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.

We had the original door dipped and left it bare wood and I love the contrast with the white walls and tiles.
The basin was the one thing I spent a large amount of money on and I’m so pleased I did as it looks great and is lovely to use. We painted the tongue and groove that covers the plumbing in Ammonite, which gives just enough contrast with the brilliant white walls.

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 shelf that was created after boxing in the plumbing is really useful (it is 18cm deep) although I keep it quite bare as we don’t really have many lotions and potions.

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.

Moving the boiler and washing machine up into this cupboard that our builder made was definitely the right decision as it frees up so much space downstairs and provides loads of storage for towels and linen.

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.

The heated towel rail combined with underfloor heating keeps this room so nice and toasty.

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 bath caddy from Bathroom Takeaway is perfect for relaxing baths or loads of bath toys! Bathroom Takeaway also do lots of bathroom suites very similar to ours so do have a look.

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.

A folding shower screen works brilliantly well in this small room.

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.

When the bath is in use it only comes out to here so doesn’t block off the whole room.

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.

I agonised over whether or not to have skirting running along the bath panel and my builder made the decision in the end and it was the right one and it makes the bath feel more solid and more integrated.

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!

I chose cheap cheap white tiles for the walls to keep the room feeling as large as possible and we placed the bath and shower controls at the end of the bath so you can turn the shower on without getting our arms 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.

The loo flush is the only thing I don’t like about this room!

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.

Creating one room with one doorway was definitely the right decision as it feels so much more spacious.

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 caddyBathroom 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)

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12 Comments

  1. Tara
    29th October 2019 / 11:48 pm

    This is the prettiest bathroom. I just love it! I do like a shower curtain though as I’m not a fan of keeping glass clean and I like that you can add a little pattern too. But if I could I would absolutely swap your whole room for mine 🙂

  2. Jules Gross
    31st October 2019 / 2:42 am

    Thanks for the comprehensive information – love your bathroom! Can you tell me the distance from the door to the outside wall? I may be conning myself that I can fit a basin and loo comfortably between the door and outside wall in my bathroom 😉
    Thank you! Jules

    • katy
      Author
      31st October 2019 / 10:28 am

      I will measure as soon as I get home x

    • katy
      Author
      12th November 2019 / 12:16 pm

      Sorry for delay! Approx 220cm from door to outside wall. Hope that helps! X

      • Jules Gross
        13th November 2019 / 11:50 pm

        Thank you so much!

  3. carol
    14th December 2019 / 8:04 pm

    i came to this site through Apartment Therapy and i’m glad i did. your whole house is “charming” a word Americans like to toss around a lot, at least the ones on the home design shows. this bathroom will be my gold standard, when deciding to redo
    my bath in the new year. simple and bright but with gentle texture variation and color. also love the stripped doors.

    • katy
      Author
      16th December 2019 / 9:26 pm

      Thank you so much! Such a lovely comment x

  4. Fran
    6th January 2020 / 10:44 am

    From reading your blog post it seems that your builder went above and beyond and did an excellent job. I’m also in SE London and wondered whether you’d share his details? Thanks so much.

  5. Valeria
    10th September 2020 / 11:01 pm

    Hi Katy, I wondered what is the size of the bathroom? I read above that it is 220 cm long, can you please check the width (hoping to get similar look in mine with WM/TD in closet behind the door). Also, did you have to do something specific to the floor to minimize possible flood damage (I read it can cause more damage upstairs)? Thank you!!!

  6. Emma Smith
    15th September 2020 / 6:25 pm

    Bathroom looks amazing. Just the sort of floor I’m looking for. What colour and make of grout have you used? Its a nightmare with so many greys. Thanks

    • katy
      Author
      30th September 2020 / 1:47 pm

      Hi there. Yes, I remember it being a nightmare when I had to choose mine. We used Mapei grout in MEDIUM GREY. I hope that helps x (Topps Tiles have samples that you can look at as far as I can remember)

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