What I wish I knew about bathroom design before I became an interior designer

We renovated this bathroom 7 years ago now… time flies! It only feels like yesterday Neil and I were debating floor tiles and measuring up for a vanity unit. 

Our bathroom renovation was a stressful project. 

I was clueless and had no time to commit to researching decisions. 

But it was long before I’d learned the ropes in interior design, which is a bummer when we spent nearly £10,000 on the refit…  

I could have done with knowing what I know now. We made some frustrating mistakes 😬

Before – Avocado suite, be gone!

After – Our bathroom renovation in 2017

If I had my time again (and the experience I have now) there are so many things I would have done differently in our bathroom renovation which would have given us a longer lasting, higher end design… and virtually for the same price, too!

In this post, I’m going to share all our bathroom renovation mistakes with you. Plus the supplies & techniques I now bring into clients’ projects to ensure durability & a visually appealing design.  

We didn’t do everything wrong though (thankfully), and there are things I highly recommend you incorporate to your own design. I’ll mention those too.

So… If you’re planning a bathroom (or en-suite) renovation, take note! After reading this, you won’t make the same mistakes we did!

Side note: Our bathroom is overdue an upgrade! If I’d have known what I know now about material choice and construction, we’d easily have got 5 more years out of it but this is where we are. Honestly? We’re still in two minds about whether it’s worth us investing in a complete update now, or just fixing bits and moving house… but that’s a story for another time that we’ll keep you posted on! Now let’s get into it…

Heating & ventilation fail

I’ll start here because if you’re ripping out and refitting your entire bathroom, the heating and ventilation methods you choose will be one of the first elements of construction, and one of your first considerations when you design your bathroom. Heating or ventilation is a pain and can be costly to retrofit or replace if you make the wrong choices. 

OUR HEATING MISTAKE: 

Our bathroom is currently heated with this large towel radiator plumbed into the central heating system. It’s fine, it heats the room OK. But towels slip off it, it takes up a lot of space in the already small bathroom, and in the summer, if we want to dry towels, we’d have to turn the heating on – which would be crazy. Inevitably, wet towels get thrown over doors and bannisters to air out. Ugh!

IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN: 

In all of the bathrooms I’m designing for clients now, it’s underfloor heating we go for. Specifically, a wet system that is low profile (so there’s no step up into the bathroom). Underfloor heating will:

• Improve the aesthetics in your bathroom or en suite 

• Free up space (ideal if you’re working with a smaller m2) 

• Evenly distribute heat (which will help to move condensation and prevent damp & mould)

…and what about drying towels? Simple. We fit a dual fuel towel radiator operated by electric or the main central heating system to give you the flexibility to dry towels during the summer months. It can easily be set on a timer and controlled via smart apps. 

We look at systems by Terma (stocked in large retailers like Victorian Plumbing) which have modern & traditional designs in a variety of finishes to suit all designs and budgets. They get decent reviews, too. 

Fun fact, there’s a towel rad called Fiona 😂 My claim to fame. They also come with handy hooks to easily throw your wet towel onto after use – no more damp, smelly towels being hung over the bannister! Yay.

OUR VENTILATION MISTAKE: 

Your bathroom ventilation decisions will depend on building regulations & the style of the room you’re designing (see Part F) and for us, back in 2017, we made do with opening the window as ventilation every time one of us has a shower. But despite this adhering to building regs, it was a big opportunity missed to improve air quality & reduce mould growth! 

IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN: 

I’d be fitting a silent extractor fan like the Vent-axia. Mount it to the ceiling to avoid breaking up the view of tiles or painted walls, and position it well away from water splash zones (for obvious reasons ⚡)

You may know this already, but the main reason bathroom grout & silicone goes mouldy over time is because of poorly ventilated rooms and/or leaving water to stand on surfaces. Here’s how to prevent that to make sure your bathroom stays looking luxurious & clean.

How to prevent mouldy grout:

• Squeegee shower walls & screens after every shower (or at least, the last person in should do this) Don’t let water stand for long around your tiles, grout & silicone.

• Install an extractor fan. It was our electrician that recommended the Vent-axia Silent Extractor fan. He said he fitted one for a client recently and they called him back to fix it because they couldn’t hear it working. Nope, it was working! It’s just a really quiet fan!

• Ask your electrician to have it operated by steam & fitted with an isolator switch (so that you can turn it off easily to prevent disturbing anyone’s sleep!)

Poor quality bath choice 😟

Sanitaryware is always difficult to shop for when you don’t know what you’re looking out for and when we renovated our bathroom, we made a big mistake with our bath and installation. We learned the hard way. 

OUR BATH MISTAKE: 

We fitted a standard 8mm thick acrylic bath – which would have been fine if it wasn’t a shower bath – but we quickly realised it was too thin and the movement caused leak after leak around the shower screen and tiles. 

A shower bath needs to be stronger & thicker to limit movement of the bath when you’re stepping in and out to shower. Any movement puts strain on your silicone & grout causing them to fail. Boy did we wish we had known about this sooner! 

IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN:

We’d fit a 12mm thick bath (as a minimum), and strongly recommend you look at Carronite bath options. They’re reinforced acrylic, much stronger than standard acrylic options and when fixed to the wall with battens, they shouldn’t cause movement. We’ve learned not to rely on the kits bath suppliers provide, and get your installer to fix your bath with their own means to ensure strength. 

Carronite baths are great. While they don’t hold heat as well as steel baths, they do hold heat for longer than your standard acrylic bath and they are far less likely to chip. That’s a major plus if you’ve got a clumsy tiler dropping tiles in your gorgeous new bath! 

