New family bathroom - hints, tips and help required, please!

[TheShapeofYou]

Having a new family bathroom fitted, just have to choose it. It's a bit of a minefield. To give basics:

Large bathroom, 3 kids ranging in age from 3 - 16. Reusing bath so don't need a new one. Essentially just shopping for a vanity basin unit and back-to-wall WC, with extra storage if possible. New bath and basin taps, and a nice big LED mirror cabinet.

Question is: we have a gap of 935mm where the basin can go. Do we get an 800mm wide unit, and if so what do we do with the gap? I'm worried about dust traps.

Also, what flooring do you think would go with grey gloss furniture like the ones in the picture?

Lastly, if you've had a new bathroom recently, where would you recommend (or not!) getting everything from? We're going to look at Bathstore, City Plumbing and Wickes tomorrow.

Thanks for any help

We have one bathroom two kids, DH and me. So when we did the bathroom we put in a double sink which is really great in that 5 min before we leave the house panic on a Monday (just us then?).

Ours is a 1m unit and I can't remember if IKEA do 800-900m but we have it in the grey gloss.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/washstands-taps/wash-stands/godmorgon-bråviken-wash-stand-with-2-drawers-high-gloss-grey-spr-69874952/

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/washstands-taps/wash-basins/odensvik-double-wash-basin-art-00135612/

Apologies if you've ruled out IKEA.

I do like that 800 wide high gloss unit, but we're looking for floor-standing I think? Thanks though

We also rush to get ready for school etc some mornings, but thankfully we have an en-suite so that helps. The reason I like the bathstore basin is that it's really wide, so can fit more people along.

What colour tiles and flooring have you got with your grey gloss unit? And have you got a matching back-to-wall WC or just a normal close coupled toilet?

I would recommend Victorian Plumbing (online). We got all our stuff there, except floor (don't be ut of by the name, they do all styles)

I think vinyl planks or squares are a really practical and cost-effective for a family bathroom

Harvey Maria do a nice range. I'd be tempted to go with a pattern or wood-effect.

don't be put off by the name

Are you sure you want gloss units, BTW. I imagine there would be lots of condensation and therefore water-marks? If you have gloss tiles then you are looking at a lot of buffing!

It'll just be gloss vanity unit. We definitely don't want white, and the only other option seems to be wood/painted wood, which then restricts us when we're looking for a matching back-to-wall WC. The traditional vanity basin units look lovely, but have feet and I'm worried dust and toys etc will gather underneath. Was going to go for a more traditional look originally, as the house is 1930's, but the ranges aren't as flexible and there is minimal storage. So now going for modern.

We have a large window in the room so little condensation.

Off to look at those websites now; thanks for your help Yoda

No worries

Would combining the vanity with toilet be an option? Then you could possibly have room for a tall storage unity too, rather than just a 10 cm gap.

soak.com/1167mm-cambridge-midnight-grey-combined-vanity-unit--belfort-pan_p31327517.htm

Unfortunately not heffa; the basin space is on the right hand wall as you walk in, then the toilet is on the wall in front. So different walls. Nice thinking though- and I like that range on Soak.

We have 940mm gap for WC between wall and bath on the back wall (facing you as you walk in).

We have a 930mm space on the right for a vanity basin and mirror over.

I was looking at ranges which had a choice of a 600mm basin + 300mm Base unit, for maximum storage. But we'd still have a 30mm gap, and I'm now thinking it'll look really squashed in? So looking at an 800mm basin and having a 130mm gap...hmm...will ask lady in Bathstore later for advice.

Can you post a pic?

Just cleaning it! Give me ten.

Keep forgetting to mention we're looking at Karndean for flooring. Not used it before but heard good things.

Here goes...

Pic 2

Last pic (manky old cracked basin...can't wait to get rid)

Actually, thought it best to show you our current 300mm storage unit next to WC. It's an Argos cheapy, so was looking to get something to match new furniture if poss (though actually quite like the fact I can pick it up and move it next to the bath so I can put my wine glass and phone next to me when I'm having a soak).

TheShape we have a regular close coupled toilet in white, bath in white, walls are white and the tiles are porcelain white which means that they are actually a little beige (that sounds awful but it's ok I think - bit of a light taupe/stone colour). I can post a picture if you're interested...

