Is it possible to have a statement bathroom on a budget?

[BadRuby]

Without paint?

All our money has gone on the kitchen and now due to a series of unfortunate events we are forced to strip out and re-build the bathroom.

I live in a small terraced house with a disproportionately large bathroom, so there's a lot of surface to cover. 1.7m x 3m. that's slightly smaller than the smallest bedroom 😬

DP and I don't like partially tiled bathrooms because I think they look unfinished and DP is reminded of our renting days.

So we want a fully tiled bathroom but we don't have huge amount of money to spend, and I want it to look interesting. Our current bathroom is completely tiled in white square ceramic tiles.

Have you looked for tiles on eBay?

Or have you considered an alternative to wall tiles like wall panels?

Half tiled bathrooms can look great as long as they look intentional. I don’t mean the ‘sad little patch of tiles above a sink’ look. But tiling high enough on all the walls to look proper (apart from the shower wall which obvs needs to be fully tiled) and then finishing with a proper trim and a fancy F&B colour above looks really smart. I think the trend for bathrooms is going the way of kitchens, i.e. less clinical and bathroom-y. Done a fair bit of house hunting in hipster areas and seen lots of vintage chests of drawers with sinks on top and dark painted walls with white/marble effect tiles. Get a fairly cheap suite and neutral tiles and spend money on the bits you touch like taps and some nice lights.

Don’t get wall panels, they’re horrible (IMHO )

Dark green/blue tiles also seem to be a thing and look really dramatic (and can probably be obtained from a discount tile place) but might date. Whereas you can paint a wall quite cheaply!

What is a "statement" bathroom?

Go somewhere like Tile Giant, find a tile you like and ask them for a discount as you'll be buying quite a large amount.

No idea about walls and tiles but I was also going to suggest finding a gorgeous old sideboard or chest, paint it and maybe add a marble top with sink sat it in looks very high end, statement but ultimately inexpensive compared to buying a whole new high end suite

If you want cheap but good looking tiles then buy Travertine off the internet. It all looks great.

Drizzzle

What is a "statement" bathroom?

Something that is interesting and colourful, perhaps a little bit unexpected. As an example, I like quite a few of these instagram.com/ca_pietra_?igshid=1fhwoondpo935

Fully tiled bathrooms are not really in any more.

I have just done a large bathroom and only have tiles around the sink and toilet. Obviously a shower needs tiles, but apart from that half tiled walls or a statement colour on the walls look very classy. Loads and loads on Pinterest.

I feel you pain as we have also just done our kitchen but a terrible sound proofing issue and a mystery leak combo meant we had to pull out the ensuite. We really didn't have the money to spare, we are now really skint.

Oh, and Topps tiles basic metro tiles are cheap as chips.

I actually can't imagine a whole bathroom tiled, surely it would be a bit cold and clinical? And echoey?

However, no W's. The era for a statement tile, Mandarin Stone may have end of range with a good discount, and Topps Tiles has some beautiful statement tiles.

The trouble with statementanything is that they date quite quickly.

Better to get simple, classic and quality than cheap blingy statement which will quickly date and look a bit shabby.......unless you plan to replace with the next version of cheap statement in 5 years.

How long do you expect the bathroom to last? Do you think whatever was considered a statement bathroom that length of time ago would still look good today, especially if a cheaper version.

What about some statement towels and accessories - probably fairly cheap and also easily replaceable?

Will you be doing the work yourself if so absolutely possible as it's the trades that cost unfortunately plumbers tilers and decorators are the expensive bit Saying that the most expensive tiles will look bargain basement if they are poorly fitted. You can pick up lovely used baths etc on Facebook selling and honestly a well fitted tile with a quality trim is all you need

I love a statement bathroom!
Budget, I'd do:
Basic white bath/sink/loo and chrome taps (don't scrimp too much on taps though!)
Half tile (to the "above the sink" or windowsill height all round, full height in shower part of bath) in white metro tiles with grey grout (easier to clean, cheap tile shape. Might be beginning to date though, 10x10 squares in a grid may look fresher)
Really bold tiles on the flat surfaces - windowsill, any ledges, shampoo cubby or any other contained pocket you have. You can go wild in a fancy shop here as you don't need many.
Really bold vinyl on the floor (maybe a solid bright colour, maybe amazing pattern)
Really bold radiator- coloured ladder towel rails are about the same price as plain. Mine is neon pink and I love it dearly.
Either a single huge wall size sheet of mirror above the sink or a collection of mismatched old mirrors from charity shops/Ebay.
Lots of plants.
Make sure your lightbulb/s are good with a nice light (love a dimmer switch in a bathroom for relaxing baths and late night visits)
I like white walls in a bathroom but you can go wild with the walls AND CEILING of you like.

Full tile is v cold and expensive! I went for full tile around bath/shower, half tile rest of room. Silver trim rail on top. Bottom half metro tile in deep blue, top half white. Black wood effect bath panel and sink vanity. Large plant on windowsill. Everything stored hidden in vanity or neatly in 1 basket.

Get loads of compliments.

You can look at statement wallpaper, to sit above the half tile in the sink area. Cheap and easily updatable when trends change. Seen loads on insta.

We have wall tiles on the shower walls only and then the rest of the room is painted, that meant we could have nicer tiles as needed less sq.m of them.

I hate those panels instead of tiles too. If you half tile you can put a border of a different tile towards the top and maybe use a dado style tile at the top edge. That way you could use an inexpensive tile and splash out on a border of something like the hexagonal mosaic style tile. Tile Mountain and Tons of Tiles online have lots of options at good prices. Also, if you find a tile you like, look on the back of it for manufacturer's marks - I bought tiles for the bathroom in our old house direct from Johnson's at a greatly reduced price than Topps were charging for the same thing in a slightly different size. Bear in mind that small loose tiles are fiddly to fit and a tiler may charge more, you'll also need more grout and your costs will go up.

Don't fully tile It feels like being in a cold, echo-y coffin. How I wish I could get rid of our fully tiled bathroom (inherited with the house and can't afford to change it yet).

Also don't Travertine. Hideous and very 'rental'.

Bathroom installer tried to convince us to go fully tiled and was very disappointed when we didn't go with this. We have tiled full height around the bath tub and then half way around the room with silver trims. Massive towel radiator, large back lit mirror, white walls, wood ceilings that we've white washed. Looks lovely, a bit scandi style and we get lots of compliments for it.
No surprise though that we didn't end up on the bathroom installers Facebook pictures, they are all fully tiled (and look quite hideous).

We fully tiled our bathroom in our previous house and I wouldn't do it again. Now have bevelled white metro tiles with pale grey grout 2/3 of the way up the walls. Walls are pale grey but I want to redo them in pale pink.

Meant to add, I wouldn't do it again as it was cold, clinical and echoey.

I have just had wall panels around the bath and shower.They look much better than the tiles that came off and are easier to clean.
Just need to paint the walls then my DD will probably populate it with plants and fluffy towels.
If I decide in the future to redecorate the panels will come off without the carnage removing the tiles caused.

I def. wouldn’t go for fully tiled.
We did, many years ago, 2 bathrooms. I’d like to change them now but taking all the tiles off would be a major PITA and make it considerably more expensive. I’d never do it again.

What is a ‘statement’ bathroom BTW? Do you mean something that looks expensive/something your friends will envy?