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Location: Chapelton
For Simone, designing the bathrooms in her own Chapelton home was about far more than choosing beautiful products. It was about creating spaces that reflected her bold, daring style while remaining practical for everyday life, especially with a baby on the way.
As a Kitchen and Bathroom Designer at our sister company, Laings Directline, she had complete control over every detail. Every tile, fitting, layout and finish was selected with intention, ensuring her three bathrooms and the wider home felt cohesive and thoughtfully designed throughout.
The result is a confident, unique home she and her husband Callum have aptly named The Black MacAllan.
Creative freedom brought its own challenges. With extensive knowledge of and access to Laings’ full product portfolio, narrowing down options was no easy task.
“I really wanted to push the boat out with my final design, but knowing all the amazing products Laings offers, it was hard to narrow it down.”
Tiles proved particularly difficult to finalise. With such a strong industrial look running throughout the home, the bathrooms needed texture and warmth to avoid feeling too stark. Careful material selection ensured her chosen aesthetic felt layered and considered rather than overpowering.
Simone allowed the design to evolve organically, as she did not feel the need to follow the structured process she would typically adopt with a client.
“Because it was my own project, I didn’t have to follow any set brief. I just got started and let the design evolve as I went.”
Working alongside the housebuilder gave her the freedom to reconfigure layouts where needed. Structural changes made to the ground floor had a knock on effect upstairs, resulting in an exceptionally generous master en suite. Rather than risk the space feeling sparse or out of proportion, Simone carefully considered how to scale each element to suit the room.
The final aesthetic of the master en suite was driven by one very specific product choice.
“The whole room was pretty much designed around some very specific industrial valves that had knurling on them.”
Those valves set the tone for the entire scheme, anchoring the industrial feel and complementing the black brassware used consistently throughout the home.
Although she did not have a fully formed vision at the outset, there were certain features she was clear about from the beginning.
“I knew I wanted a freestanding bath in our master en suite as well as a his and hers shower. They were two things that I absolutely knew that I wanted. I wanted the shower to be a walk-in at both ends with a big piece of glass framing the space.”
Given the scale of the room, a double vanity was the natural choice to maintain proportion and symmetry.
“We couldn’t just put a single unit in there, it wasn’t going to look balanced as the room is so generous.”
To maintain that sense of balance, she chose a wood-slat effect tile to add warmth and subtly break up the space.
Simone is particularly proud of her master en suite. A freestanding bath, deliberately positioned by the window to maximise views across the surrounding fields, creates a luxurious focal point within the space. The double entry walk-in shower allows both Simone and Callum to get ready at the same time without feeling under each other’s feet. A his and hers vanity brings balance and proportion to the expansive layout, while a wall hung toilet enhances the clean, contemporary finish.
“I have a bath more than I ever did before. I just love it. I’m really, really proud of the master en suite.”
While still thoughtfully designed, the family bathroom was intentionally less extravagant.
“The only bathroom where I did not incorporate as much detail is the upstairs family bathroom. Kids are going to be using it, guests are going to be using it. My husband and I rarely, if ever, are going to be using it.”
Rather than replicating the statement freestanding bath featured in the master, Simone made a practical decision.
“They had a freestanding bath in the standard housetype upstairs, but I decided not to incorporate that into the design of this room. My children won’t appreciate it, my guests won’t appreciate it, and I want to save that for me.”
Instead, she opted for a built in bath with a classic grey marble effect tile, paired with black brassware to maintain cohesion throughout the home.
“I just went with a really nice classic grey marble effect tile and then black brassware, just to make it pop.”
The third and final bathroom continues the home’s cohesive industrial detailing and carefully considered layouts, ensuring all three spaces feel connected while serving different purposes.
The result is a trio of bathrooms that balance bold industrial styling with thoughtful practicality. Beautiful yet functional, these spaces have been designed not just to be admired, but to be enjoyed daily by Simone and her growing family.
If you’re looking for further inspiration, take a look at their kitchen transformation here.
