House Renovation – The Bathroom Posted on August 26, 2014May 2, 2025 By Becky When we moved into our house in early 2012, the bathroom was one of the first things that I was desperate to change. In fact, I remember saying to Adam that I would only contemplate making an offer on the house if we could do something about it immediately. Before you gasp and think that sounds rather spoiled, then please, let me explain (and show you!) why something needed to be done, and pronto: The old bathroom was divided into two: a bath with an electric over-bath shower and sink, and a separate toilet. The room with bath had manky old carpet, a shower that made the most terrifying sound when it was turned on (so much so that a 12 month old Freddie wouldn’t go near it when anyone was in there), an airing cupboard complete with massive water tank, and barely any room to swing a cat. I was 7 months pregnant when we first moved in, and could barely turn around at the sink when it came to brushing my teeth, and bathing F was problematic! It just wasn’t going to cut it, what with the increasing needs of a growing family. The toilet next door was functional, even if the lino was hideous. What confirmed our need to knock the dividing wall down, was the fact that one morning, whilst spending a penny, I noticed a dark mark and slight dent on the ancient wallpaper, directly at the height of someone’s head when they were sat down. People had been resting their head there, probably for years, whilst on the shitter! It DEFINITELY had to go… First up, we moved out for 3 months whilst this and our kitchen were completed (more on that in a post to follow). The big job re the bathroom was to move the massive hot water tank in the airing cupboard (see picture below), as we were changing to a combi-boiler. The airing cupboard was then to be ripped out, to make way for our new walk-in shower. The wall dividing both rooms was simply to be knocked down. Where you can see the door, below, this was bricked up, as the main entrance to our new bathroom was to be the original toilet door (are you following me?!). Before… One of the stipulations of this bathroom makeover was that we wanted something luxurious, but that still fitted our relatively tight budget. I spent hours researching suites, as well as individual fixtures to find the best deals. In the end we decided to buy our bath, sink, toilet and towel rail separately, and have our builders fit them, as this was the cheapest way to get the look that we wanted. I was really, really keen to have a roll top bath, and was disappointed initially to discover that these were, on average, about £600 plus in most big bathroom retailers (#sadface). My bubble wasn’t about to be burst (arf arf), after some of that late night research paid off, and I found an amazing Ebay store, based in Newcastle, who would deliver the bath and taps to us in London, all for a fraction of the price (£300 bath & delivery, £100 taps). The heated towel rail was £150 (they’re normally £300-400 in big stores). The toilet and sink were purchased from a local wholesaler for a fraction of the price, and the subway tiles and dark grout were a bulk buy from Tops Tiles. After… When it came to finishing touches, and creating a look that we loved, we had to think about it from very early on due to some structural work taking place with the windows. Our builders assumed that we would want standard frosted glass for our new ones, but I had other ideas, preferring them to fit plain glass, and then measure up and purchased special patterned window film. This was quite nerve-wracking to order and then stick on, as the measurements had to be totally accurate, and one false move and the whole thing ruined- and 100 quid down the drain. I chose stars on a frosted background, and once on, was really pleased with the overall look. The wall colour in the bathroom is Farrow and Ball ‘Manor House Grey’. The butterfly pictures are cheap as chips and come ready-framed from an ebay store for under a tenner (there’s a theme here with where I like to shop!), and the ‘A Harey Moment’ picture is from one of my favourite interiors shops, Graham and Green, and was a bit more of a splurge for a print (about £40). We saved money in other areas, for example, by using good-quality lino for the flooring, that actually looks like dark wood until you get really up close and personal with it. So what do you think? I personally love it, and it’s one of my favourite rooms in our humble abode, well worth the 3 month wait for all the work in our house to be finished. The shower is such a treat to walk into first thing in the morning, and the bath is great for lounging in with a good book. On a practical note, knocking down the walls to create one big, spacious room is brilliant for when dealing with two small children at bath time- I feel very, very fortunate to have such a lovely space and I am eternally grateful for it. Now, if someone can recommend some pretty-yet-practical storage for all those bath toys, then I’d be a really happy woman… Joining up with Let’s Talk Mommy! and ‘Share with me’! BeckyMeet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness. Our Home bathroombathroom inspirationbathroom makeoverebay storefarrow and ballfrosted window filmgraham and greenmanor house greyroll top bathsubway tileswalk in shower
