what makes a bathroom look "high end"?

[SeasonalVag]

Don't want to screw this up....My natural tendency is cheap n cheerful but I'm mindful of not putting in a mess considering we may have to sell at some point. How do I stop it looking dated in five years??

Try and avoid having pipes boxed in at low level, like a big (dust collecting) skirting board. Not a good look.

I also think that larger format tiles (say 60cm x 60cm) look better and more expensive than smaller format (10x10 or 30x30).... that goes for both walls and floors.

Agree with everything that's already been said, especially the point about storage. So many houses are photographed by EAs with hundreds of shampoo bottles balanced on the rim of the bath and it just looks dreadful and studenty.

Once you have the high-end look, remember that it needs to feel high-end too. Soft-closes on all of the cabinets and the loo seat. I have tested the water pressure in every house I've ever lived in (bought and rented), and seen other prospective buyers do the same. Factor in a pump if your water pressure isn't already very good.

Yes, storage is a must! I hate clutter and we literally only have a bottle of hand wash on 'display' everything else is put away. Loads of products everywhere looks so untidy.

Save on the bath and sanitaryware by going plain and simple - wall hung loos - never again (argh don't get me started)

Use the best quality taps/shower head etc in chrome and MATT tiles - so much easier to keep looking clean than glossy ones. Use the same tiles on the floors and walls (got to be floor to ceiling) for a high-end look.

My bathroom has matt tiles that are called white ("bianco") but are actually off-white - look pale grey or pale ivory depending on light - I love them - don't think they will date - from a local independent shop.

I would recommend:

Porcelain tiles rather than natural stone if you want the stone look. Less upkeep and maintenance. Spillages of bathroom cleaner will ruin natural stone for example.

If it's a small room, treat the space accordingly. Cramming a double sink into a small bathroom will just look rubbish. Look for a sink with wider sides or as part of a washstand.

Larger format tiles, less grout to clean / regrout

Assume you will need to regrout and reseal shower area in 5 yrs.

Buy some spare tiles so you can have damages repaired.

No square toilet seats. Everyone hates them

Look for references and pictures of your tiles work.

Good quality taps and fittings - rusty shower baskets look terrible so make sure that they are out of the main shower "fall"

Double the amount of storage you think you need especially if it's a family bathroom

Decent heating and lighting.

No wet room "look". Nightmare to maintain by all accounts.

I know I sound like a pain looking for something that won't date but having seen over forty houses in my quest for a home, I can see that it does matter....even to me and I'm not that particular (hence needing the help!)

Thanks for your advice everybody. Going shopping tomorrow!!

Good luck - I think I am probably swimming against the tide here, but I loathe fully tiled bathrooms with a passion, and it actively puts me off buying places that have it. So much to sort out if you hate the tiles (and I usually do).

I would say yes to overspecced, efficient heating, decent water pressure and hot water storage (no combi boilers), nothing gold, plenty of storage but not the built-in kind because it almost always looks cheap. IMO. It's another thing that puts me off buying.

However much storage you have, you will fill it up. I am very much in favour of an airing cupboard, where at the least you can keep clean towels and loo rolls. Preferably not in the bathroom, but just outside the door, where nothing will get splashed or steamy. You can have a shelf for your spare toothpaste and other toiletries.

If you are unfortunate enough not to have a cylinder there, you can still have an airing cupboard, and put a small radiator in it, or a low-power tubular or oil-filled heater, but if electric, have a timed switch and thermostat so it is not running more than necessary. If it is inside the bathroom, and within three metres of a fixed bath or shower, you can have a fused switch, but not a plug and socket.

I have exactly that set up, Piglet, with an airing cupboard outside the bathroom. However I haven't got a boiler in there.

I'm thinking about ones of the low powered heaters. The mains that was for the old boiler is still there. Is that something that could happen?

I think when you say "boiler" you mean "Cylinder" so the outlet is probably for an immersion heater. It might have been disconnect at the other end.

It will probably be fused at 16A (if still live) so you should change the switch or flex outlet for an FCU with a fuse appropriate to the heater. 5A would do. I'd screw any heater to the wall, and also put a shelf above it in such a way that nothing can fall on top of the heater and get scorched, or worse.

