How would you zazz up this shower room for £500

[MrsKoala]

I don’t want to spend a fortune on it as just had our family bathroom done. But it’s looking so crap (bought the house with lots of work needed). I’m hoping to just make it feel less bitty and more unified really.

We’ve ordered a new window which you can’t feel the wind thru when on the loo. So will get a new blind. I’d like to paint the walls but can’t think of what colour would go with the colour of the sink. Maybe grey? The floor has a greyish/marble tile effect lino - not sure if that’s visible.

The room is an awkward L shape.

Oh that's a nice shape shower for your room. We had a very deep shower tray and the plumber managed to do something with the pipes so our shower tray was just like that.
I'd just do what you plan and save your money for the whole room in a few years time. It will look much better with a bit of paint, shelves and a new blind.

It keeps cold within the window area if you build in space between the glass and the blind. Outside the frame makes it less draughty.

You are obviously not short of money with your other spending plans. Seems curious this bathroom is a step too far.

Well we don’t have the money just sitting there. We will save for it. The other things take priority because they actually don’t or didn’t work.

Our kitchen roof leaks all over the surfaces and window sils when it rains. It oven is broken this is 2 of the walls. The shower in the en-suite has a cracked tray so leaks thru the hallway. There are nails poking thru most carpets. 8 bannisters missing. The stair case is cracked. All of these really should take priority over a bathroom which essentially works and is just a bit ugly.

I’m hoping the new window will keep out the draughts from the window, not the blind.

Yep, I think blinds are for blocking out light and nosey neighbours, the window is for blocking out draughts.

Well blinds keep out draughts too. A bit like curtains do. This is why people have something at the window in most houses! A decent blind will help as long as you don’t get mildew. Opaque glass can stop people looking into a bathroom.

What is cracked on a staircase? Do you mean the joints have moved apart?

Yes we’ve got opaque glass but there’s no one to look in. It’s upstairs and overlooking the garden.

I posted a picture of the crack in the staircase, you can’t see it that well but big lumps of plaster keep coming off underneath the bannister rail as you look up if you are walking up the stairs (very bad explanation, sorry). Anyway house is a wreck and everything needs doing. We also need wardrobes in our bedroom and the fireplaces in 2 bedrooms need doing since I stripped the lilac gloss paint and hacked the lime green kitchen tiles off (wtf were they thinking?) it after I couldn’t look at it anymore all are more pressing than a working shower room.

Paint walls & tiles
Paint floor tiles
Paint radiator black or any other colour
Box in piping
Change taps (appreciate changing sink may be ££)
New blinds
A sleek round mirror behind the toilet to open up the space
Trailing plant on window sill
Remove the towel holder above the radiator and put something else in which is a trendier holder. You have a lot of wall space there so you could find something really cool and stylish.
Some artwork
New shower head - perhaps black to match the black radiator
Put shutters on either side of the window. It’s actually a really cool window and that would look nice

I would just repaint it to be honest and put in a few plants and a mirror etc. If you plan on doing it up eventually then I would spend v little in the interim.

Have a look at this for inspiration

What are those two things below the window area. Not a bad bathroom mine is tiny, and so jealous of anyone with a rad, as clearly in mine because of the way the property has been changed years ago etc, the bathroom became the room it has, and no space for a radiator.
Yes I was going to say as a few others did, a warmer colour is better.

That’s where the loo roll holder has broken off 😂 I’m sure just putting up a mirror and putting non broken accessories would help.

Just want to say thank you to all of your suggestions. I keep going into the room with my tablet and rereading them all trying to visualise it. I’m sure h thinks I’ve got the trots as he keeps asking if I’m alright 😂

Anyway, a particular thanks to @OnlyFoolsnMothers that picture is exactly the kind of thing I’m going for. I’ve got my white paint out and will give it a first coat tomorrow.

Do you think I should paint the wood window sil dark blue too?

Also if changing the toilet seat - would wood be better? Perhaps matching the wood on the sil (and not painting it)?

I’m still in 2 minds about changing the sink to white. I’ll speak to the plumber for a quote on Tuesday.

Cheers all.

Given what you’ve said about all the other work you have to do in your house, I wouldn’t bother changing the sink. I think once you’ve done everything else it’ll be fine as you’ll have things to attract attention in the room.

A wooden toilet seat might be nice, a bit warmer looking and tie in with other wood, like shelves etc.

That said, if you change the sink you may find that you can live with the bathroom for a lot longer iyswim.