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OMG i love this!! Given that rm bananas is a plumber, i guess you may think i say that about bathrooms? Nope, i get sick & tired of him proudly displaying pictures of his work to me. But this is so awesome, vintage yet modern. How on gods green earth do you keep it looking so neat & today with the kids B?! WHAT is your SECRET?! Spill the beans……. Reply
Haha, thank you so much lovely! Toys are usually bunged in the bath so it looks messier, but I removed most of them for the purpose of these photos (obvs)! As I say, still on the hunt for decent toy storage… Reply
We have such similar styles!! My husband and I also moved into our house in 2012 and have recently done up our bathroom and it’s not 100 miles away from yours. We went for a subtle green with the brick tiles and the house had an old free standing bath – which we still need to get re-enamelled. As soon as I do, I’ll do a similar post so you can see it. Beautiful job on yours, it’s just stunning. I love grey, we went for that colour in the living room. Coming over from #sharewithme Heledd xx Reply
Gorgeous bathroom, love the colour scheme. We inherited a cast iron roll top bath which came with the house, it’s one of my favourite things ever. Good job we love it, it’s far too heavy to ever get it out of the house! xx Reply
OMG! I love your new bathroom! Please can I come over for a soak in that tub! We have been in our house for a year and it was a toss up between kitchen and bathroom to do first. The kitchen won – and now I hate the bathroom. The door is always shut. We have a separate toilet/bathroom and this may have inspired me to knock through too. Lovely – and we should do coffee with Cool Bananas soon- as think we’re all near by! #sharewithme Reply
WOW Becky that looks phenomenal. I love a redo in any room in the house. Especially seeing before and after photos. You have done a great job with the style too. Those color schemes are my favorites with the floor and the tub is to die for. I am so very jealous. Beautiful! Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me I hope to see you again tomorrow for another great round! #sharewithme Reply
Aaah thanks lovely! I’m so waiting for YOUR house tour though, the snippets I keep seeing look immense! xxx Reply
Wow this is so stylish! We’re mid-way through a bathroom reno at the moment and I am losing the will to live but seeing yours gives me hope that one day I too will have a bathroom I want to feature on my blog! Reply
Thanks Kelly, very kind of you! Don’t lose the will to live, keep going- and looking forward to seeing your new bathroom when it’s finished! Reply
Love love love – perfect colour scheme, we have the same tiles, shower love, just love the whole room, what a fantastic transformation x Reply
Yet another gorgeous room! I love the subway tiles, they seem to be really popular at the moment and I can see why Reply
Oh wow. Now that is what I call a bathroom! What a beautiful space. There is nothing I don’t love. Just gorgeous! x Reply
Hello…I found this whilst I was looking at Pinterest…can I ask where your bath was from? Is it cast iron or acrylic? I wanted cast iron but my builder says it is too heavy! Thank you x P.S. Love your bathroom Reply
Of course! It was from https://www.purlfrost.com/ but there are several shops online that stock it too, if you just type in ‘window film stars’ Reply
Hi, Just come across your blog and your beautiful home! We’re in the middle of redoing our bathroom, on a budget, and was wondering what eBay store you used for your bath/loo etc? I appreciate you wrote this a few years ago so they may not be available anymore! Thank you! Reply
Hello Could I ask what the long white strips on the sides of the shower walls are? (Where the tiling goes from all the way up to half wall) thanks! Reply
Hi Caro, Thanks for taking the time to comment! I’m really sorry but I can’ actually remember what these were to be honest (we moved from this house onto our next project 18 months ago). I suspect some kind of trim? They definitely weren’t wood or part of the tiles, although might just have been waterproof white painted wall as we usually had a shower curtain going across the shower cubicle. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help… x Reply
Hi your bathroom has just come up on my Pinterest feed. It’s lovely! We’ve just done our bathroom and fitted a walk-in shower without a door. However we’re finding that the water splashes out too much and we’re going to have to fit a door. Are you having any issues with this? Your shower looks pretty similar to ours in dimensions. Thanks! Reply
Hi Marina, We fitted a shower pole and had a shower curtain that could be hidden away, so we got the open feel when not in use, but the water was contained whenever anyone was using it- hope that helps! Becky Reply
Thanks Becky I see the pole now you mention it but it looks pretty unobtrusive in the photos. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Marina Reply
Hi beautiful bathroom, can I ask what colour grout you used on your tiles? It’s lovely and practical It won’t get dirty! Thank you! Reply
Hi Louisa, I can’t remember exactly as was quite a while ago now, but I believe it was just a dark grey grout from Wickes 🙂 Reply