Creating old world style in your bathroom
Allison Williams, owner of Allison Williams Interiors in Hanover shares a bathroom where contemporary details and timeless Tudor style mingle
In Lancaster, a Shingle- and Tudor-style home evokes Old World beauty both inside and out. Most striking is the home’s spacious master bath, where this aesthetic reaches new heights with fresh colors, pristine amenities and striking textures.
For this bath, Alice Williams, owner of Alice Williams Interiors in Hanover, strived to create a space where contemporary details and timeless Tudor style mingle. “I wanted to update the look and impression of an Old World, European bathroom,” Williams says. “I sought to make this room fresh and appealing, while maintaining its Old World charm, which is also expressed architecturally and ornamentally throughout the rest of the house.” Williams’s achievement of this goal was recognized when she won the 2014 New Hampshire Home Design Award for Excellence in Bath Design.
Inspiration began with basket-weave floor tiles and curtains made from Belgian linen with silk embroidery. “The decorative tiles are an intricate design anchor, and the delicate curtains add sophistication and introduce a softness to the room,” Williams says.

bathroom beyond.
Other details, such as the room’s woodwork, create a striking framework for the various bathroom amenities, which include a footed tub, a shower, a sauna, linen closets and a toilet room. Williams cites the extensive tile wainscoting, along with baseboard and chair-rail pieces, as the room’s strongest Old World details. In contrast, the room’s paint color is fresh and new. A mixed color palette of cream, yellow and gray was layered and painted horizontally in a matte finish to give the impression of movement and water. “The wall color and its treatment bring this large room to cozier proportions,” Williams says. “It also gives the space a vibrant energy and airiness.”
The dappled pattern of the vanities’ granite countertops also evokes a feeling of motion, while the rounded pilasters give the cabinetry weight. In addition, the curved edges of the vanities complement the arched doorways throughout the room. “Architecturally, this bath has many angles, edges and corners,” Williams says. “So it was important to have these curved details to soften and freshen this Old World space.”
More ways to get the old world look in your bathroom



What makes this bathroom beautiful
- Curtain fabric, embroidered ivory linen with taupe silk thread, from Vaughan
www.vaughandesigns.com - Bench cushion and valance fabric from Zoffany
www.zoffany.com - Devon bench from Minton-Spidell, Inc.
www.minton-spidell.com - Highlands console table in vanilla bean from Somerset Bay Home
www.somersetbayhome.com - Wool/silk rug, design and color by Alice Williams Interiors in Hanover
277-9361
www.alicewilliamsinteriors.com - Wool/silk rug manufactured by Steven King, Inc. in Boston
(617) 426-3302
www.stevenkinginc.com - Decorative painting from Flux Decorative Painting in Enfield
359-1665
www.mudflux.com - Chesterfield freestanding rectangular fiberglass bathtub; Palladio washstand; lighting; and
Opus Collection plumbing fixtures in nickel finish with crystal egg knobs from Waterworks
www.waterworks.com - Vanities by Crown Point Cabinetry in Claremont
(800) 999-4994
www.crown-point.com - Tiles from Trikeenan Tileworks
(607) 281-1120
www.trikeenan.com