Stories of Cardiff

We had a rather unusual commission this year and the brief was: 

"Our public loos are in need of refurbishment, so we need an interim fix until the end of 2019 when they're completely renovated to create a thoughtful, fun and engaging atmosphere for our guests.  We loved your wallpaper in Oxford, and would like you to create something which is firmly rooted in the city of Cardiff".

We love a creative challenge and this one was fun! With seemingly dozens of men's, ladies and family and babychange bathrooms on two floors and acres of blank space to play with at flagship shopping centre, St. David's, we had our work cut out for us.  

In the family and babychange areas, we reimagined the creatures of Cardiff Castle's famous 'Animal Wall' and created a fabulously colourful, child-friendly frieze which wrapped around all the walls, corridors and pillars at small people's head height.  We made some of our animals Cardiff heros and gave them with various toys to play with (a dragon, Cardiffian building blocks and a rugby ball) and painted the ceiling a rich, sky blue in keeping with the uplifting visuals.

Ceilings in the men's and ladies' bathrooms were painted to intimise the previously cold expanse of white - blue for the boys and a soft pink for the girls - complementing the blue and green wallpaper treatments in the men's and ladies' loos respectively.  

The loos were given the full Cardiff wallpaper treatment - charming vignettes visible in detail only when viewed close up - with imagery ranging from the infamous 'Billy the Seal' statue to the lighthouse in Roath Park to Chippy Street and beyond.  This, all made possible with the help of our favourite illustrator Chris Ovens. Each collection of 8 vignettes became a composite heart to reflect the affection that the people of Cardiff have for their wonderful city.

Loo of the Year Awards 2018? Bring it on!