BATH TIME WITH HOLLIE BOWDEN
Spend five minutes with Hollie Bowden and it becomes clear that she notices things other people don't. The London-based interior designer has built a reputation for creating spaces that feel layered and distinctive. But it's the smell of wisteria climbing a cottage wall, the particular satisfaction of a scratchy sponge, a yellow paint that only revealed itself on the third attempt, or the right towel for the right mood that really holds her attention. These details, she tells us, are the things that truly shape how a home feels.
Our conversation begins, appropriately, with a bath. More specifically, the roll-top bath in the sixteenth-century cottage where Hollie grew up, installed beneath the eaves and looking out across the fields. From there, it unfolds much as her interiors do: instinctive rather than linear, moving between memory, family, collecting, travel and the pleasures of living with pieces that have been chosen well. We talk about designing her home around an unexpectedly acquired bath, why bathrooms deserve as much personality as every other space, and the products she returns to again and again.
There are appearances from her partner, Byron Pritchard, who we chatted to here for his take on bathing, and from their daughters, for whom bath time is already becoming the sort of family ritual that they too will remember for years to come. It’s a wonderfully specific, luxurious and indulgent chat, as is Hollie’s way.
My Earliest Bath Memory
There’s a very memorable bath at my parents house. They have this little sixteenth-century cottage in Gloucestershire – it’s a one-bed, but they’ve squeezed two into it, it’s literally tiny. When we moved in when I was six, it flooded and they had to redo the house, so they took out the ceiling and put a roll-top bath through the roof into their bedroom. You climb these wooden spiral stairs, walk into this hobbit-like room with a big stone wall, and there are steps up to the roll-top bath. I have big memories of having a bath there, looking out of the little windows over the fields. It’s amazing, such a magical setting.
Inheriting A Taste For Comfort
Growing up, my mum made everything very cosy – blankets and cushions and cashmere. It was yummy and indulgent. Which is how I am now. My partner Byron and I talk about this, because he’s the opposite. Byron would sleep on a piece of wood with no pillow and live in a squat and be fine with that. Whereas I’m quite indulgent in the luxuries. I think that’s why I’ve always loved baths.
The Nostalgia Of Scent
It’s funny, isn’t it, how you link certain scents to your life? Growing up, we lived next to a farm, so combined with the cottage, which had this stony, old-ish smell (I wouldn’t say musty, my mum would be offended by that, because all she does is clean!), there was definitely a countryside smell. My parents have a lovely wisteria bush that grows all over the house, I remember that strongly too.
I don’t really remember mum bathing, and Dad’s definitely a shower person. But, I do remember she wore Private Collection by Estée Lauder. It’s super old-fashioned. That was a real smell of hers. Now, she wears Diptyque. I remember an ex-boyfriend, too. If I smell Cool Water by Davidoff, I’m like, “Oh my God, that’s Colin, when I was sixteen.” That smell. Scent can make such an impact.
Designing Everything Around The Bath
This bath was originally specified for another project, but because of a measurement error during the build, it suddenly became available, so we thought, well, that’s the starting point for our house then.
I knew I wanted it to be raised, so you could step up and look out of the window over the garden – for me, that’s the point of a bath. I also knew I wanted the Water Monopoly antique taps. There’s something about those lovely big old taps with your oil in the bath. It’s the ultimate cosy thing.
A Luxuriously Big Bathroom
It’s taken me so long to save to buy a house, and it felt like the biggest luxury to have a beautiful, large bathroom. As well as the raised bath, we wanted a really decent-sized shower, a partition with the toilet, a double basin and a ton of storage.
The palette is pretty organic throughout. We brought lots of stuff from our old house, which had similar colours, so that defined this house too. But I feel comfortable with it, so I leaned in. I didn’t want to use too many materials in the bathroom, just one solid lovely tile. And I repainted the walls three times. I went lime green, and that didn’t work. Then I went white, and that didn’t work. Then I went yellow (Oak Apple by Little Greene), and that worked really well.
For me, now, it’s the ultimate bathroom.
The Importance Of Plants
Plants are a huge thing for me. Little potted plants around your bath can be associated with being a bit granny-ish, but I think it’s important to have that life. It feels like an extension of the garden. Beautiful bath products, a massive bath, lovely sanitaryware, plants everywhere, candles – how nice is that?
Objects I Want, And Don’t Want
I’m a big collector – I hate that word because it’s overused, but I truly am – and I’ve got so many bits. The pieces in the bathroom are all from my collection, placed there instinctively. I often move them around too, our house is constantly changing.
Being a visual person, I want something at the end of the bath that’s in keeping with all my stunning objects. Not something with ugly branding. I’m so happy I found 39BC, it fits in so well. I feel like you’ve designed something beautiful and sexy in a world of frumpy bath products.
