Bathroom Renovation

Wait... hold on... is this real? Why yes it is!

Our long awaited bathroom renovation is finally completed and it was well worth the wait. Talk about building suspense! #homerenovation #bathroomupdate

Bathroom Renovation

Step 1 - Measure

We began the process after the first UK lockdown was over, so it was about July 2020 when we called and they came to measure up and talk to us about what options we had for what we wanted to accomplish.

Step 2 - Layout

They sent us through some layout designs for the bathroom explaining that they tried their best to incorporate everything that we wanted but in some cases we had to compromise.

For instance, I had initially explained how I would love a separate walk in shower if at all possible. When designing the bathroom, however, they realised that there wouldn’t be enough space without making the bathroom feel cramped. Fair enough, they can only work with the space that we give them right? So instead they suggested a wider than usual bathtub to help us feel like the shower was a bit more luxurious... awesome suggestion! Massive tick from us.

Step 3 - Select the items

We went into their showroom for this bit, in September 2020.

This bit was so interesting. I apparently have expensive taste, who knew?! I suppose after so many budget DIY projects, if I’m paying the professionals to do the work, well then, it best be done to last.

What I loved the most about the design process was the way that they brought their experience into the discussion. They wanted to know how long we planned to live in our house, so that we didn’t go overboard on the budget. This demonstrated to me that they genuinely wanted us to have the bathroom that suited us the best, rather than the bathroom that would make them the most money (not sure if you would get the same customer service at a big corporate company). It makes sense doesn’t it, if you’re getting a new bathroom but you’re only planning on living there a few years then there’s no need to pay out for a really expensive renovation... the new owners would probably do that in a few years time anyway!

“It was so interesting to discover that some of the gorgeous designs that you see on Instagram and Pinterest are not actually going to last well with children”

They also asked us if we were planning on having kids... not in the annoying way that anyone you meet seems to think you should have 3 kids by the time you’re 30, but in a useful way: “if you’re planning on having kids then let’s make it a bit more child friendly.” I never particularly realised that a bathroom could be child friendly or not particularly child friendly until this conversation. It was so interesting to discover that some of the gorgeous designs that you see on Instagram and Pinterest are not actually going to last well with children.

“Basin on top of a cabinet... there’s no overflow, so there’s an increased risk in your bathroom potentially flooding”

Here are a couple of examples:

The basin on top of a cabinet

As stylish as these are, and as much as I wanted one myself, there’s no overflow, so there’s an increased risk in your bathroom potentially flooding if your child decides to leave the tap running and the plug in for those 2 mins you happened turned your back.

Also, I’ve always wondered how it works with the wooden cabinets with a basin sitting on top... surely the water damages the wood, even if you do treat it? Or maybe I just splash water about more than the average person?! If you have this set up, let me know how you keep it looking good in the comments.

Tiny adorable tiles

These may look gorgeous and be one of the key fads right now (I say fad as I don’t think that they’ve been around long enough to be called a trend). The smaller the tile, the more tiles you need to fill a space and therefore the more grout you need.

“Mo’ grouting mo’ cleaning”

Sorry I couldn’t resist. In short, as if that wasn’t short enough, the more grout you have then the more dirty it’s going to get. Not that grout attracts dirt or anything (I don’t think it does anyway!) but you know how annoying it is cleaning the grout in your shower, don’t you?

Therefore, we opted for large floor tiles as we figured that the floor is going to be a high traffic area and I don’t fancy scrubbing the floor clean all the time. So hopefully this will help reduce the amount of effort needed to keep the bathroom floor clean.

“the more grout you have then the more dirty it’s going to get”

I must admit, I did decide on popular subway tiles for the shower but paired with grey grout so hopefully this will help too! So maybe that’s one trend that will be here to stay.

Step 4 - Installation

The magic was completed earlier this month in August 2021. As much as we would have loved to have had the work completed earlier, well, not only has there been a pandemic but the Suez Canal blockage messed up a lot of shipments, even after the blockage was cleared due to the backlog it caused and the high traffic going through the ports. It can’t be helped.

We are just so happy with the result, it’s transformed the house and given that it’s a room that we both use multiple times every day (especially now that we both work from home), it was well worth the wait.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments