See your bathroom with new tiles and finishes

What can change, and what stays

In the picture, the tiles, grout colour, paint, vanity, mirror, lighting, tap and shower finishes, towels, accessories and window covering can all change. The bath, shower tray and WC stay where they are, as do the window and the door, because they follow plumbing and walls that the redesign does not touch. You see a new finish on the bathroom you have, not a new layout.

Design choices that matter in a small room

• Fewer tile types. One floor tile and one wall tile, or the same tile everywhere, makes a small bathroom look bigger; three tiles and a border make it look busy.
• Large tiles mean fewer grout lines, and a grout close to the tile colour hides them further.
• One metal finish for taps, shower, towel rail and mirror frame. Mixed metals rarely look intentional in a room this small.
• A wall-hung vanity shows more floor, which makes the room look larger and is easier to clean under.
• Light from either side of the mirror is kinder to faces than a single spotlight above it.

Getting a good bathroom result

Bathrooms are the hardest room to photograph wide. Stand in the doorway, step back as far as you can, hold the phone in landscape at chest height and include the floor. Avoid the most extreme ultra-wide setting, which bends the tile lines at the edges of the frame. Close the WC lid, and choose Clean & redesign if the basin and the edge of the bath are crowded with bottles.

Then check the result for the details that tend to differ: the position of a tap, a socket, an extractor fan. Walls, windows and doors are checked against your original; small fittings can still move.

Before you order tiles

Screens do not show tile colour faithfully, and the image does not know your room's dimensions, so it cannot tell you how many tiles you need or whether a wider vanity fits. Order samples of what you liked and measure before you buy.