We have cork flooring because it's warm underfoot (we have the more traditional colour but you can get a white/grey washed cork which would look great with grey in my opinion). I know a lot of people don't like cork (it's a blast from the past but practical).

We have black gloss vanity wall hung vanity unit from City Plumbing. They were very good and it's surprisingly easy to keep clean. We have dark grey slate tiles on floor.

Get a 900mm wide unit and get the fitter to fill in the gap so no spaces for dust to build up. Wickes do some lovely matching basin and wall units that would give you storage space where your sink is currently. You could add another wall unit above the toilet too, and if you go for a built in toilet it looks like you could add a 300mm storage unit next to it as well.

We have Karndean in our kitchen and it's pretty good. Our bathroom (Wickes) is due to be fitted in a few weeks, I'm still torn between Karndean in there or adding underfloor heating and extended the tiles to the floor.

I don't know how much work you're planning on, but could you rotate the bath 90 degrees to run along the wall facing you from the door (looks like it would fit??) then move toilet (i know but should be possible) next to sink. You could then have a much larger combined vanity with loads of countertop space and storage underneath. Then a big towel radiator to the left of the door.

In answer to your actual questions, I'd recommend bathstore and karndean flooring (although not sure they'll recommend laying over floorboards or even ply on top?)

We have the IKEA sink/unit combo linked to above and love it - you can fit an amazing amount in it!!

We couldn't fully wall mount it due to the wonky stone walls so bought the legs and just fastened it back to the wall where we could for stability - I have a thing about dust traps (back to wall toilets are fab for this)

The sink sits quite high from the floor so dusting under/round it isn't an issue

We have a walnut laminate floor from Quickstep (used the waterproof joining glue)

I can't help with units but we have just had all 3 bathroom floors laid with hard vinyl planks which click together. Not sure of the name of it sorry but I would recommend to anyone. It's comes in planks like laminate and clicks together. It's waterproof (been very well tested in this house!) slightly 'grippy' which is great for the kids and feels quite warm underfoot. We have it in a light grey colour which would look lovely with dark grey units.

Thanks for all the help!

I do like the look of the ikea vanity basin, but they don't appear to do a matching back-to-wall WC Also we're looking for a floor-standing unit not wall hung.

3boys that sounds like the stuff they sell in Bathstore. Looks nice. Karndean is like thick, grippy, vinyl and you can get it in tiles or plank effect.

Showed the lady in Bathstore the photos and she reckons we should just strip the floorboards back and paint them...so now I'm even more confused!

And dh prefers the grey avola finish (have added pic) on the units, which I quite like too. So more to think about.

Don't think many vanity basin units come in 900mm, but nice idea DropZone. Think the standard is 600/800/1000, especially if we want a matching WC.

heffa DH not up for re-jigging the layout unfortunately. Its would mean moving plumbing etc so not easy I don't think. Good suggestion though, as you're right about being able to fit loads of units under the window.

OP Google duravit durastyle vanity unit - it comes in a 930mm width (wall mounted) and comes in a couple of grey finishes. Not sure if they have a matching toilet unit. Are you sure you want the toilet in a cabinet unit though?? It looks as though the bath is rounded at that end so are you going to end up with a really awkward little gap.

have a cistern that you can get at (not boxed-in or tiled over) and where you can easily lift the lid. This rules out the ones with a button in the lid. If you like buttons, you can have one on the front, though a handle will last longer without breaking.

Don't let the fitter glue the bath panel into place with silicone sealant. Have it fixed into place with a few round-headed screws. Stainless or chromed brass, which won't rust.

Don't get a pop-up waste in the basin. It will leak.

Get an effective, quiet extractor fan that comes on with the light switch and has an overrun timer.

If you are lucky enough to have a hot water cylinder adjacent, it can be plumbed to heat up a towel rail whenever the cylinder is heating; typically during and after each bath or shower. A towel rail doesn't give out much heat, especially when swathed in a thick insulating layer of towels, so get a radiator as well.

Get spare matching tiles and store them behind the bath panel.

White grout always looks dirty, especially on the floor. Grey doesn't.