After the kitchen threads... Your top ideas for a new bathroom?

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We need to redo a bathroom sometime in the nearish future and I'm trying to gather ideas.

Any do/do nots to share?

How to make it child friendly? (don't have DCs yet but will do shortly!) for example, a hand shower for hair washing... Anything else?

Where to look for pictures for inspiration?

Best places to look for nice tiles?

Extractor fan...?

Tips on layout? It's a small ish bathroom with a sloping ceiling which makes things a bit harder. We will need to have a bath with a shower over.

Best flooring... Usually I'd use tiles but is there a more child friendly option?

Is underfloor heating worth it? Electric or wet... ? Do I need a radiator/towel rail as well?

Anything else?

Thanks!

And wherever/whatever you buy always ask for a discount. Not just for bathrooms - on everything. So far have saved £800 just on asking if they can take any extra off - oh and got a "free" loo roll holder.

Here's the link, but I have seen it cheaper on other sites, sorry don't have time to look now though. Yes, expensive, but cheaper than extending bathroom to get the same feeling of space!

www.originalbathroomcompany.co.uk/html/showers/Outasight.htm

www.originalbathroomcompany.co.uk/html/showers/Outasight.htm

Ohhh aylsham I love, love that. I think that has solved the bath screen issue...love. How is it working? Is the curtain just inside the bath - does it really all fold away. Wow!

I really wanted a roll top bath but wanted a shower above it too. Bath store have a roll top that has a fitted corner so water doesn't slosh over the side. Our bathroom is small and it makes the room feel bigger as you can see the floor underneath. Also can shove toys under it when you want them out the way.

This is mine just after we did it up:

i39.tinypic.com/zmgmd0.jpg[

oh, I forgot something important on my list: I want a hairdryer in the bathroom. I find it a right faff to have to leave the bathroom to dry my hair.

When you choose you bath get in it and check it is comfortable even if it's in the middle of a busy shop.
If you install an overhead shower stand under it and pretend to have a shower to make sure it is in the right place before its plumbed in. Get your partner to do the same.
If you have a fixed overhead shower also have a handheld shower to wash kids hair etc.
Underfloor heating is really nice.
We have had several two sink bathrooms but unless you have a huge bathroom I would just have one.
Have a low level lighting option for middle of the night loo visits.
Make sure the pipe work to the radiators are sunk into the wall so the floor is kept as clear as possible.

oh, and be careful with bathtubs.
some are of a cheap and wobbly material that is not suitable for use as a shower.
and if you order the bath at a diy shop for the builder to pick up and install, check the builder has not exchanged the chosen bath against the cheapet wobbly one and pocketed the difference (happened to my parents, took ages to sort out, mainly because it's not instantly obvious).

Many thanks Piglet John for underfloor heating info and for general inspiration of thread.

I redid a very small bathroom a few years ago and made the mistake of overcrowding the space. Learning experience .

". Chipboard is at its best on a bonfire."

even then, it's not very good :)

Ffaok, it's wonderful. Yes, just folds away completely. There is a spray you use once a month on curtain to stop mould and that seems to work fine. Just spray 10 mins before shower. The curtain has three levels but only a tiny difference between each. Ours ONLY just fits inside bath as the unit is on tiles around bath edge which has raised it a bit but doesn't seem to matter because the water runs down the pleats and into the bth anyway. Very pleased with it.

"Best places to look for nice tiles?"

My tip for tiles is to ignore the chains and find some independent tiles shops.

When we did our flat up in London, we were on a tight budget and did a lot of shopping around. (We started with all usual chains - B&Q etc)
The best quality and range of different styles were by far and away the independents, who were also the best value for money!

We got our lovely kitchen wall tiles from these guys in Walthamstow in the end Al Murad

Their website doesn't seem that impressive, there was a much bigger stock in-store IIRC.

But I'd say visit a range of independents if they exist where you are.

"Where to look for pictures for inspiration?"

I've just discovered this website www.houzz.com/photos which I'm really enjoying - mainly using it to get inspiration on colours atm.

If you want to save money on the bathroom suite, again avoid the chains.

We looked at stores like B&Q and Bathstore were very unimpressed.

We then looked at a local building supplies shop which the tradespeople use, and we found better quality bathroom suite for a fraction of the price.

We got our bathroom suite, from "Chris Stevens Discount Trade Centre" on Holloway Road, N19. It looks cheap and cheerful from the outside, and it's not all beautifully laid out. But hey, they're aiming at trade. If you can see past that, you'll save an arm and a leg!

It also has a "Bathroom Centre" next door, which is aimed at non-trade, and worth a look just so you can be happy you're getting a bargain in the first shop IMO!

We're about to do up our new house, and will probably drive up to London to get our new bathroom from there again I reckon.

Marking place to come back to tomorrow

Excellent thread.

We're looking to renovate the family bathroom this year, and thanking our lucky stars the house is on stumps (Australia), and floor vented heating which sorts out some issues.

My only advice is dark, non-glossy fake slate floor tiles which don't show DH's body hair fall-out. Think mature silver-backed mountain gorilla.:o