updated it with colour, orange handles, patterned tiles and vintage chopping boards used as wall art.
In the basement, the former gym has been transformed into a cinema, gaming room, library and home for Diego the axolotl, while Suzy’s studio gives her a dedicated space to paint, create and store her prints.
Suzy’s advice for designing a home with personality
For Suzy, the key is designing for the way you actually live, rather than following trends too closely.
“As an artist and interior designer, I’ve always surrounded myself with colour and pattern; they help me feel grounded and focused, though I know that isn’t the case for everyone,” she says. “That’s why it’s so important to design your home for you. Your house should support your mood, focus and overall experience.”
Her biggest tip is to start with one thing you love, whether that’s an artwork, colour, vintage piece or material, and build the room from there.
The finished result
The finished bathroom is joyful, practical and full of personal details, from the quilt-inspired tiling to the charity shop vanity and burnt orange basin.
“It’s one of the only rooms where we didn’t source everything secondhand,” says Suzy. “But the carefully chosen pieces from Drench have blended in effortlessly, still bringing that same sense of character and personality that runs throughout the rest of the house.”
We want to say a huge thank you to Suzy for choosing Drench products for her bathroom renovation and sharing her colourful family home with us. You can follow more of Suzy’s creative interiors and artwork over on Instagram @suzybroome.
Want to discover more real home transformations and renovation inspiration? Take a look at our other bathroom case studies.
