My husband and I decided that after several years as homeowners, it was time to dare to take on a big improvement project. We’ve always been a little frightened to do something like this and it costs a lot of money so it was really big deal for us. We decided to get a new bathroom.
Old Bathroom
Our old bathroom has served us well. It has a massive cupboard that has been a really useful storage space and everything works. I don’t like the mirror above the toilet as things fall out the cabinet and into the bowel and I can’t see myself brushing my teeth… and I like to see myself brushing my teeth.
Re-fit
When we remortgaged we borrowed a little extra to do up the bathroom. We then spent months decided who to go with and what to have done. We chose a local firm (Opal Bathrooms) as we knew people that had used them with good results – one of our fears was a cowboy leaving us with an unusable bathroom.
Jimmy (from Opal Bathrooms) talked us through the pros and cons of different options like tiles or panels, heated floors, towel rails, etc. He drew up diagrams of how the bathroom would look and let us take catalogs so we could change items if we wished. We spent many Saturdays in the showroom comparing floor and wall tiles together to decide on colours we liked. Jimmy was never pushy and was always on hand to answer our questions.
The main guy, Andy, who was contracted to carry out the task, always took care to leave our bathroom is a tidy state. He put dust sheets throughout the house so he wouldn’t make a mess of our carpets. He worked around the toilet so there was only one day we were without. Another guy, Chris, came a few times to do the electrics. The job took just over two weeks to complete and they arrived on time everyday even when there was bad snow.
New bathroom
We’ve been enjoying the new bathroom for just over a month.
The new bathroom is everything we could wish for.
On one side we have a walk in shower with panels (no grout to clean). We have a large overhead shower and a little handheld shower on the wall.
In the middle we have a sink with two drawers underneath. Above the sink, we have a cabinet that lights up (I can see myself brushing my teeth – yay). The edge of the sink is wide enough that I can place my make up or face products there whilst I am using them – a feature I didn’t know I needed but love.
Then on the other side we have a large bath with mixer taps and a pull out shower hose. The toilet looks so much better with the pipes hidden. We have a heated towel rail and underfloor heating!
It was stressful having no bathroom for a few days and having to visit friends and family for a shower, etc. The end result is so worth it. The drawers and cabinet hold everything we need in the bathroom. We also bought a new King Size bed with under bed storage to be the new home for bed linen.
I think we will be more confident in future to do another big home improvement project as we are so happy with the end result.
It’s so nice now! We’ve started looking at houses and one of the things I’m most excited for is to be able to pick out a tub at some point.
It’s taken us awhile to get there but we are so pleased. Good luck with your house hunting – hope you find the perfect place ?
Thank you! We’re looking in an intense market so it’s an experience.