The Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors is a renovation of three bathrooms and a powder room in Karaka, Auckland. With a focus on restraint and clever material use, Rarebirds selected cost-effective elements like large-format grey tiles and premade Newtech vanities, offset by elegant feature tiles and Mizu tapware in brushed nickel. This project exemplifies how thoughtful interior design and expert project co-ordination can elevate spaces on a budget — making every detail work harder without compromise.
Laing project bathroom featuring a Newtech floating double vanity with brushed nickel Mizu tapware from Reece, grey large-format floor and wall tiles, and vertical timber detailing. Designed by Rarebirds Interiors in Karaka, Auckland.

Bathroom and Powderroom Design, Procurement, Co-Ordination and Management

Laing Project Role:

The Haast Street project by Rarebirds Interiors is a full-house renovation in Remuera, Auckland. Our team delivered complete interior design services including spatial planning, kitchen and bathroom design, custom joinery, and furnishing. With layered textures, bold colour choices, and soft materiality, this project balances family functionality and architectural elegance. Earthy tones, green cabinetry, brass fixtures, and bespoke detailing showcase our signature design approach across the entire home.

Photography:

  • This guest bathroom renovation also needed to function primarily as the first-floor powder room and shower room when pool-goers wanted to wash off. This family of boys were happy to include minimal feminine detailing but overall wanted a masculine edge to their bathroom space. The original footprint of several disjointed and functionally challenged areas needed very considered spatial planning to create a modern addition to this residence.

    The challenges of budget and spatial planning enabled our design team to create intelligent, considered solutions—removing various walls and closing off superfluous doorways—to create a spacious blank canvas to work from.

    The concrete slab foundations and externally exposed plumbing required little movement of sanitary fittings. The design solution was to create a raised separate shower area that plumbing could easily run through. Creating a generous shower room gave separation to the remaining floor area and resulted in a bathroom that could be used by several pool users at once.

    When the client was adamant about not including a bath, texturality and a juxtaposition of a cool and warm colour palette were chosen to reduce the sense of vastness in this bathroom’s large floor space. Tile Depot Kit Kat tiles in Curry provide interesting vertical texture, wrapping around the dividing shower wall and feeling almost like timber or bamboo panels. They were an important design selection, chosen to complement the authentic terracotta floor tiles throughout the home. Their warm earthy colour and module size also create a joyful contrast to the stone-grey large format tiles on the floor and remaining walls.

    Classic brushed nickel Reece Mizu tapware and accessories lean into the requested masculinity and ensure they are a timeless element to this design. A timber-look St. Michel vanity enabled our design team to achieve a polished, elevated design outcome without challenging the client’s spend level. The brushed nickel Heiko towel poles from Heirloom are another design element our team prefers to include, providing clean vertical design lines. Kohler metal-framed mirrors are paired with glowing orb pendants from LightCo, providing essential facial lighting and adding a hint of elegance by stretching the materiality mix.

    The design outcome of this understated yet punchy bathroom whispers of an international feel, appropriate for this family’s cultural heritage.

John Williams

Close-up of the master ensuite in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors. Featuring a floating Newtech vanity with brushed nickel Mizu tapware, vertical timber tile detailing, and large-format grey tiles in Karaka, Auckland.
Master ensuite shower in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. Kit-kat tiles in oat with brushed nickel Mizu fixtures and a grey tiled bench — a refined, budget-friendly detail in this considered bathroom renovation.
Main bathroom shower in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. Warm grey large-format tiles meet vertical kit-kat tile in the 'curry' colourway, with brushed nickel tapware and a timber stool for subtle spa-like charm.
Master ensuite bathroom in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. A warm grey tile base is paired with oat-toned kit-kat feature tiles, a woodgrain vanity with brushed nickel tapware, and a built-in shower bench framed in glass.
Main bathroom in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. A wet area view showing the transition between grey large-format floor tiles and curry-toned kit-kat wall tiles, with brushed nickel towel rails and glass shower enclosure.
Main bathroom in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. A warm grey tiled backdrop with woodgrain vanity, brushed nickel tapware, and playful lighting. The mirror reflects the curry-toned kit-kat tile from the adjacent shower.
Main bathroom shower in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. Brushed nickel fittings are paired with a soft grey large-format tile and contrasted with glazed curry-toned kit-kat tiles, showing a striking textural interplay.
Laing project main bathroom in Karaka Auckland with kit kat tiled shower wall in curry and large grey tiles. Includes timber stool white toilet shuttered window and woven basket.
Main bathroom vanity in the Laing project by Rarebirds Interiors, Karaka. Featuring soft grey tiles, a woodgrain Newtech vanity, and paired Co Orb pendant lights. The styling includes warm-toned accessories and sculptural ceramic vessels.
Powder room detail with textured wallpaper, dried florals and soft filtered light through blinds.
Detail of Kohler Essentials mirror and Light Co orb sconces in powder room with textured wallpaper.
Full view of the powder room showing floating timber vanity, Kohler fixtures, and warm textured wallpaper in natural light.
Detail of powder room vanity with brushed nickel tapware, Kohler Essentials mirror, and wall-mounted orb sconces, with dried floral styling reflected in the mirror.
Powder room detail with textured wallpaper, dried hydrangea floral styling, and a brushed nickel flush plate on tiled half-wall beneath a timber-framed window.
The team at Rarebirds did a wonderful job with our bathroom renovations. They were able to work around some tricky areas to provide some brilliant results. They were helpful and friendly from start to finish. I would definitely work with them again for future projects.
— Komal and Amber

Words from our client