The shower room

At last I can show photos. The room isn't 100% finished, there are a few more bits and pieces that need to be bought, but it's finished enough to be able to share how it looks. It's been a long, hard slog to get the room looking right. It has taken so long for a few reasons. The main one being cost. This wasn't just a makeover, but a total remodel, and there is no way of cutting costs when ripping out and starting again. It takes time to save up for everything, and organise getting someone in to do the work. It means you feel that you HAVE to get things right. Once you start there is no going back, and as it isn't a room that will be revamped or redecorated for a v-e-r-y long time, it was vital to make the right decisions from the start. It takes time.

The new sanitaryware was installed at the start of May, but painting was only completed this past weekend. We've also been completely undecided about the window treatment, but have finally decided that a simple, floral blind from Cath K will be perfect. It'll be ordered soon.

You can click to enlarge these photos. I didn't want to re~live the mess, so I uploaded them using the 'small' option. It shows before pics, and the mess during work being done.
 It's a small room, so the chap doing the work removed the door to give himself more room when laying the floor. It was also a useful barrier to keep a certain tiny person out, once the floor had been grouted and no tootsies were allowed to walk over it!
Didn't stop her from peeping though! You can see the pedestal and top section of the sink on the floor. Shortly after this photo was taken, Little One managed to get her finger stuck in a tiny hole of the underside of the sink! She sat screaming 'Muuuuummm, my finger's stuck'! It wasn't technically stuck and easily helped out, but maybe that will teach her to not stick fingers in tiny holes in the future!

This gives a good idea of the space. Floor was in place (pre-grout), shower base in, but nothing else. It's pretty scary seeing a room in such a state. Before pics... 
More or less the same views taken now, 'after'..
  Changing the sink to a corner sink was such a good move. Gives much needed extra space.
My favourite thing in the room is the shower head. Pretty to look at, and feels like showering in summer rain! I adore the wall tiles too. The real fun for me has been adding the details. The choice of shower, tile and flooring all feel quite masculine. They have clean lines and are simple but classic. To stop it from feeling like a shower in a rugby club, feminine details were vital (sorry hubby!)

The perfect soap dish. The distressed finish is beautiful. There is a matching toilet roll holder and towel hook. There is only one picture on the wall..

We bought and stashed this flower hook months ago, with no idea where it would eventually live. It works well in the shower room, and I've hung the vintage hat for a splash of girliness. The mirror was a superb find. Very inexpensive, but looks like it could have cost a lot. The flower detail has a little bit of distressing on it. The window. It will soon spring into life with a pretty floral blind. I'll take a photo when we get it and install it. I wanted floral towels too, and Laura Ashley have some new ones in their latest A/W catalogue that are perfect.

Well. I think that more or less shows you the changes. It's pretty tricky getting decent photos of such a small room, but you get the idea. For such a tiny room it made a lot of disruption. So much so that the planned revamp of the hallway, stairs and landing has been put off until Autumn 2011. I can't bear the thought of any more mess and chaos this year!
And writing this post has taken almost as long as remodelling the room!

I promised to give a list of stockists, so if anyone else in the UK was looking for similar items they could locate them easily. I've added links to websites too.
I've added a list (for my own benefit) of things still needed.
Still to be ordered are:
shaving mirror for above the sink (I don't shave my face, it's just the perfect shape and size)
< -- Floral towels (ordered on Sunday)
Blind for window
Stockists
Paint - [Farrow & Ball], colour 'Slipper satin'
Shower cubicle, toilet, corner sink and taps - [Bath Store]
Marble floor tiles - [Walls & Floors](search for 'honeycomb' tiles)
Wall tiles - independant local trader, but they are [V&A tiles], widely available nationwide
Flower Shower - [Ashdown Home Store]
Rubber flooring (that we initially bought but sent back before deciding on the marble tiles) - [The Rubber flooring company]
Mirror - [The Range]
Flower hook, floral towels - [Laura Ashley]
Distressed wire soap dish, towel hook & toilet roll holder (complete set) - [Really Linda Barker]
Window blind - [Cath Kidston]
Shaving mirror - to be decided.
Spotlights in ceiling - no idea, the workman got them!