New bathroom

Last year I mentioned that we were planning to completely change our bathroom. Check that post for the “before” pictures. It needed a bit of TLC, but we could have replaced some of the things we had with new ones and it would have been fine, but we wanted something very different. It took a lot of time to make it and it was done a few months ago, but I didn’t share the pictures until today. It was a big project, with the door being sent from Italy and the specialised shower tray being sent from Poland. While both companies are based in UK and the purchasing was as easy as with anything else, it took a bit of time to have them delivered. We had to wait for these, as there aren’t similar options made or in-stock in UK. The shower tray was specific to the kind of cement we’ve used. The slim long drain was bought at the same time for the same reason, so make sure it fits this kind of installation.

I am so happy with how the bathroom turned out. It has a lot of new features that I will talk about. Some of the ideas are not new, for example the storage behind the mirror, but most are new. We thought and discussed about the bathroom for months, if not more. We wanted a walk-in shower and it works nicely.

The shower has 3 recesses that we thought a lot of to make sure that they are big enough to accommodate all the things we wanted to have there. The light was something my husband was keen on and he was right, these look much better with the light. The Porcelanosa pebble mosaic was something I was very keen on and I’m glad I picked this one. The width of the long strip of pebbles is about a third of a mosaic sheet.

The recesses made installing all the pipes in the back a bit more difficult, but they are great. Installing the pebbles in the back was difficult as well, with the limited access. We are happy with how this turned out. The talks about mosaic was extensive and lasted for a long time before we bought anything.

Bidet shower was another thing we both wanted. I don’t understand why this isn’t more common, as it is so useful. This is also called a Muslim shower. While a bidet looks like a more luxurious choice, the limited space in the bathroom meant we had to get a bidet shower instead. Now, after using it for months, I don’t think a bidet is a better option, as this shower is minimalist. This is a cold-only shower, which is fine even in the winter. The first one we got was a cold&hot shower, but it was so bulky that we’ve returned it and got a cold-only one. It needs its own pipes, so installing something like this needs to be decided before works on the pipelines start.

With all the bathroom a grey cement, the sink is what stands out. I love this colour. It is glass and sturdy. I like it very much.

The vanity unit is built within the wall. It has a drawer with a big handle that is used as a towel rail. It is a normal handle and the towel is a bit snug, but it saves space in the bathroom and I like that. There is another small recess for the toilet paper. This is the only recess without pebbles in the back.

The bathroom mirror is, as I mentioned, similar to what we did before, a storage space. Most of the unit is encased in the wall, but the back of the unit was taken off. The shelves are custom made to fit. The unit is almost as long as it looks from the outside. We have a lot of things stored there, from extra towels to cosmetics. It is very handy to have those in the bathroom.

Choosing towels was difficult. I ordered a few similar colours, of which 3 made it to the short list. We took all 3 in the bathroom and tried to see which one works better with the sink. We’ve decided to pick the one in the middle. We returned the rest and bought more sizes from the chosen colour. I am very happy with it. While the soaps are not teal, I found a teal soap, so I am looking forward to using that as well. Although, I care more about the smell and the provenience of the soap (avoiding big companies) than the colour.

This towel is on a small hook in the shower enclosure. I like it very much. The hook looks exactly like the one in the picture below.

These two paintings were mentioned before on the blog. These were painted by a Ukrainian artist and bought for a charity’s fundraising efforts. After months of seeing them on the wall, since September-October last year, I am still looking at them and enjoying their beauty. I’m glad that I didn’t become accustomed to them to the point that I don’t “see” them.

The pocket door was something we saw in our trip in Italy and from that point my husband decided he wants one for our bathroom. It was a hassle to install this, as the partitioning wall had to come down and a new one was built around the frame of the door. But having the door sliding in the wall instead of a standard door is fantastic. Not only it saves space in the bathroom, but the hallway seems bigger as we keep the door open and more light gets in the interior hallway. The door was covered, in the interior of the bathroom, with the same kind of cement that it is on the walls and the floor, but made a slightly brighter colour. On the other side, the door looks like the other 2 doors on the hallway.

The ceiling looks just amazing. I love these lights, it is unusual and perfect for our bathroom, as it was designed after the rest of the bathroom was designed, to complement the rest of the room. My husband and I are very happy with how this turned out and we feel that the work was worth it.