OUR FIRST BIG JOB - THE ENSUITE

It's interesting that the first things we've tackled have been sanitation based. Interesting and really quite heartening.  Having said that, we've only just stripped the downstairs lav of that wallpaper and it still has a green carpet which is probably alive with a thousand of its own cultures.  But anyway. Upstairs, we are Sanitation Crazy!

The first thing we did was add an ensuite.  RB decided to put this into our built in wardrobes.  We stole a foot from Bed 4 - now a small double, but still a double - moved the main door over a little and shaved off the ensuite wall.  You'll see what I mean.  This meant a more open entrance to the room - before it had been an almost corridor beside the built-in wardrobes - and gave us space on the right to install more wardobes once the bathroom was done (the plan being to steal a foot from the bathroom next door to create those - a year later).

I don't have a before photo of this, but it was pretty much Room With Built-in Wardrobes.  This was done by our amazing builder during the intense snows in December 2010.  He'd turn up from Ealing (90 minutes away) in a blizzard in his crappy old estate at 7am every morning complaining about what pussies British drivers are.  This is it fresh after the build.

Shower was a bargain from Screwfix (I'm not sure they do they anymore, but when we bought it, it was at least £100 cheaper than anywhere else).

And this is now. We've added a cabinet, painted the walls Crown Chalk White and distributed a general film of bathroom dirt.  Cabinet is from Ikea. 

The basin is a Roca Nexo handbasin with a tap from Victoria Plumb.  Phase we think.  Toilet Roll holder is from John Lewis and RB has an ongoing crush on it. If it had a pulse, I'd be in trouble...

The tiles are Metro Crackle Glaze Camden in Cream from Tons of Tiles. The grout is gunmetal grey. Getting the paint right to match with those tiles was a Niiiiightmare. We had originally painted it Farrow & Ball Archive which turned out to be really horrible.  To use their terminology: a truly awful orangey neutral that makes magnolia look sophisticated.  We MUCH prefer the very faintly yellow white of Chalk White. It's SO much less digusting.

Toilet is from First Bathrooms and is a standard corner number. 

I love the lights above the mirror - a tiny nod to my little inner drama queen.  They're from Homebase.  The mirror is John Lewis.

We've got wood flooring in the ensuite - lots of people say that's a no-no, but so far (touch wood - ho ho) we haven't had a problem. It gets a bit gunked up with - bizarrely - hair products but it cleans pretty easily.  You have to be a bit more vigilant with water I suppose, but it's worth it: it's warm and it looks just right. From B&Q - solid wood flooring, medium oak.

The bin is model's own.