I think you should box in the pipes and replace the loo with a short projection wc that is skirted- no crevices. This is so much easier to clean and looks good.We did this in our dingy cloakroom toilet about 5 years ago and it’s been great. Long term you’re kind of stuck with the position of the soil pipe so you’re doing at least one more long term thing if you get a nice easy clean loo. You would get a practical benefit as well as an aesthetic benefit and the white loo won’t go out of fashion as quickly as these vanity units that are so ubiquitous. Likewise boxing pipes makes it easier to clean and time is money if you are working outside the home. Grime looks worse to people outside your family- it’s some sort of natural law, like the way thekids are oblivious to dirt bathrooms. Painted pipes look nice but they collect dust+++ , the improvement is very short term and the set up you have looks like a pig to clean.
You should investigate internal wall insulation- even though space is clearly at a premium some modern insulation board takes away almost no room and it might be possible to insulate the external wall, box in pipes and cover that strange row of tiles under the window in one fell swoop.
Get a white sink- they are cheap and often available second hand. If you invest a lot in the sink unit, you may regret the loss of 10cm that would give you a decent 900mm shower later on.You can geta pedestal sink for free on fb marketplace. If the bathroom is just a guest bathroom, a vanity might just be a dumping ground.
The money needed for a full refurb would probably be better spent on your pension if you had the money now- it doesn’t make financial sense unless a main bathroom or big quality of life issue. To quote Mike Ryan WHO , “perfection is the enemy of good”😀
Suggest you tackle the shower in the next phase.
We replaced a cracked shower stall similar to yours in this autumn. The older showers are deeper than the modern lower profile trays so if you change the shower, you have to rip out the tiles and replace them which is a major job. Often they come away easily but more often than not it’s hard dirty work and chunks of plaster come away with them and the project takes on a life of its own.
I recommend wall panels as they can be stuck straight on to the existing tiles and are a diy job. We used cheap plain white pvc panels as couldn’t face changing the blue patterned floor to ceiling tiles that cover the whole en suite. The shower stall looks clean and continental, no grout, very simple, low key almost Scandinavian. Not what you see in a glossy magazine, more like a charmingly immaculate Airbnb - zero crud potential.I was afraid it would look like a hospital or nursing home but the biggest downside is that now the old loo looks really gross, with its ageing soil pipe and cistern. And less patterned tile for the eyes to come to terms.
I love the grossfillex panels in the picture and hope to source them for the next refurb (no 5!) with white tongue and groove in our seaside bathroom. But this time I’ll change the loo first!
Check out the dumawall “Chicago” large tile format panel- they could be stuck over the offending tiles and should be more sympathetic to lavender bedroom than orangey cream. They would look like real tiles - only the most obsessive would notice if they are in the shower enclosure, the room will feel less warmer with less echo and the row of tiles under the window can be painted over .They would partner well with strong paint colour and as the op suggested, and being plain would work if you chose a patterned blind.
The problem with fixing any one element is everything else then looks dingy- paint the walls and the skirting boards do be laughing at you “ is what my friend says!

Why have you assumed the op needs a pension top up? Just do up the bathroom when you can.

Looking at the stairs. I didn’t look properly earlier: this might just be poor workmanship but did you get a survey? You seem surprised by everything. I would do your urgent work and get a survey done re the stairs. If you haven’t already. Is the bannister attached or is it just shrinking plaster underneath? Did you know the kitchen roof leaked before you bought?

We aren’t surprised. We knew it was a lot of work. We got the house for a much less than it would have been because of the dated decor and odd layout, but we still stretched ourselves to the max on it and have a high mortgage. The kitchen has only just started leaking in the last 6 months. We bought 5 years ago in March. But have been saving for the work and had a lot of other bills. When we first moved in we had all the bedrooms and halls plastered and decorated (which cost £5k) as we couldn’t stand the colours/textured walls.

The kitchen is dated and impractical and we need to knock a couple of walls thru to make a large family kitchen diner. We have no downstairs loo and the family bathroom isn’t much bigger than this one and is 4 flights up on the top floor (townhouse).

It’s old. The walls are very crumbly. DIY is virtually impossible. Even some very skilled people have struggled keeping things fixed to the walls.

It’s a gorgeous house but a labour of love and a money pit. We don’t expect to finish it for another 5-10 years.

We’ve had drawings done for a side extension which will give a downstairs loo, utility room, living room and a large 1st floor family bathroom.

While searching online I’ve found this red unit which I like and think might go better with the tiles than blue. I could do the feature wall a matching red. But I think a nice sink might just make the rest of the room look even more shit!

Replace sink with basic white, box in pipe work and some fake panelling halfway up the walls and paint
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1487&maxPrice=230000&radius=3.0&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=true&mustHave=garden&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Whoops wrong link
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Haha. Sign I’m aging😀 And I hope she will live a long and happy life.The sum required to totally refurbish would be very significant.I’ve had eye watering quotes for similar.There are endless alternative uses for the same money .

If you don’t have the money just leave this frugly bathroom and do everything else. With an extension and everything else the refurb of a tiny bathroom is peanuts!

Yes and we will get to it. It’s just ideas for making it more pleasant for a couple of years till we do I was after.

Here is my downstairs loo after 5 years.
Covered in pipework and tiled with a wavy high gloss tile. Looks and smells cleaner, even with boys in house. And sealing the pipes made it so much warmer, no need for a radiator.