Show me your bathrooms and en suites pls!

[rachllsn3]

I'm looking for some inspiration please! I'm in the process of getting quotes to have our bathroom refitted and having an ensuite added to our bedroom. I've been looking at a few magazines for decor ideas but they all seem very aspirational and not "real life" at all.
So, please could you show me your bathrooms and en suites? Any recommendations for suppliers if of Bath suites and tiles would also be much appreciated!
Thank you

[Mindtrope]

I wouldn't want an en suite. Smell, damp and noisy. Often poorly lit, cramped and badly ventilated with inadequate storage,

I have had them in the past, and indeed have one bedroom with an en suite now, but given that to our teenage DD. I would spend spare money enhancing a bathroom, maybe with a mandi or a japanese sunken tub

[namechangedtoday15]

Love our new bathroom and ensuite. Just to the post above, if you have them properly planned, with proper ventilation (extractor required by building regs) and choose the decor carefully, ensuite is a real advantage in a family house. Certainly here, when you get to say a 4 bed house, its kibd of expected that there will be an ensuite + family bathroom.

Ours isn't noisy, smelly or damp, its well lit, we have enough storage and although its not big, we've planned it to maximise space (large shower, wall hung vanity unit, back to wall toilet with built in cistern). We've also installed underfloor heating in the bathroom and the ensuite so don't have radiators - just toasty .

I did a lot of research fit fittings, have a look at your local independents but look online too. Go for good quality toilets and taps (thinks that get used the most!). We used Johnsons tiles - they make tiles for lots of people but obviously if you buy from the manufacturer they are cheaper. If you're not too far from Stoke then have a factory outlet shop there that is well worth a visit.

[wowfudge]

We redid the bathroom in our old house. Like namechanged I got the tiles direct from Johnson's - a fraction of the price in Topps. Bath was from B&Q - Helena d shaped bath. A big bath but shaped in at the bottom and curved ends so worked in a small space. The plumber got the shower tray, enclosure, vanity and sink from a plumber's merchant. I sourced the taps, towel rail (an eBay bargain), loo roll holder and light fitting online. Flooring was polyflor Colonia. We kept the original radiator at towel rail rads are not great for heating once they have towels on them.

We had additional storage in a large niche in the wall which was tiled out and I got glass shelves from a local glass merchant.

[hooliodancer]

I recently got the very cheapest Metro tiles from Topps. They look brilliant in the en suite.

When we did the bathroom we got Fired Earth metro tiles. The Topps ones look the same!

I used a company called Showers For You (internet) and they were brilliant, very good customer service..I bought a vanity unit from them and it was the cheapest I found online

For the bathroom we used Classical Baths, who again were brilliant. We bought a Bette bath, they are the best baths apparently. It looks great. It's a shame the plumber who fitted it all was a total tossed who drove me to the edge of a nervous breakdown!

I have just replaced the vanity unit in the bathroom ( we are selling and I want to keep ' my one) I bought a solid wood one from bathroomsandmorestore.co.uk and it's really good..

[rachllsn3]

Thanks mindtrope, but we definitely need an ensuite as getting 4 of us through one bathroom in the mornings is not easy!

Thanks also for the info namechanged, wowfudge and hoolio. Have any of you got any pictures you'd be willing to share? I really need some inspiration!

[GlowWine]

Make sure you get a reasonable size shower tray (more than the standard minimum 75?90?Cm square), and also not a micro-sink. We rented a house with a very squeezed en-suite, the sink was so small you could barely get your hands under the tap! And the shower so small that bending down required a yoga style fold at the waist. The above means that I was obsessing about sink size by the time it came to fit out our own

[namechangedtoday15]

This is bathroom. Bit of a dismal day here so looks a bit dark but usually bright!

[wowfudge]

This is our old one - photo from EA listing.

[yomellamoHelly]

Try pinterest and housetohome. Is where I've nicked my ideas for future bathrooms from.

[fussychica]

Ours is black, grey and white Laura Ashley Hinton tiles. We did it about 3 years ago. Still love it and get lots of compliments. We have a huge walk in shower (no bath) with a glass screen. Fittings came from lots of different places to get exactly what we wanted. Had a plumber for the sanitary ware and my clever DH did all the tiling.

[pinkpanda101]

Just finished ours (well, still waiting for a bath panel!), and very happy.

Sourced everything myself, online. Chose British sanitary ware where possible (Armitage Shanks, Ideal Standard, Bristan) plus Aqualisa shower. DIYKitchens unit with an IKEA countertop. B&Q tiles with pricey mosaics from local shop. We bought a Japanese all-singing dancing toilet seat in Hong Kong for £200, easy for plumbers to fit.

House has a ventilation system so we didn't need an extractor. Underfloor heating (throughout house) and heated towel rail keeps it cosy.

[pinkpanda101]

Also this is the 'kids' bathroom.

[pinkpanda101]

..with pics!

[pinkpanda101]

Also, I can recommend using Mermaidboard for shower cubicles instead of tiles. Easy to fit and no grout to discolour or fall out! Ordered in from local plumbing merchant who recommended it over WetWall.

Floors are Karndean tiles

[wowfudge]

£200 for a toilet seat? What does it do?

[rachllsn3]

Thanks for all the tips and pictures everyone. It's nice to see real bathrooms as the ones in magazines, Pinterest, Houzz, etc. always look too perfect or seem to have been done with no expense spared!