New bathroom - where to start?

We updated our bathroom about 6 years old. I had a few quotes, from bathroom specialist companies etc., but eventually chose a guy from country council trusted trader who gave me the most competitive quote.

We chose all the bath, washing basin, radiator, vanity unit from his catalogue. I went to the local tiling company to choose the bathroom tiles.
The work went smoothly, took about 2 weeks including a new bathroom window.

Best of luck with modernising the bungalow. We decided to stay put and future proof our house but need to include a downstairs shower / wet room.

Not even sure where to put it. Under the stairs or build a small porch extension with a wetroom / shower room.

Sorry, six years ago

Start at the beginning by deciding what you want in it.
You will probably be compromised by where the waste comes in but if you want to throw money at it then that needn’t be a consideration.
We just went to every bathroom supplier in the area to look at what was available and drew it all on graph paper.
I found a fabulous bath in Grimsby on eBay, ex showroom. My Sister lives near Grimsby so she went to look at it- tried it out for size and we were so lucky the supplier delivered it to us as he was coming down south.
Choosing the tiles was the most difficult. They have to be something that you will like after 6 months.
We used local builders and they were excellent. We had underfloor heating put in and that is lovely in the winter.
I wish I had had the sink positioned higher up but otherwise I’m still happy 10years on.

I so agree about grey! So dreary. I'm looking to install a shower and when the local firm showed me their offerings, I said in rather a loud voice that grey had gone out.
And the man who came to lay the dark green carpet in my bedroom commented how nice it was to lay a carpet that wasn't grey.

Colours and styles might 'go out', but if the people who paid £££ to have them installed liked them when they were 'in', then what does it matter? The whole cycle of 'in' and 'out', whether it is colours, size of tiles, style of handles, materials for floors or whatever is a giant Marketing trick.

People buy what is available when they want it. For a while the fashion was for grey interiors, and it was difficult to find much in other colours, and most of those would be considered to have 'gone out' anyway. Unless people want to add to landfill by throwing things out every five years and getting the next transient 'in thing', they live with the things they loved and were 'in' when they bought them. The things themselves haven't changed, just the minds of the people selling more 'stuff', so why would the owners have gone off them?

And no, as it happens, I have no grey in my house, but not because someone else has decided that it's had its day. I'm getting a new bathroom fitted in a couple of weeks, and it will have to last until I go to a home for the bewildered or leave feet first. It is costing a fortune, and I know that in five years time there will be people saying that everything in it has 'gone out' and sneering at it, but what's the alternative? I can only choose from what's available, same as everyone else.

We had our bathroom completed re-done by B&Q. They were brilliant and the finish is perfect.

It was so easy because we chose all the fittings, bathroom suite, shower, wall tiles & flooring from B&Q; their ‘designer’ came and looked, checked that it would all work and that was that. They provided all the workmen - plumbers, tilers, electricians. So much easier than having to source them all myself.

I couldn’t be happier with it

Keep an eye out for bargains too. When we wanted to re do our bathroom we found a very nice Royal Doulton bathroom suite at B&Q. It was priced at about £500 but this one had been left in the yard and got wet when it rained. I may be wrong but it seems to me that one thing that isn't going to be damaged by a bit of water is a bath!

Lots of ideas and suggestions on here about things I'd never even thought about. Thank you all.

I think the bottom line is how "hands on" with things do you want to be, Cabowich - I couldn't choose all my bathroom things from one place but others can.
I'd rather accumulate stuff (in my hall!) for weeks ahead of the install. I'm pretty choosy. One way isn't better than the other - just different.

I think you need to work out how you feel about things.
I DO see the attraction of choosing from what one business can offer! I expect there is less frustration if you do that!

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A good first step is to get a builder out to look at the space and tell you what is structurally possible when you combine the two rooms. That gives you the layout before you choose any suite. Once you know where the plumbing can go, you can pick the units you like from any supplier and let the builder fit them. Most people do a mix because it gives more choice on style and colour. A decent builder is used to this and will work with whatever you buy.

DD is doing exactly whatyou want to at the moment and she did it much as *Notspaghetti described in her first post.

She drew a to-scale plan of the space then did a lot of surfing baathroom sites online plus visiting local bsthroom showrooms, Wickes, B& etc. In her case, like you she wanted colour (and style) so went online and bought a secondhand washbasin and loo off ebay. But there are specialist companies that specialise in selling reused coloured sanitary ware, but they are expensive. Then employ a local plumbing firm and get a few uotes and ask uestions. Keep a close eye on them once they start work.

July 2024 thread, I hope it’s done by now!

I'd also go down the route of drawing a plan to scale and cutting out pieces of paper the sizes of the bathroom equipment so you can move it around and see how it fits.
The obvious thing to say is that it's cheaper to keep things in the same places to avoid extra plumbing costs, but the best thing might be to decide which builder you are going to use to knock the rooms together and see what suggestions he has for you. He probably does bathrooms all the time and knows what works. You could also see if anyone can recommend a local plumber or bathroom showroom who have revamped their bathroom and see what they suggest.
I've also heard horror stories about B&Q, people suggest that you are better off going with established equipment providers rather than own brand kit. But it's worth going round there and also a few other local showrooms to give yourself some ideas.
Personally I've always gone with simple white fittings, lever taps and wall mounted basins and WCs, it's easier to clean the floor that way. You can always add interest with a lovely floor or tiles, or some colour on the walls. If you have room a freestanding bath always makes a bathroom look more interesting and spacious.

Jaxjacky

July 2024 thread, I hope it’s done by now!

Oh yes, I didn't notice this. It would be lovely to see a photo!

I only like white in a bathroom, contrasting floor and towels etc. It's the fitting that is difficult.

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When we revamped our bathroom to make it into a shower room, we went to a local company. They gave us lots of colour cards to choose from, and they used their own plumbers, electricians and flooring company. The floor was Karndean and has done very well up to now.
The shower room took 3 weeks to complete but we are very happy with it.