Bathroom refurb chat

[foreverchangingname]

I'm looking to get my bathroom done and have some questions - would be nice to swap notes with someone who has done theirs recently or is at the same stage.

I have some oak furniture in the bedroom and the bathroom is sort of open to the bedroom although a separate room. Does this mean the flooring (I'm going for Amtico) would need to be oak too - I'd prefer walnut/ dark wood colour but am wondering if it would clash with the oak in the bedroom.

Also any alternatives to CP Hart which are a bit cheaper but not poor quality? Have had bad experiences with Bathstore and think their sales are a con and am happy to spend a little more.

[pickgo]

I did my bathroom myself this spring. I bought from B & Q !
You could just put a threashold between the rooms to make a division so the flooring doesn't clash.
I considered underfloor heating at the time and just didn't want to spend the extra time - but regret this now really cos it's not hard to do and heard others say it's really toasty with it.

[foreverchangingname]

We're not doing underfloor as we're having Amtico or similar so don't think it's worth it. Just not bothered about it and would rather have a heated towel rail radiator.

The bedroom is carpeted so it's not the flooring that would clash in there but furniture.

Ok anyone know, if you get a claw footed bath and put it sort of along a wall, will it be a nightmare to clean the other side of it/ the floor by the wall??

[Auntiestablishment]

I had my bathroom redone this year - I used a family company: Mrs does design & admin, Mr & son (& a couple of others) do the installation. They were great: my bathroom is tiny and the house is listed, both of which caused complications, but we did eventually get a design that worked and I'm delighted with the result. They did all the ordering, bothering with deliveries, etc, as well as the installation work.

Dunno about the oak thing, other than to say go with what you want. I went for carpet because I like it but everyone (including the carpet shop!) seemed to think this was most peculiar.

Not sure what brand the bath is other than it's a bit more contemporary than the other stuff, but does blend in, but the loo, basin & taps are Heritage, Dorchester. Don't have claw foot (no space, and anyway not my thing).

It took longer than I had expected: 8 months from the first visit to paying the last bill, and 3 weeks onsite. But the time taken to get the design right was really worth it.

[7to25]

It doesn't matter about the different wood finishes.
Too "matchy" looks worse and a cohesion of style is more important.
it is easy to clean behind the bath with one of those angled microfibre things.

[foreverchangingname]

Ok that's reassuring about cleaning behind it! I have one of those small hoovers with a hose and attachment so could do it that way. Just looked awkward.
Will it look odd with a freestanding bath along a wall?

OK too about the wood - will go with what will look nice in there and not worry about it. The walnut and oak would not be right next to each other anyway.

[Gotarty]

CP Hart is great for ideas - do you need someone to design for you or do you need recommendations for quality brands, send off for their catologues and then internet shop?

Have just done 4 bathrooms - tiled, ufh and towel rails for all. UFH has not been needed so far as the floor is at a bearable temp - I suspect we will only use it to take the chill off the floor and not to heat the air.

From memory we used Duravit, Saneax, Crosswater, Hansgrohe, Vado, Laufen, Gerbit, Clearwater, Roper Rhodes - you'll get loads of ideas from their cabinet. Fired Earth is also worth a look.

Also take a trip to Porcelanosa for ideas - their showroom is brilliant but that's where we parted company, their customer service was awful - then again I was dressed in jeans and trainers because I spent a lot of time on site but they either judged me as someone who had no money to spend or selling was not part of their game plan.