New en-suite - what would you do?

[teacoffee1]

Hi,
I am getting an en-suite built in an attic conversion. It's the first time I'll have ever picked anything 'from scratch' and designed something to just the way I want it.
I was looking for experiences on anyone who has renovated a bathroom or en-suite - what are your must haves or would you do anything differently?

I was thinking of making it a wet room, large tiles so less grout to clean, cut outs in the shower wall for shampoo etc

Thanks

Shower with workings out of the wall not buried in the wall. Our previous one was in the wall. Looked great until it started dripping and the only way to fix the drip was to smash through the tiles....

Ventilation, ideally a window you can open, so maybe a veluxes in the loft, extractor fans may struggle with a long steamy shower and you’ll end up with mildew.

I have a heated towel rail that can operate from the central heating or as a stand-alone electric radiator (a different control knob on each side) which is great for when the central heating is off in the rest of the house.

Don’t forget a charging point for electric toothbrushes and razors.

@Hibernatalie I have a floor mounted free standing tap over free standing bath in my ensuite. See pic. What would you like to know?

I also second storage and lighting. I absolutely wouldn't have a wet room in the loft. I do agree on not tiling in the shower fixings.

Pinterest is your friend.

You can have electric underfloor heating -

mine was a Bluetooth mirror which plays music radio and is steam free.
Low level mixer taps - with a shower head for shaving legs or hair washing or bathing the dog -

Storage.

If you are going white - all white matches. So you can get X toilet will go with Y sink - so you don’t have to buy sets and I noticed that one shop did expensive toilet with cheap sink and then the other way round. So shop around.

Don't put a bath in, wet room good be problematic in loft, measure the depth of sink unit and check it's not too big to get to taps easily when washing. We measured but sink seems huge. I wish we had got vanity size, get sink with big storage drawers, v useful.

Make sure all of the lighting is dimmable. It's very nice in the evenings/middle of the night.

From what I have now..
Minimal grout, I would have wet panels
Make sure everything is accessible in case you get a leak/need to repair
Would have a wall hung toilet and sink - easier to clean
Flooring with no grout yes I hate grout something smooth but not slippery
Plenty of storage
Adjustable lighting with task lighting for makeup
If you do your skincare in there and makeup, something do you can put stuff near the mirror rather than balancing it on the edge of a sink

If your lightpull also switches on an extractor, have a think about the noise that generates if you get up to wee in the middle of the night. We had low-level motion-sensor lighting installed in our en-suite (as well as the main lighting) so that in the middle of the night I'm neither blinded nor deafened, and your sleeping partner isn't disturbed either.

Shower tray with lips that go behind the tiles/boards to reduce leak risk- you are not just dependent on grout.

We inherited a proper open wetroom in our house and hate it, it does have a shower curtain but even with that the whole room gets so wet when it's used- it really doesn't work for us.

Are eyeing up proper walk in shower trays with a screen to get it replaced and bring the bathroom back in to use.

I was also looking at Japanese type baths- small and deep. They'd give us the option fitting a bath and a shower into the room when we get it sorted, and look pretty modern too (which may well also mean they're prone to dating!!)

We have plastic panelled ceilings too (also inherited), but for me they don't look like a great finish- I guess nicer ones may be available but having lived with those I'd go for tiles over panelling for a more high end look.

If you go with niches for shampoo/soap etc and have a rectangular shower, fit them at the far side of the cubicle so they don’t get filled with water, and they must have a slight slope to allow water to drain into the cubicle rather than stand (and leak!)

Think about how you will turn on the shower from outside the cubicle - a blast of cold water on your arm every morning isn’t much fun.

If you go for a Monsoon type shower, also fit a shower head on a hose for when you want a quick shower.

Make your shower a double size shower tray so it's a walk-in shower. I have one and I love it. I hate the cramped feel of most normal size showers (PS I'm a normal sized human, not huge)

Big tiles to reduce grout cleaning in wet areas

Over-basin storage mirror cabinet with lighting (anti-mist) and charging for toothbrushes etc

Rimless lavatory - makes cleaning so much easier

Lighting strips for storage alcoves etc

Shower valve by the shower entrance, so you don't get cold water splashes when you switch it on.

If it is upstairs make sure all of the key access areas for plumbing have a removable tile panel so if you get leaks they can be accessed without ripping up the whole room.

Good ventilation - over-specify extractors.

Has anyone had a seat put in their shower?