Help me with all my bathroom questions! (+ preferably show me yours!)

[user1479289699]

We've just exchanged on a (new to us) house which needs quite a bit of work. It has a main bathroom, ensuite and downstairs WC. We're prioritising the main bathroom and want to get that done before we move in in Oct. But I have no idea where to start! Our builder has said "go and choose some tiles and a bathroom suite" but I don't know what I'm doing!

The bathroom will set the tone for the rest of the house upgrade so it's important to get it right. My questions are:

1. The builder/fitter has recommended fully tiled bathrooms with dark grout as it's easiest to keep clean - me and partner are happy with this but will it work out more expensive?

1. What do I need to know before I start shopping? How do I know how many tiles to buy for floor and walls? The bathroom is 7'0" by 6'0" so pretty compact.

1. Where do I look for bathroom suites and do I buy them as a set or individually? We also want as much storage as we can so could I get cupboards from the same places?

1. I don't even know what kind of style or colour scheme I like, I've looked on instagram and Houzz but I'm struggling to find 'real life' versions, please send me yours, if you don't mind, for inspiration!

1. What do I do about an extractor fan? Do I buy this myself?

1. Is there a free app or website I can use to put in colours and layouts to visualise what it will look like?

Thank you and sorry for all the silly questions!

Check placement of your toilet roll holder. Sounds like such a small thing but in my mum's bathroom (years ago) she only realised how hard it was to reach when my granny moved in and had issues getting to the paper.

In my current bathroom I've a tall towel rail radiator so the loo roll holder is a bit too far back for comfort - if I get a little less flexible as I get older I'll have to change the rad for a lower one and put the loo roll above it.

I think all-tiled is not on unless your bathrooom is small. Ours used to be all tiled and it's quite a large room, so it felt very chilly. I only have tiles on the splashback and in the double shower; the bath is only used rarely and is free-standing. The larger and plainer the tiles the better; mine are mid grey 20 x 50 with matched grout, so I can just spray and scrub clean. Flooring is polished click-fit cork, which has been much admired, although I can't remember (online) where I got it.

Wall hung loo and cupboard for basin with single tap holes create illusion of space. Large neutral tiles (white look like public loos imo). Similar colour non slip floor tiles laid in diamond pattern creat illusion of width. White grout for wall tiles and darker grout for floor tiles. Use an online planner to try to get everything in that you want and then source best prices. We spoke to our local builders merchant and they managed to get the brands we wanted at good rates. Also large mirror with heated pad behind again creates illusion of space and stops steaming up. Underfloor heating if poss and towel rail connected to heating system with option of electric so you can use in the summer! I've done 3 and they're all better than what the designers came up with!

Thanks for all your help .We visited b&q on Saturday and looked at LOADS of tiles which has given us a good idea on what style/colours we want to go for. We have an appt for a free design back with B&Q this coming Saturday.

We also have a porcelanosa near us so will be going there this weekend too.

Still not sure about brands for toilets/baths/taps so if anyone can help with that (looking for mid-range price-wise).

Also please continue to send in photos especially if you're fully tiled!

Thank you :)

Actually, my bathroom is half tiled, but my shower/ wet room downstairs has wet wall not tiles ....
Had you thought of that ?- its brilliant, no grout ...!

We bought free standing roll top baths for our bathrooms. Massive mistake, because I can't get to the floor, wall and skirting behind the buggers to clean them properly.

forgot - I have had Roca , but far prefer the quality of Ideal Standard tbh

We have wall taps over the bath that include a shower head - east for hair washing or cleaning the bath as we can't reach round the shower screen

We also have double rain and normal shower heads which are great

Great idea about the taps for cleaning / hair washing - I'll definitely look into that - is that an option that can be added on later if we're tight on funds at the moment?

What is a 'wet wall'?

I really like the ceramic floor tiles that look like dark wood. Very classy. Just make sure that they are not too slippery when wet. They applies to any bathroom floor covering.

wet wall is a rigid board material that withstands water. It is trimmed round the edges and joints to prevent water penetration, and has seals onto the bath or shower (or matching floor system). It is rather like the hard plastic laminate used for kitchen worktops, but is on a ply backing and the boards about 10mm thick.

examples here there are various brands

you don't need me to answer - PigletJohn has done it for me .
I love it .

A Wet wall is the same as a caravan shower unit! Only hopefully bigger!

Actually you see the same thing lining bus walls as well - great look