If you follow me on Instagram (I’m here!), you may remember that we had our small bathroom renovated in March. I shared the daily photos and videos of I shared almost daily photos of the process on Instagram Stories. I’m taking a step back with this post and sharing before photos, the list of what work needed to be done and a bit on our inspiration.
The Old Bathroom
When I say, “small bathroom”, it makes it sound like we have another, bigger, bathroom too. But, this is it, our family bathroom and by family bathroom standards it is SMALL. It measured 2 metres by 1.4 metres. I have friends who have bigger ensuite bathrooms!
Making More Space
Fortunately, we had the opportunity to knock into the joining cupboard adding an additional 80cm x 90cm. It might not seem like a huge additional area but it was worth the hassle and has made a huge difference to the space.
We knew we had to be very clever with the space and the team we chose to do the renovation work were helpful in coming up with ideas and designs too. We knew we would have to forego features such as a separate standalone bath and walk in shower but we wanted the compromise to be something that felt as roomy as possible and luxurious in a sort of boutique hotel way. From a practical perspective we also wanted to move the bathroom door further along to the middle of the room and have in open into the bathroom instead of out into the landing (which I found very annoying!).
The Old Fittings
The existing bathroom tiles, floor and suite had been put in by the previous owners, I guess around 10 years ago and whilst not particularly aesthetically offensive, they were tatty and not our cup of tea. We tried to cheer things up with some bright accessories. Though looking back now, I’d forgotten how sad it looked! The bath was small and whilst quite handy for the kids when they are little, it’s a squish for a grown up and far from the relaxing bath experience I prefer! Ironically, the only time I have had a bath in it was whilst in labour both times, so at my very biggest! It did the job for pain relief though.
The shower was electric and not particularly powerful, we had replaced it with a new one when we moved in. Because of the sloping shape of the bath you had to stand on the slope to be under the shower which wasn’t the most comfortable experience (it’s amazing what you put up with when you get used to these things!). We had also replaced the sink tap too when the old one broke.
The window is proportionally huge for the size of the bathroom which is nice. Though the paint on the windowsill was always getting wet therefore flaking off no matter how well / often it was painted. We actually just lived with a sanded down windowsill for about a year knowing it was going to be got rid of!
The To Do List
- Rip out existing bathroom – suite, radiator, windowsill, wall and floor tiles and remove fittings from cupboard
- Knock through the wall between bathroom and cupboard
- Build a new wall where the cupboard door was
- Move the bathroom doorway and frame and fix door inwards
- Move the plumbing around for the new placement of the new bathroom suite and radiator (this is fiddly – and not helped by how bad a condition the floor joists were in – and took a few days)
- Build up floor again due to joists being in bad condition
- Electrics – cap off supply to old shower and old cupboard socket. Replace spotlights and add a new spotlight in addition. Move light switch.
- Plaster top half of walls and prep for tiles on lower half / all around shower
- Tiling walls, windowsill and floor
- Fit bath, shower, sink, toilet and radiator
- Paint ceiling, walls and woodwork
- Add finishing touches – hooks, mirror, toilet roll holder etc.
How Long Did It Take?
The build work, fitting of the new bathroom, tiling, painting etc took around 2.5 weeks. We were lucky that we had a downstairs shower to use downstairs in the mean time. Though this has now been taken out and our washing machine and tumble drier live there instead. They used to be in that old upstairs cupboard. It took us around another month to get the hooks, mirror etc up.
Small Bathroom Inspiration
Not surprisingly, we used Pinterest to find small bathroom ideas. I soon realised that I favoured a sort of industrial look – metro tiles, natural wood, greys and black, possibly with Moroccan style floor tiles. My favourite photos from Pinterest are here.
Sources, all from Pinterest – clockwise from top left – my-wishfulthinking.blogspot.com.au, littlepieceofme.com, mohawkhomescapes.com, The Debrief UK
Or you can find the full inspiration board here – uk.pinterest.com/themamastory/dream-bathroom/
Andy didn’t share all my design preferences but after a while we came to a compromise that we both love! I’ll share the “reveal” photos next week…
19 Comments
Ohhh can’t wait to see the after pics!! Jemma x #HomeEtc
Thank you!
Looking forward to seeing the final reveal! We knocked through into an old airing cupboard to enlarge the bathroom in our old house and it made the world of difference #homeetc
I will share photos soon! (Need to wait for a sunny day hmmmmmmm).
Even though it is a small space, it sounds like a lot of work. I love how organised you are and I really like the inspiration you have for the bathroom. Look forward to seeing the results x #SharingtheBlogLove
Ah thank you!
I love a good before post, it’s difficult when it’s such a small space to work with isn’t it? (I share your small bathroom space pain!) Looking forward to seeing the after Xx #HomeEtc
You definitely have to be clever with the space! Every inch counts!
I love your inspiration looks! Very interested to see the reveal as we would like to rejig the layout of our house and will probably end up with quite a small bathroom, so it’s really useful to see how other people have worked the space. We currently have a huge bathroom, with a freestanding bath, two sinks, separate shower and gaping space in the middle that’s a complete waste. A big bathroom sounds great in theory, but 2 of our 3 bedrooms are absolutely teeny, so it’s a bizarre configuration! Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
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Ah interesting! We have 4 reasonably sized bedrooms and a – still tiny – bathroom and we went round and round in circles trying to decided whether to turn one of the bedrooms into a bathroom. House designs can be so strange!
Weeeeeeee!!! I can’t wait to see the reveal photos!!!! I absolutely love your Pinterest reference; really excited to see what you ended up with. Before and afters are my favourite kind of home posts — it’s so lovely to see the transformations!! Thanks so much for sharing with us on #HomeEtc — I can’t wait to see the ‘after’ post! xx
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Thank you – coming soon!
I love your inspiration look, I can’t wait to see it. I love designing our house and my favourite part is all the accessories at the end that make it personal. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Yes, though sometimes that is the bit that takes me longer!
I love your inspiration photos. They are absolutely how I would like our bathroom to look xx
Fingers crossed!
I also use pinterest for inspiration! Can’t wait to see the reveal!!
#sharingthebloglove
Thank you! Coming soon…
Wow, great post! Definitely, you are doing a good job. The smallest changes can certainly make a huge difference. Thanks for sharing!