We always knew the first thing we wanted to do when we got our keys was change the bathroom. Now, don't get me wrong it was a perfectly functional bathroom with a seperate toilet next door (I've spared the photos of three walls and a toilet..) and hot water in all the hot taps and cold water in all the cold taps, but it was 30 years past it's use by date and felt extremely cramped.
Ever the optimists we looked for the potential from every angle...
Looking in to the bathroom from the hall way, a seperate shower, huge vanity with built in basin and small bath (I say small, it was as deep as the two lines of tiles beneath it). The door on the left went straight in to the master bedroom, which would have been fine had the bathroom been an ensuite, but alas it is our only bathroom.
For reference, the toilet lines up in the space behind the vanity and bath, accessed through the laundry which is about 2 metres to the right of this photo. It's completely normal in Australia to have a seperate toilet and bathroom still, however I hate the thought of people's germ ridden hands touching all the doors in between the toilet and the sink.
The same terracotta floor tiles run throughout the house.Despite looking massive the shower was smaller than the average, and just had one lowly fixed head on the wall. Also, look how horrifically annoying and hard to clean the space is between the vanity and the shower!
Possibly my worst photography to date, but it shows how cramped the bathroom is, I've not mentioned my love for the window yet though so I'll do it now... I love that window. It's completely frosted and lets in so much light.
Beautiful, beautiful tiles....
The vanity was so big and clunky, which you'd like equalled LOADS of storage room, well you are wrong. The plumbing under the sink took up a big chunk of the top shelf and the bottom was only just tall enough for a can of hairspray, boo.
I'm not sure which is deeper, the sink or the bath? No seriously, the bath only won by a few inches, I could barely sit in it with my legs out straight in front of me and then the water (had I been so inclined to actually take a bath) would barely cover my thighs before spilling out of the to the floor.
So unfortunately it just had to go, we couldn't firmly decide on a new layout before we started smashing the old bathroom down, but knowing we had to have a working toilet before we moved in the next week we didn't want to waste time. The space suddenly looked so much lighter and brighter all opened up, and gave us a chance to assess all the plumbing points, distances and doors (with the help of a qualified plumber I may add!). Probably not the ideal way to do it, but luckily we had booked time off work and had a 10 day over lap with our rental.
So the plan so far, is to brick up the door in to the master bedroom and the door coming from the laundry in to the toilet. We want to keep the space open (controversial I know) to make it feel bigger / lighter and we know that we want the same floor tiles throughout our house (porcelain wood effect).
Have you renovated your bathroom before? What are your top tips?
xo