A tubular heater looks like this or this. They are made so the longer they are, the more powerful (not very, so you can use several together) and should be run horizontally, near the floor. I use one in the garage where the water pipe comes in, to protect against frost. It gets about as hot as a teapot. Or an oil-filled radiator, say 500W. Heaters are cheaper at the end of the cold weather, when they are flogged off at half price or less. I would not use an ordinary convector heater, which has a very hot wire element inside and is very capable of starting a fire if a towel falls on it.

There are some nifty immersion heater timers available but you would need to fuse down the supply, so we are moving into Electrician territory.

God, I'd love an airing cupboard. Or even just room to imagine one being there.

I have a tame electrician that I would get in for the job Piglet.

I love our airing cupboard!

I'm going to go against the grain and disagree with all the people who say not to go for beige.

We did white/grey 4 years ago in our last house and I think it will date more easily than a beige stone look will (which we plan to put into the new house imminently!).

Agree that large format tiles are better - also a separate shower cubicle, plenty of storage, and good lighting.

Keeping my kids away from it.

No matter what you put in, on the most basic level you need to be able to repair it yourself. Beware of "invisible" fittings, i.e. no obvious screws and fixings, that make the fucking towel rail appear to magically emerge from your tiles. And then flop because they are "supported" by a tiny screw you have to put back with a vanishingly small Allen key. Upside down.

Double for toilet seats.

Oh, yes , echt, I remember my "quirky" lavvy with the fragile flush and flimsy seat....couldn't access anything to fix it or change the seat....utterly stupid move of mine.

My ensuite has beige stone tiles. I chose these as I feel that look is still not looking dated after around 15 years - we have only had them for around 3 years but I have friends who have had them for much longer. I was fed up of our previous white, with odd bit of colour accent, tiles after around 5 years!

I love a double sink: don't have to put up with DH's beard bits and messy teeth cleaning. We each have our own sink with our own heated cabinet above. I still haven't worked out, after almost 20 years, how he manages to spray his mirror with toothpaste when cleaning his teeth.

We have an L-shaped bath with a rainfall shower head (it would have been too tight to put in a separate shower and we lost the bath in the main bathroom when we did the extension). We don't often use the bath and it is much more comfortable to have shower in an L-shaped bath as you have more space. We felt we had to have a bath though

My only fail was not having an inset shelf put in for our shampoo, etc.

Love my wall hung toilet, with my wall hung units, and my wall hung toilet brush. I hate having stuff on the floor.

We put Wickes units in the family shower room. Don't do it. They are only 3 years old and already looking crap. We put Bauhaus in the ensuite and it was worth every penny as they still look as good as new.

And get a silent extractor fan - I think we have this one by Airflow which you can hardly hear. I hate noisy extraction fans with a passion.

Larger wall tiles vs smaller ones
Shiny chrome fittings
Wall-hung toilet and/or vanity
White fixtures
Natural accessories in wood/ stone
Oversized shower head
Clean lines, modern curved standalone bath
Glass shower screens (not shower curtains)

White suite with chrome fittings. Plain non shiny large tiles (all the same size) in a pale grey/beige or white floor to ceiling, porcelain tiles are nice but more expensive to fit. No fancy tiles borders. Having a proper shower screen instead of shower curtains looks good. Storage so you can leave out the nicer toiletries only. Chrome towel rail which will fit enough towels neatly. Nothing too fussy like odd shaped taps or square or scalloped toilets. Spot lights in ceiling and a nice steam free mirror. Make sure you have enough ventilation.

Koala - you are describing my bathroom! Spot on. We have a large single sink with two taps. Quality of sinks and fittings does matter. My personal favourite is Duravit. Good quality but modern. Shiny tiles are fine if they are large format. Porcelenosa does brilliant ones. Heated decent sized towel rail is a must and towel storage works for us. It is under the vanity unit cupbaord but part of it. Look at KBB magazine or bathrooms in new upmarket developments for inspiration. One sink is fine in a small or medium bathroom. Never use a pedestal sink. Never use a shower curtain. Both vile.