Our finished bathroom

When we were in the planning stages of our bathroom we were certain that we wanted to knock the loo and bathroom together to make the room a decent size rather than two almost unusable spaces. We managed to come up with a really good design that works brilliantly well (you can read about it here). I was also pretty certain about the finishes that I wanted to use, a lot of which was dictated by a small budget. However, there were lots of very small details that weren’t clear in my mind and so I pored over images of bathrooms to help me answer the questions that I had and that my builder had. It’s these small details that I get lots of messages about and so I thought it would be helpful to take pictures of the bathroom from every single angle and of every detail to help those who are planning their own bathroom project. Also, I will do a list of where I sourced everything from at the bottom of this post.

You’ve probably seen quite a lot of the right side of the bathroom as I love the look of the sink and mirror and the bare wooden door so that’s what I usually photograph. I have had quite a few questions about what happens behind the door when it is closed so here’s a look…

The wall angles in on the right side of the sink so the shelf that was created by boxing in the plumbing gets narrower. I plan to hang some hooks on the tongue and groove on the right of the sink and perhaps some shallow shelves on the right side of the mirror. WE have one wall light above the mirror and three spot lights in this room on a dimmer switch and that is a perfect amount of light.

Working around the room the boiler cupboard is next to the bathroom door (we still need to choose a handle for the door). We have the boiler, a washing machine and shelves for linen and towel storage in that cupboard – it’s great! I will show you inside it in another post. I chose tongue and groove for the door to tie in with the rest of the room. I’ve actually had messages from people who have bought similar 30s houses wanting to know where we’ve put the washing machine as the kitchen space is so small and this was our solution and it works really well. We don’t have a tumble dryer so we either hang clothes to dry on a clothes horse and put it in the spare room or hang it outside. The only issue, therefore, if having the washing machine upstairs is having to take the laundry up and down to the garden to hang it on the line during the summer.

As you can see it is a small room but we have managed to fit the boiler/washing machine cupboard in by choosing a small bath, which is perfect for Mimi and we seldom have baths so its size doesn’t bother us. Luckily the water pressure is really good so the shower over the bath is actually really lovely and I don’t miss having a shower cubicle at all.

This size bath is totally fine for an adult, by the way, if you are considering one and like to have baths on a regular basis. I have definitely indulged in a Friday night bath here with this great bath caddy. Although I will be honest and say it is most regularly used for bath toys rather than wine. We chose a tap that takes up as little space as possible, which also works well when showering standing up as we don’t bash into a protruding tap.

We knew that we were going to use the bath most days with Mimi so we decided to get a folding shower screen as this is best in a small room and with a small person wandering around as it folds up really neatly. I would really recommend one if you lack space.

My builder made the tongue and groove bath panel and things I hadn’t considered like whether I wanted the skirting board to wrap around the room, including the bath panel, stumped me for ages! My builder said he thought it should because I couldn’t decide and I’m glad I listened to him as it makes it feel a lot more part of the room.

The other detail I get asked about is why we have the shower and bath controls at the end of the bath and the very simple reason is that it means you don’t have to stick your arm under the shower head to turn it on so we’re less likely to get wet!

We chose underfloor heating because I hate cold tiled floors and it was a really great decision. The tiles I chose were mega cheap and they are SO easy to keep clean especially with the mid-grey grout. They also feel really nice underfoot. The one thing I really don’t like is the toilet flush, which has to be so big as it serves as the access to the cistern. I’m on the look out for a slightly nicer looking one.

Remember, that not only did we knock down the wall between the loo and bathroom but we replaced two doors with one so we were able to reclaim floor space that was taken up with two doors that angled into the space. You can see photos of what it looked like here.

So that’s about it, I think. As I said, if you do have any questions please give me a shout.

Katy x

Sources:

(I can’t for the life of me remember where we got the bath tap and shower hose but I will ask Jules as maybe he paid for them and get back to you!)

Bath – Victorian Plumbing (we got it for £87 as they always have sales)

Bath caddy – Bathroom Takeway (gifted)

Bath screen – Victoria Plum no longer sell this exact one, I’m afraid.

Woodwork paint Ammonite – Farrow & Ball

Walls paint Brilliant White – not sure which brand as decorator did it

Duravit Basin – Fountain Direct (cheapest I could find it was from this site)

Duravit basin console – Fountain Direct

Basin tap – Mano Mano (gifted)

Loo – Victoria Plum

Wall light above mirror – Original BTC

Heated towel rail – Plumb Nation (gifted)

Underfloor heating – Plumb Nation (gifted)

Wall tiles – Walls and Floors (they are white rather than off white, which is pretty hard to find in matt tiles so I had to go gloss)

Floor tiles – Walls and Floors (much cheaper than the Topps Tiles equivalent because they are thinner but I really don’t think that’s an issue in a residential bathroom)