A Plumber’s Own Bathroom Renovation

What We Chose from the Latest Trends

in Technology and Style.

By Ben Soutter, Dream Plumbing.

My wife Laura and I (plus team) have completed a large number of bathroom renovations and now we’ve finally gotten around to doing our own. Here’s what we ended up choosing, from all the latest comforts and gadgets to the most stylish details currently on trend.

They say a painter’s house in the last to be painted, and the lawnmower man’s grass the last to be mown, so it may not surprise you to learn it took me a while to get around to doing our own bathroom. It was a good thing though (so I told Laura) because we have so much experience and so many ideas by now, renovating our own bathroom wasn’t only a necessity – it was fun!

We couldn’t wait to see our own Dream bathroom come to life and decided to take lots of photos so we could use it as a showcase and take you through everything we did.

Here’s the finished Dream…

…and here are our Dream bathroom choices and why we chose them:

THE TOILET: This is a much bigger decision than people give it credit for! Choosing the right toilet can save you money (toilet water constitutes 30% of your bill), cleaning time and it can be a stylish feature of your home if you choose right. We went for a rimless toilet (far more hygienic – and no more yellow gunk!) with a tornado flush (!!) and a hidden cistern. That way you have get that sleek, built-straight-into-the-wall look. We also chose these stylish inbuilt wall buttons…

2. SHOWER SCREEN: shower screens can really add a sense of space and style. The arch screen adds an elegance to your bathroom that is far cry from the slide along, multiple panels of the past. (Remember those clunky old things? Never closed properly and impossible to clean!) The absence of sharp corners makes them safer when you have young kids like us. They are also really easy to clean. Here’s the result:

3. THE MIRROR: The mirror is a big decision as it can tie in everything else about the room. We went for a dual arch theme to match the shower screen with a concealed shaving cabinet behind.

4. THE VANITY: We decided on a wall-hung floating vanity in Skandi-style royal oak with strip lighting beneath. The vanity is actually quite large with soft close drawers and it has plenty of storage space. The lighting is sensory operated so it only comes on when you walk in the room. We both really love the extra sense of spaciousness that provides, along with the convenience (and sense of security for our little ones) that welcoming light adds at night. It’s also really ambient to have mood lighting. We also couldn’t go past having the soft addition of a wall sconce feature lamp.

5. TILING: We chose to run the floor tiles up the wall to create a sense of continuation, plus it makes the room feel bigger. We used a feature tile in the shower and VJ paneling on the other walls.

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6. IN-BUILT SHELF IN SHOWER: This is so much more convenient than a niche. We chose a long design, ensuring there was plenty of storage for products. We also used a strip grate which is nice modern touch compared to old shower drains.

7. SPLIT SHOWER: Who doesn’t love a rain head shower rose? But aside from that luxury, it’s also great to have a handheld shower head for cleaning, washing kids, even washing the dog (I know, I know, Boston is so spoilt in this house). The answer? We went for a split shower…best of both worlds.

8. ASSEMBLY TAP SET: Mounted wall taps free up space on your vanity and have no handles so they won’t catch on things. Plus they really matched the clean, spacious effect we were after. We also love this free-standing basin and the taps perfectly complement its design, and they leave plenty of surface area for our marble effect benchtop.

9. HEATED TOWEL RAILS: How nice will it be to have heated towels all winter long and dry towels year round? An awesome addition for any bathroom!

10. UNDER FLOOR HEATING: …and how nice will this be for the kids on winter mornings!? No excuses for not getting out of bed for preschool now! This is also a great option instead of the often-harsh heat from IXL lamps on the ceiling.

11. THE BATH: We chose this back to wall bath so that you don’t have to worry about cleaning behind it and it still gives the impression of a free-standing bath! (Hey, I know we mention cleaning a lot but we also know you get it!) Note the mounted wall taps again too.

All in all, we really have ended up with our Dream bathroom and the kids love it as well! Let us know if you want us to come out for a look and quote to see what amazing improvements you can make to your biggest asset too – because you will make the cost of a bathroom back tenfold when you sell.

And hey, meanwhile you get to live the dream!