Bathroom renovation

[EJC85]

Hello all,

So as well as building an extension and converting a garage into living space, we are also renovating the rest of the 'new house'.
It is a late 60's house which needs complete refurbishment.

We are now thinking about starting the upstairs renovation whilst we wait for the planning to come through.
We need to completely redo the 3 bedrooms as well as the family bathroom.The bedrooms are easy as it is just cosmetics and we are doing that ourselves. The bathroom, however, needs professional help.

I've attached pictures to show you what we are working with. Please brace yourselves.

We plan to remove the shower and have a bath instead (shower over bath). I am unsure if I need to change the layout.
What would you do? Keep it the same (easier and cheaper option I heard) or move things around? If so how would you change?

Who else do I need apart from a plumber and someone to do plaster and tile?

I am also happy to hear suggestions on decor etc. I know I want light walls, tiles on bath walls and dark vinyl flooring.

I thought about using glass wall panels in order to avoid having to clean grout but I am unsure about that option really. I am considering large wall tiles instead?

I want a very easy to clean bathroom. Nothing too fancy but I'd like it to look bright and clean - the opposite to what it is now.

Tall order, I know...

I should probably add we are not living at this property yet. We are waiting til the work is finished.

Hit me with your suggestions!

Thanks for reading

There's a website/app called Houzz, which has lots and lots of ideas and photos. I had a lovely new bathroom about three years ago, and the cleaning bit was a priority for me as well. I don't have tiles. I have big panels and I can't remember what they are called, but we squegee after every shower and spray that shower spray stuff around and it keeps things clear with little effort.

Where we got things really wrong was on lighting and mirrors. I'm short (5'3"). I have to stand on tiptoes to do my makeup in the morning. We had LED lights above the mirror but they don't give good light for dong the makeup either.

Things I like: underfloor heating makes a huge difference. The mirror (the one which I have to stand on tiptoes to see) has a heating element so it doesn't steam up. That is really good. We have two basins. I didn't know how good that would be till we had them. We have some cupboard space. Great.

Oh....one more thing. I had Amtico flooring in a sort of slate effect. It is lovely, and because it isn't a huge area not as expensive as I expected.

Well I'd want a bath too - you'd have to get in there with a tape measure to see what is possible. Maybe take your measurements to a bathroom fitters and see what they suggest? You aren't committing yourself to anything at that stage.
We too have the big wall panels (not glass). They look similar to tiles but there's no grout to clean. We've had them in our shower room for about 12 yrs and they still look fab. Have just had them put in to our new main family bathroom. Nowadays they come in all sorts of styles / patterns / materials. MUCH quicker and easier to fit, too.

I don't know if the panels you guys are talking about are the same as the ones I have in my current house. 3 years ago we got a local bathroom place to redo our old bathroom and we put UPVC panels that look like tiles. Whilst they are a dream to clean, they are already 'peeling off', if you know what I mean? The pattern on them is just coming out on the edges so I don't want that again just for that. I'd consider different materials if they won't discolour etc.

Do you guys have the glass ones?
I saw that these and acrylic ones are now easily available in places like B&Q and Wickes... I think I need to see some more pictures.

StillSmallVoice- I'll check Houzz for inspiration, thanks! I'll keep the mirror idea in mind and also will look into Amtico

Backforgood great idea about visiting one of these places for design inspiration.
About the bath, we have already taken measurements and there's enough space for a bath even bigger than the one I have now, so bonus!

We made a quick sketch of the space for better idea of layout. This is how it is currently...

Get people round to give you ideas and a quote.

I had some ideas, then got a plumber round and we talked options. I thought about it some more, did some internetting, then my friend persuaded me to get a bathroom company to come round and look (they were expensive), but they gave me more ideas. I thought about it some more, did some internetting, then talked to the plumber who's working on my new kitchen. Ideas were refined at this stage.

Work on my bathrooms starts on Monday. This process really helped get everything sorted.

Ask the plumbers where they would recommend you buy your bathroom stuff. One plumber recommended a local independent shop and the guy to ask for. He was really great in understanding what sanitary ware I wanted and offering options which were good value. I could have sourced everything online, but I don't think I would have saved much money doing that (except for mirrors and accessories, I'm getting them online) and thus way I get proper service if there any issues. Not every bathroom place was helpful like that.

Best of luck!

ShortLass thanks very much for your suggestions. I will def do that. We're having someone coming over today to have a look and get ideas and a quote.

Good luck with your renovatio too! Hope it goes smoothly