While we’re discussing bath options for you: 

• Consider getting an overflow filler instead of bath taps for a modern look that’s easier to keep clean and avoids limescale buildup (just don’t buy a cheap one)

• Try and test out your bath! If you’re someone who loves to soak, you want to be comfortable

We chose the WORST panelling positioning 🫢

I’m still shocked I did this by the way. But when I look back, along with inexperience and naivety, I know how stressed and rushed I was. This mistake (along with others) formed the reason we set up our renovation online course to educate renovators. I now instil everything I can to help renovators prevent problems and get their dream homes that are finished to a high standard, within budget.

OUR PANELLING MISTAKE:

You can see in the photos we installed EasiPanel tongue & groove to certain walls around the room. It looks fine still and has held up well, but it’s in no way suitable on the bath end. Big mistake installing it here.

It’s made from standard MDF so it swells and bubbles with any splash of water! Error. Surprisingly, this area of panelling doesn’t get many splashes from the bath or shower… but it is impossible to clean. And for that reason, never again! 

IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN:

There’s just no way I would recommend panelling in a splash zone now. These areas need a waterproof finish, like tile. However I do still recommend panelling bathroom walls in areas that aren’t prone to water ingress so long as they are painted with a durable, wipeable, satin paint finish. If you’re panelling your bathroom, here’s what I propose generally to get practicality alongside the aesthetic: 

• I like a wide tongue & groove panel nowadays (like, 150mm-200mm wide!) It’s personal preference but I love how “New England” it looks

• I get these made by our joiner using Moisture-resistant MDF

• We prime & paint the boards with durable, scrubbable, satin paint options so they’re easy to maintain

• For bath panels, I get these made in Marine Plywood which are typically stronger, painted in a Zinsser primer & Weatherproof outdoor paint to give it an easy-wipe finish

• Panelling is a lot less expensive than tile, so think of that if you’re trying to bring costs down in your bathroom. Tile the important walls, panel or paint the rest. 

A silly flooring error 🙄

Nobody ever tells you these things… which is another reason why we set up this website and our renovation online course & community to help educate new renovators. I think it’s important to explain the do’s and don’ts of renovating, showing homeowners the things to watch out for. It’s the stuff that would have never crossed your mind until you’re faced with the problem that I try to support our students and clients through.  

OUR FLOORING MISTAKE:

Our bathroom sits on wooden floorboards. Very typical of the 1930s house style. Wooden floorboards are great when ripping up floors to slide pipes beneath whereas concrete floors are a pain – you have to chase out the concrete. Wooden floorboards are not so great for laying a tile floor onto unless you reinforce the boards and lay a rock-solid subfloor. That’s because wooden floors move causing the grout between your floor tiles to crack.

IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN:

I would have consulted with our builder and specified a thicker plywood subfloor. Our current plywood base is 8mm. I would increase this to 12mm if your threshold can be raised that high. It gives a stronger base to lay tiles onto. Also laying anti-crack matting can prevent any problems like this from occurring. Failing this, LVT is a flooring material we regularly work with on client’s bathroom designs. It’s underfloor heating compatible, low profile, doesn’t require grout (it’s luxury vinyl) and it’s nice and warm underfoot. 

Do this to enhance your bathroom design 👇🏻

Not all the choices we made in this bathroom renovation were bad. In fact, there are some things I would do again in a heartbeat, and I recommend you try. It’ll ease some of the stress & decision fatigue.

DON’T OVER-PACK YOUR BATHROOM LAYOUT:

There’s a huge temptation when you’re planning your bathroom, to squeeze in a separate freestanding bath and shower cubicle but end up not having space to move well around the room… then try to make space for a large double vanity unit and storage... it’s a minefield. 

Unfortunately for us in the UK, most of our properties weren’t built with big family bathrooms (if only). Instead, we’re working with cramped, dark, difficult spaces. 

Take it from me (and almost any interior designer out there!) it’s a lot smarter, more practical and more aesthetically pleasing to not squeeze in bathroom sanitaryware if you can’t comfortably fit it in. Make some compromises and your design will thank you for it. 

If I was designing this bathroom again, one of the few things I wouldn’t change is the layout. I’d love a separate bath and shower but I’ll save that dream for a future property that can accommodate it without it feeling like a major squeeze. 

PRIORITISE YOUR VANITY DESIGN:

If it’s ever a toss-up between having space for a large vanity OR a freestanding bath and separate shower, the large vanity wins my vote every day of the week. Why?

Storage will keep your bathroom looking aesthetically pleasing, clutter free and it will enhance how you use your home. A big bath might allow you to relax for 20 minutes, but a tiny vanity with rubbish storage is going to give you hours of headaches trying to find space for stuff and inevitably leads to a chaotic, messy bathroom!

I’m still pleased with the amount of storage we factored into this bathroom renovation. Believe it or not, some of the vanity cupboards are still virtually empty! 

For me, when I’m designing a bathroom that’s on the smaller side, it’s all about the vanity design! You can make a basic bathroom design look incredible with your choice of vanity size, joinery & colour. 

Get support to prevent more bathroom mistakes

These bathroom mistakes are just a flavour of my regrets. I actually have so many more, like…

• I wish we got a wall hung towel radiator and wall hung toilet for far easier mopping

• I wish we considered our lighting in more detail

• I wish we chose longer lasting vanity worktops

• I wish we chose different window sills & glazing

But I share the solutions to prevent mistakes with students in our renovation online course & community. If you’re keen to learn how to prevent mistakes, get a design you love, and bring it all in on budget, then consider joining our next enrolment. Details here. 

I hope this has given you some food for thought on your bathroom planning & some important construction tips to prevent problems. 

Thanks for reading & if you’re getting value from our posts, consider becoming a student/member. It will be fab to support you in greater detail with your renovation plans. 

Speak soon!

Fi