Bathrooms -your top recommendations please!

[gremlindolphin]

Hi, on top of everything else, the shower door has now fallen off so we have accepted that we do need to re do our bathrooms!

Just wondered if anyone had anything in their bathroom that you would say "never get that because its a nightmare to keep clean etc" or " x is the best thing we could have got".

We have two fairly small bath rooms, one en suite and the other for the dcs/guests, One will have a bath/shower the other just a shower. plus sink and toilet obviously.

I started looking at Bath Store today and got rather overwhelmed but the assistant did manag to persuade me that shower doors that work on overhead rollers were a good idea!

Any helpful thoughts?

Hellooo!

Not really a 'i love' or 'i hate' thing but we recently re-did our entire bathroom. We bought our suite from >goes off to google correct site

I get all of my bathroom stuff from Cityplumbing. You can go into their store and talk to an expert. Be brave as it isn't a proper shop but is the sort of place that plumbers go to buy their stuff. The men who work there will sort you out no problem. Plus I always feel happy with the price which is flexible if you smile

If you're short on space, a shelf that goes across the top of the cistern is really useful, as are built-in cupboards around the toilet.
We hung the door to open outwards, seeing as the bathroom is about 5x8 foot - means there's enough space for a potty! Also having the basin near the door and the toilet straight ahead means you don't need to squeeze round the bath to get to the basin, which we did previously and constantly had bruised thighs!

We got a bargain medicine cabinet with mirrored front and lights, which is great for makeup as well as storage, but if you have an electric toothbrush plugged into its socket to charge, the lights have to be on too. Which is annoying as the door has glass panels so the light keeps me awake...

In a small bathroom, don't put a heated towel rail where you will have to brush past it when just out the shower - those things get hot!

Just moved to a house that has underfloor heating in the bathrooms. Amazing! I'd recommend that

Planning a new bathroom - how exciting!

We bought our suite from Bath Store in the sale. We haggled, and we decided that £250 (!) was too expensive for their bathscreen that matched our shower/bath (www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/baths/showering-baths/-showercube-l-shaped-bath-screen-2188.html?pg=0) so bought a normal straight one from Focus - which is sadly defunct - for £80. Pleased with the suite. My parents bought theirs from there too and are pleased.

I LOVE my wall mounted tall towel rail. It basically looks like a heated towel rail, but at £24 it is cheaper. We have ours positioned over the normal radiator.

Having searched and purchased many "towel hanging waste of money solutions" over the years, this is my ulimate. Even now 9 months on into our new bathroom, I sit on the loo marvelling at it, and the fact it has room for lots of towels and helps prevent stinky undried towels. www.amazon.co.uk/LADDER-Chrome-Wall-Mounted-Towel/dp/B000KKA7TO/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1320057606&sr=8-16

Good luck and enjoy!
WS

PS. Link to bath - www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/baths/showering-baths/-showercube-l-shaped-bath-screen-2188.html?pg=0

PPS. I was interested in Victoria Plumb, but was put off by their online reviews. A friend used them recently and sadly she found that they live up to their bad online 'rep'.

We've just had a new suite put in with a freestanding bath. We got it from plumbworld

Another vote for City Plumbing. They have access to a wide range of brands across all price ranges. On some things, they may have one in the warehouse and will happily go off and get it so you can have a look. Everything is returnable and delivery is really fast.

They are really knowledgable and the discounts increase the more you spend.

You can get better quality than Bathstore on brassware for significantly less money. They do a brilliant Grohe monobloc tap with pop up waste for less than £100. You can get a Grohe air flush cistern for diddly squat too.

Bathstore is good for cabnitery and built in/under units and vanity units.

My advice based on my experience would be to get everything from City Plumbing apart from vanity units.

Instead of a basin with pedestal we got a chrome waste so sink is 'floating'. Space for potty and bin underneath and easier to clean floor.

I find the wall-mounted towel racks very useful. You may have seen them in hotels. Like a shelf but made of chrome or painted tube so air can circulate.

It's not a towel rail, but a rack so you can stack folded towels on them,

Slight problem is that the ones I put over the bath (high enough not to bang head on) are too high for DP to reach as she is a munchkin not very tall.

If doing it again I might put them over the radiator.

...and the other absolute essential: an extractor fan, wired so it comes on automatically every time the bathroom light is switched on, and runs for 20 minutes afterwards (some people have an aversion to ventilation and will not switch on fans or open windows). A Centrifugal fan is generally quieter and more powerful than an Axial fan, when you come to buy one. Do not have it fitted directly above a bath or shower as the electrical safety rules are then more stringent, and expensive to satisfy.