I find it satisfying when products complement each other too. The sugar polish I love never fights with your bath oil. Or my big Savon de Marseille soap. If there are too many strong scents fighting, it feels chaotic. Having that balance is something I really appreciate.
Bathing As A Family
One of the nicest things is that the girls and I can all squeeze into the bath together. In our old house, we had the tiniest bath imaginable. Byron is six foot four, so watching him try to fit into it was ridiculous. When we moved here, I knew this bath would be perfect. It’s literally Byron-sized. He can finally lie back and be completely submerged.
The girls and I probably have a bath together twice a week. Bath time is a big ritual in our house. They bring in all their toys—some of my favourites are the beautiful coloured bath toys we found in Amsterdam—and they spend ages making up stories and games.
They also love making “potions” with my bath products, which drives me slightly insane because they always reach for the expensive ones. But it’s also incredibly sweet. Those are the moments you really remember growing up. Bath time is a big deal in our family.
The Girls’ Bathroom
The girls’ bathroom is one of my favourite spaces in the house. We worked with Sarah Watson and the team at Balineum for the tiling in our house, whose eye for craftsmanship and exceptional makers is second to none.
We also developed bespoke ceramic tiles with the Spanish ceramic artist Víctor Márque. His work has an incredible honesty to it. Each tile is handmade, so there are subtle irregularities, shifts in glaze and variations in texture that give the room a richness you simply can’t achieve with mass-produced ceramics.
For me, those imperfections are what make the space feel alive. The tiles bring warmth, character and a sense of craftsmanship that elevates an everyday room into something memorable. It’s a bathroom designed for children, but never in a way that feels childish. It’s playful, tactile and built to age beautifully, which is exactly how I think family spaces should be.
An Extension Of Daily Life
I don’t really have a fixed routine for bath time that involves meditating or zoning out. I could be having a dunk and taking a business call in the bath. I could be listening to Desert Island Discs with the door locked for a bit of time to myself. I could be with the kids, or just jump in for ten minutes once they’re out. And I’ve been known to have two baths a day, which is a real treat.
What has changed my bath experience a lot is 39BC, because of its intense scent and calming feeling. Before, I didn’t really have a go-to oil. Now, there’s the excitement of pouring it into the water, and the whole room taking on that aroma. It’s made quite an impact.
Beauty Products, Tools And Texture
I love a gritty face scrub, nothing fine, something with texture and a bit of oomph. There’s a sugar polish I bought a while ago from Space NK, which is probably the best I’ve ever had. I’m obsessed with the new Reome Hydra-Plasma Veil mask. I really like Emma Lewisham facial oil.
In the bath, I like those organic, scratchy coral sponges that look like they’re from the sea. They’re satisfying on the skin. I always talk about this earthiness in my interiors; I like things that feel earthy and natural, well-made and simple. Then, in complete juxtaposition, I love metal and hard things and sexy branding.
Thinking About Towels
I never realised how much I thought about towels until this conversation. My towels are important. Sometimes I feel like a nice fluffy towel, so I use ones by Autumn Sonata. Every print the founder Lilli Elias comes out with is beautiful, the aesthetic is quite Deco. Or, I own a lot of those slightly rough, Turkish bath sheets that are so thin but dry you so well. I first used them when I went to The LifeCo Bodrum about ten years ago, for a week of juice, steam and sauna that made me feel like a new person for a long time after. I keep Lilli’s ones on the towel rail, and the Turkish ones behind the bath. I do think about my towels a lot
The Best Hotel Bathroom
I really love The Mark in New York, which was designed by Jacques Grange. He’s one of my favourites. The bathroom detail is amazing: black and white striped flooring, chrome, green glass vanities. It’s the ultimate high-end luxury.
But good design should always respond to its surroundings. That’s something we think about a lot in the studio. If I go to New York, I want to stay at The Mark. For a beach holiday, I want something quite different. Something earthy, maybe plaster. Where you are in the world defines how you design. As a designer, a bathroom is a big thing, and you can go in so many directions.
Where To Start With Your Bathroom Design
As a starting point, work out what feels right. If I design a bathroom in Los Angeles, it’s going to be very different to the bathroom I design in London. For our bathroom, I wanted something minimal, but layered, dark, a bit Seventies.
Pull references together and moodboard to give you a feel for things. Then, the boring bit is working out your budget. If you don’t have much money, you might want to keep the Victorian floorboards you already have and paint them. Research good suppliers. Get a reclaimed vanity and roll-top bath, and do something a bit DIY. If you’ve got more budget, maybe you want to go for a higher-end stone or coloured marble. I like doing a handful of colours throughout the house, because then I can layer all my antiques and art in.
Make the space personal, too. I have a portrait of the girls in the bathroom, painted by my friend and artist Aster Guinness. Some people might think it's a strange place to put it, but why not? I’m always looking for ways to do things in an unconventional way. It’s good to be a bit unpredictable.