Refitting bathroom - Too much choice, not sure where to start!

[mabelbabel]

Hello - we are shortly to be moving into a new house, in which we will need to refit the bathroom. There is room for a bath and separate shower, and we will also need a basin and a toilet. I am drowning in too much choice and unsure how to make decisions especially as it seems impossible to see most of the options in real life. I've been looking at lots of online retailers but not really getting anywhere. We'll be getting a plumber in, but would like to make some decisions for ourselves, and probably buy the big items ourselves for them to install.

In general where do you even start with these decisions? How do you narrow it down?

Shower: Will be an 800x800 enclosure in the corner. Willing to spend up to £500 on a pivot door type enclosure. Also mixer shower - I have no idea what a sensible budget is or how to choose.

Bath: Must have v rigid side panels (or can have them built?). Thinking of double-ended as a good possibility for the due to the layout of the room.

Toilet and basin: My preference is for nothing too unusual/modern (I don't want to make a feature out of my toilet!), though I would like a dual flush. I quite like some of the Ikea basin units. Beyond that, I am hopelessly lost! Too much choice!

Any specific advice about these items, or general suggestions as to how to start making these decisions (what did you do?) very gratefully received!

Willing to spend money where it is worth it/necessary for good quality, but always up for a bargain!

[mabelbabel]

Bump?

[specialsubject]

Having done the same, I think a toilet is a toilet. You choose round-ish, square-ish, concealed cistern with a wall frame or visible cistern. Most now have soft-close seats, and you can also have raised seats if that is an issue for anyone. Dual flush and internal overflow also now standard, as are smooth rims so you don't get that revolting dirt trap.

that's it really, so if you have any local plumbers merchants see if they do a 'bog in a box' or similar. Paid £70 for mine so shop around.

for a sink; choose from click-clack waste (push down to close, push again to open, problem if you have a sink full of hot water) or pop up waste (a lever behind the tap, a bugger to fit). Don't choose anything with fussy shell patterns which are dirt traps, and I have to say that the trendy bowls mounted on worktops also look to be the same.

can't help with the bath except consider how much water it takes and the profile of it - if it is too rounded it won't be comfortable to lie back in.

you'll have to look hard to get anything except white.

HTH.

[SteamboatSprings]

When we did this we ended up going to the Bathstore, as there's one near where we live and we could spend time in there browsing and deciding what we wanted. We did also go to local plumbers merchants aswell, but their ranges were more limited. Once we'd whittled it down to one shop, it was easier to make choices.

We did tiles separately by trawling round various tiles place.

[Roussette]

Mixer taps an absolute necessity in my book, clickclack waste not a problem and great to not have plugs. Don't get the bath tooooo big (which I did) as it takes forever to get to the sort of level you can luxuriate in.
Concealed cistern (BTW = back to wall) and dual flush is great... the mechanism we have is Grohe which has a good name in the industry and so say rarely goes wrong (famous last words!)
Basin not perching on top of a surface but half in (if that makes sense) and lots of cupboards, drawers and surfaces with everything concealed. The one thing I love more than anything is the huge ladder radiator as it means we have no need of any towel rails.
Have Karndean flooring and everything is fairly neutral but not clinical looking.
I've had two bathrooms done and just absolutely love love love them.. the only thing I probably did wrong was to choose a slightly too large bath in one of the bathrooms, but it's not a great problem.

[mabelbabel]

Thank you for the replies so far - sounds like a we can't go toooo far wrong, and am probably over thinking. Anyone have any advice about a shower enclosure? I'm vaguely looking at the Coram Premier range, but is there anything else (in budget) that I need to look at.

[SteamboatSprings]

Oh yes, got ladded radiators & heated mirrors from costco.

[SteamboatSprings]

ladder

[SteamboatSprings]

Sorry, can't help with shower cubicle as ours is built-in.

[Roussette]

I've got a corner one with two doors that you pull to meet in the middle... it's great!