We have two bathrooms in our house which should be enough for a family of seven plus a few extras in the way of fiancees, boyfriends, my grandson and various random sleepover guests. Sadly however our current bathing situation falls very short from ideal.
I have my own small en-suite shower room off of my master bedroom. When I bought the house I dreamed of at last having the privacy and freedom of my own en-suite. It was something I had always wanted and I was ridiculously excited about it. My first luxury, just for me, after contending with sharing a single bathroom with five children and my husband for many years. I felt is was probably well deserved. No more fighting over bathroom space with the kids. Being able to keep it clean and tidy, free from all the kids' paraphernalia and heaps of discarded damp towels. No one knocking on the door yelling at me to hurry up because they needed to use the bathroom to do their make-up/wash their hair/shave their legs etc. Sadly the dream went down the plug hole on day one.
The problem is that our family bathroom is woefully inadequate and not well put together by the builders who knocked my new build home together six years ago. From the start I was disappointed by the shoddy workmanship, the loose bath side panel, the ill fitting sink stand, the radiator (that is so thin I think it's made out of tin foil and has since rusted and leaks), the inefficient extractor fan, the toilet that just doesn't flush that well and constantly dribbles water and the taps that corroded within the first few months of use. It was cheaply thrown together using substandard materials. There is no overhead shower at all and the odd sized bath taps meant we couldn't even fit one ourselves, not even the cheap, hose attachment kind. The children all favour showers over bubble baths, and even if they do have a bath can't wash their hair properly without a shower attachment and end up in my en-suite to rinse. So my family bathroom simply isn't good enough or functional enough for the five children to use.
So, my en-suite has become the family bathroom. A stream of kids come through my bedroom on a daily basis to use my facilities. Sometimes I'll be asleep in bed at night when one of them decides that they need a shower before going to college the next morning. The extractor fan, the noise from the shower and the light under the door are not conducive with my beauty sleep!
Other times I'll be having a rare lie-in when one of the older kids along with their partners decide that they need to use the shower, and I am forced to hide under the duvet until I can scurry away, out of my own room so they don't see me in my embarrassingly, revealing pyjamas, or I see them later emerging into my bedroom wearing nothing more than a towel and a smile.
The amount of times I've gone to use my shower and found the floor soaking wet with soggy towels strewn across the toilet lid and upturned bottles of shampoos and shower gels dripping their contents into the base! The en-suite I dreamed off was a luxurious little haven with scented candles in crystal bowls, a shelf of my favourite products ready to use and an abundance of fluffy towels. Instead it is an over-used family bathroom, that just happens to be accessed through my bedroom, which houses the toiletry products of everyone who passes through and regularly has puddles on the floor.
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| One of The Wet Towel Culprits |
My en-suite was not made to cater to the level of traffic it experiences, consequently we now have damp spots on the wall around the unit and the ceiling is peeling away and mouldy due to condensation levels. The bedroom window outside the bathroom is starting to suffer with mould developing on the wallpaper and around the sealant nearest the door.
Meanwhile we have a bathroom that is being completely underused, which I dream of converting into a fully-functional family shower room that can cater for all the kids and take the pressure off my en-suite. Unfortunately, the very fact that we have a big family means money is not readily available to embark on any such project anytime soon.
When Tots 100 featured a competition in conjunction with Bathshop 321 to win a bathroom makeover I felt that I simply owed it to myself and to my family to give it a go. It could be a wonderful solution to my bathroom woes (and at the very least it has given me a chance to have a little en-suite related rant and a wonderful bathroom makeover related dream!) My dreams are not elaborate or fancy. I don't want a state of the art jacuzzi. I don't want an inbuilt plasma TV in the shower. I would simply love some practicality restored to my family home.
The Quadrant Sorea Suite is absolutely perfect for the bathroom makeover I have in mind. With three daughters, each with their own stringent beauty regime, a walk-in shower is essential. This corner unit is perfect, space saving and a good size. I love the contemporary and stylish look of this suite. Teaming it with chrome fixtures and fittings would create a light and modern environment, with a functionality and sleekness that would be appreciated by my family.
Our family bathroom is really quite dark as the window faces out onto the wall of the house next door. The current beige tiles and drab, matt paintwork do not help. Opening up the space by replacing the unused bath with a shower, re-tiling with glossy white tiles and having a big feature mirror to reflect the light back into the room would create the illusion of spaciousness.
Pastel blue, silk finish bathroom paint would contrast beautifully with the chrome and white, giving a fresh feel that isn't too clinical, and the random inclusion of decorative blue tiles among the white ones would add a colourful splash to appeal to the younger family members.
Some fun Graphic Decals on the wall would add a bold, modern twist appealing to my teens. I would love to provide adequate shelving and cupboard space to house all the potions and lotions that the girls accumulate, keeping the surfaces clutter free. Matching accessories would add a touch of luxury and decoration to the room. Soft blue towels could hang on a chrome towel rail radiator keeping them cosy for use and off of the floor!
Both wall and ceiling mounted chrome lights would provide bespoke lighting to the different areas of the bathroom. And my children would at last have a functional and beautiful bathroom to be proud of. (And my en-suite would be saved from over-use!)
