New bathroom must dos and don’ts- ideas please!

[AnotherDeadSparrow]

We are about to convert a small bedroom into a shower room with toilet, sink and shower. There’s no plumbing etc there so it’s a blank canvas. Would primarily be for a teen girl but also any guests.

Any things you wish you had or hadn’t done in your bathroom?

Teen would like a decent rain shower (they all fight over our en-suite), and for it not to be too cold. We are thinking of maybe LVT for the floor as warmer underfoot, and plumber has suggested shower panels rather than tiles.

I’m rubbish at interior design and Pinterest etc so thought I’d ask mumsnet instead! Thanks in advance 😊

I’d go for good ventilation, a heated towel rail, underfloor heating if budget allows, and storage that hides the chaos teens create. Shower panels are way easier to clean than tiles. And seriously—get a solid plumber/tiler. You can find local pros on ServiceTasker to get it done right.

Chrome not brushed brass. Big mistake going for brass - unless you’re depending £1000s on your fixtures, they age fast. Chrome stays smart.

What is a fair catcher thing

I had to replace my very leaky bathroom 6 months after moving in. It was an unplanned expense but the best thing in bathroom that still makes my heart sing and I feel was worth every penny (3 years on)...was the new window with the built in blinds between the panels of double glazing.

I do have a fan but I can ventilate easily without the blind in the wayof the open window. My old roller blind would block any open windoes. In previous bathrooms a venetian style blind did similar and was a pain to clean. I can have the window open with the blinds closed yet still have privacy. But its cleaning that's a game changer. Clean lines no fuss or clutter. I will even put more of these into my home when cost allows.

My ensuite - inherited from the previous owners The bodge-it family, has the wall panels. 2 things I would suggest. Firstly make sure the fitter has experience fitting these properly. Any flex or error and you'll have serious water ingress. I'd rather have water tight bodged crooked tiles.

Second suggestion re wall panels. Think about the look you want to create. Mobile home? Caravan? Then go for a cheap and nasty high gloss finish....seriously don't! I have the cheapest high gloss panels. It looks utter shit, like im in a caravan but worse than that they show every streak and if you need to lean on them to clean, it even shows up your hand marks.

I am sure there are nicer high gloss ones but mine look shit ( dark grey gloss).
It really put me off wall panels but my friend and parents have just had thier bathrooms done and gone for a matt look which looks fab and neither have they issues I do with the high gloss.

With the cost of trades these days I'd go for simple stuff that can be fixed if possible with minimal disruption. It's less wasteful of materials and money in future. E.g.

• a free standing toilet rather than built in with the cistern boxed in behind tiles that the toilet is hanging from. If a hidden cistern has issues it's a nightmare to smash through tiles to get to it.
• A toilet that takes a standard loo seat. They do need replacing when they get cracked and yellow.
• Standard taps (but I'd always get mixer taps) that you can get to the fixings and easily get replacement washers or ceramic cartridges for when they leak.
• Lighting that you can change the bulbs rather than needing an electrician.

I'm debating whether to stick with the shower coming off the bath taps or get the extra shower feed stubs put in the wall. The trouble is that things leak and break then new stuff doesn't quite have the same measurements!

Always put in isolator valves for each tap (and if running pipes up the wall before it goes into the wall). You don't want one leaky pipe to mean you have to shut down the whole house water supply.

I'm also looking at using insulating wall materials to try to lower condensation in my north facing bathroom. The current tiles are cold so shower steam condensation is a nightmare, any new plaster will be insulated plasterboard (especially around the window and lintel, probably also the ceiling).
I'm interested n these wall panels - I wonder if the are less prone to condensation.
I can't have a cubicle shower due to space, but keeping shower steam contained and extracted makes a lot of sense.

I'll go for lots more heat in my room to prevent mould. I'm looking at another radiator, and electric underfloor heating (which can run off the solar panels in the summer). A combined electric / central heating towel radiator also makes sense.

Avoid chrome plated steel towel radiators, curtain rails shelves, toilet brushes because they rust. Stainless steel ones don't.

I wonder if OP is still waiting for a plumber to turn up, nearly 6 months after the post?

Had our bathroom done in the summer. All fixtures wall hung for ease of cleaning. Comfort height toilet as future proofing but I also believe taller people prefer it. I prefer tiles and had rectified ones which mean they can fit around windows etc without having plastic trim. Think about recess for shower gel, shampoo etc and the type of shower. We made a mistake and didn’t have concealed shower so couldn’t have recess. Now have two chrome corner shelves and I love them.
think about what shape you want. I wanted square/ rectangular not round and it takes time to make sure it all matches. If you live in a hard water area and don’t have a water softener I would avoid black.

Definitely something in the shower to put things like a razor, shower gel etc on. Also an adjustable shower head. Two pet hates of mine are having to put everything on the floor whilst I’m showering and always having to wear a shower cap. Just thought of another - a towel rail miles away from the shower. It has to be in reaching distance for me.
Also choose your toilet cistern and toilet with care. We discovered too late that some have better flushes than others.

Yes to panels
Largest shower possible
Ditto sink - largest that fits ok
Demister mirror
Decent extractor

Ahhhh 🙈
thanks @oncemoreuntothebeachdearfriends

Just found this little flurry of new messages 😂

Reader, I married him we had the bathroom done

And used lots of these super helpful suggestions.

Large shower, with rain shower head and handheld attachment on pole. Low profile shower tray.
Wall panels in a sort of matte stone effect which are lovely.

Rimless toilet- OMG game changer for cleaning, want to change all loos to the same! Not built in.

Two towel radiators.

Fan which comes on with humidity.
Mirror with demister (and also Bluetooth so plays music!)

Just went for a vinyl floor in the end (long boring story) but am delighted with it.

overall it has transformed our family life, and what was a rubbish bedroom is a brilliant shower room.

huge thanks to everyone for the tips!

Electric toothbrush charging socket on the wall INSIDE the under sink cabinet - game changer

Ah that’s a good idea, I needed you 6 months ago 😂
our charger socket is in the side of the mirror

If it's big enough, consider putting your washing machine and dryer in there. Clothes, towels and sheets all belong upstairs so why not have the washing machine handy.
I find it very handy

I am doing precisely that / why bring the stuff downstairs? Presumably a hangover from the days when washing was done in s sink downstairs and hung on washing lines outside, but since washing machines were invented and bathrooms are upstairs by the bedrooms, it definitely makes more sense to have the washing upstairs.

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating

Handheld shower as well as overhead. Anthracite radiator and electric underfloor heating