Family bathroom makeover

 

If you’ve followed me on Instagram for a while, you may have thought you knew my home pretty well. But there was one room which I avoided photographing as I really hated it’s dated look. My main bathroom, on our middle floor, was fitted with the cheapest suite possible when we purchased our home. The ugly pipework behind the toilet was exposed, the bath was shallow with old fashioned handles like my gran’s bath used to have back in the day,  (but I have to admit are pretty handy for the kids to hold onto when getting their hair washed) however I tend to choose how things look instead of their practicality, perhaps my downfall – love the sparkly impossible to walk in high heels but I’ll be damned if I remove them! We somehow decided to decorate it originally with a feature gold wallpaper, cream tiles and magnolia walls. What were we thinking?! With the majority of my home flowing with cool tones, it stuck out like sore thumb and I would keep the door firmly closed when we had visitors and encouraged them to use the prettier downstairs WC. It was always cluttered with toys as only the kids used it and it was thoroughly neglected by me which I’m not ashamed to admit. So my before photos are keeping it REAL – messy and unloved!

 

 

Despite having a number of other TO DOs on my never ending list, I decided that this bathroom had to become a priority. I knew I wanted relaxing, spa like grey tones with a freestanding bath, just like my en-suite, but I decided to be slightly more adventurous and include a featured tiled wall too. I came across what I can say is my favourite bathroom on Instagram, belonging to Kayleigh at n04_home_renovation. Her bathroom has such a similar layout to mine and her beautiful inbuilt shelves made the most beautiful feature and I used this as my inspiration to recreate it on my own home!

Having built an en-suite two years ago when we converted our attic, I was sure that I wanted to buy our new suite from Victoria Plumb Not only do they have the most beautiful selection of products, I think they offer the best value too and are currently still offering 20% off. I started off by choosing my bath and decided to base the décor on that. I chose their Mode Tate freestanding bath (LINK).

What a bargain this piece was, it looks expensive and is luxuriously wide and deep. We finished off with an ultra modern and sleek waterfall mixer tap Mode Cooper wall mounted basin mixer tap (LINK). Who knew watching running water could be so relaxing?

 

I wanted to keep a clean, crisp and white look so we opted for a vanity sink with practical storage underneath to hide away any clutter such a toothbrushes and soap. We chose the beautiful Clarity white vanity drawer (LINK) and finished off with another waterfall tap Mode Cooper basin mixer (LINK). I love how the vanity looks with the cool grey tiles and offers a brightness to the room.

Now, there’s not too much to say about a toilet, but for those of you who are interested we have the Mode Burton soft close (LINK). Once you go soft close, you can’t go back!

And of course, knowing my hatred for exposed radiators, we got rid of it completely and bought a polished chrome heated towel rail Orchard Derwent (LINK). It looks chic and minimal as well as warming up my fluffy towels ready for us to snuggle into after a bath.

My luxurious silver/grey bathroom mat is from Housing Units

So with our beautiful suite chosen, it was time to choose tiles to compliment our theme. We found Topps Tiles to have a fabulous collection. We ordered samples with their free shipping service, as it was important to not only see the tiles in real life, but we wanted to check that our main tiles would compliment our feature wall. As there were to be two different types of tiles, it was important to me to that we could have the exact same tiles on our floors and walls as I felt three different tiles would be too much. For the floors and walls I chose a porcelain rectangular tile in Tekno Grey (LINK). The matt finish is so much easier to keep clean and the fresh white grout, although difficult to keep clean, looks perfect. They offer the same tile in a stone colour, which we ordered a sample of too which would be perfect for a warmer toned suite.

For our feature wall that stands behind our bath, we chose marble Serac Linear Mosaic Tile (LINK) in a mixed grey and white finish, painted with silver leaf paint. They add such an statement to the room and I couldn’t be happier.

I couldn’t recommend Topps Tiles enough. When we ran out of tiles and needed an extra box of the matching batch, they tracked down the only box left in the country and shipped it up to our nearest store in 24 hours! Now that’s what you call service.

My tiler recommended sealing the white grout with a spray which promises to repel dirt and water. I sprayed it liberally over all the grouted areas, left the window wide open and left to dry overnight. If this works, then every household needs it. So far so good! You can buy it HERE on amazon.

Now onto the most exciting part – the finishing touches! I wanted a slim line grey tallboy cabinet with some shelves and practical storage. I found this beauty on the Dunelm site Verona Grey Tallboy and it was love at first site. As this is where the children have their evening baths, I’ve filled the cupboards with their baby wipes, bubble baths and shampoos. The shelves have been adorned with pretty items which I think adds the most delicate and pretty touch. My glass storage jars were £7.99 from Home Bargains, possibly one of my most exciting purchases so far! These look so much more expensive and you can use them for so many things. Head’s up, they’re hidden in the wedding section in store if you’re trying to hunt them down! Some fluffy towels and glitzy grey bottles from Housing Units and my shelves were complete.

I also got some fabulous accessories from Dunelm. Their 5A fifth avenue range is to die for (see hand soap container above) and their glitzy freestanding toilet roll holder makes toiler roll look glamourous!

When looking for a new LED mirror, I looked no further than Hollywood Mirrors. My mirror in my en-suite was from there and I adore it, but I wanted a different style for my family bathroom. I chose their LED Bathroom Mirror & Demister Pad & Motion Sensor. It’s ultra slim and gives the most incredible lighting for make-up and skincare. It switches on and off with one nifty little swipe of the sensor. They have so many beauties in stock just for your bathroom with a style for everyone.

Did you know you can buy a glitzy chandelier specifically for your bathroom? I know, its the dream, right? Litecraft offers so many styles, I couldn’t believe how may options they had. View their bathroom range here.   We chose the Marquis by Waterford Bresna LED 3 Light Bathroom Flush Ceiling Light Chrome – LINK. Now I wasn’t prepared for how STUNNING this light would be in real life. It’s so much bigger and captivating than I expected. It adds the most glamourous feel to the room, exactly what I had wished for.

My husband is to thank for the next piece that so many of you asked me about. I didn’t even know that silent extractor fans existed, let alone a sleek chrome one! You can buy our exact fan HERE on amazon. It gives of the most relaxing gentle hum instead of a traditional annoyingly loud fan.

I mentioned the lovely account earlier belonging to Kayleigh from no40_home_renovation. Her beautiful bathroom shelves offered a pretty solution to hiding the pipework and indeed made a feature of her bathroom. We decided to have a similar layout of three recessed shelves, with the back matching our feature tiled wall and finished with a tidy chrome trim. Choosing items to fill the shelves was a joy, anything sparkly and silver would suffice! The items are from a mix of Dunelm, TK Maxx and Asda Living. We initially chose warm spotlights but it didn’t fit right with the cool silver and grey tones, so were promptly replaced with cool toned lamps.

Please note that bottom gap above was a mistake by our joiner which he promptly patched up!

So there you have it, just like that, in a matter of two weeks, our bathroom went from drab and dull to calming and glam! I just love spending time in here. One of life’s greatest pleasures is returning home at the end of a busy day, lighting the candles, running a hot soapy bubble bath and switching off from the world. I feel so lucky to call this our family bathroom!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our renovation journey.

Love

 

This post was in collaboration with Victoria Plumb, Topps Tiles, Housing Units, Litecraft, Dunelm & Hollywood Mirrors