Some bathroom projects come with a brief and a straightforward answer. This one, in Bow Brickhill, needed a bit more problem-solving along the way, which is exactly the kind of project our design team enjoys getting their teeth into.
The homeowner wanted a brand new bathroom, a full refit rather than a partial update, fitted by Richard Cleere of RJC Property Maintenance. Rich brought her to TABO in the same way he's brought several of his customers to us before, letting our design team handle the planning and product selection while he took care of the installation, which took around two weeks from start to finish.
How Did the Design Come Together?
Before a single tile went up, Genna, our designer, put together full renders of the space so the homeowner could see exactly how everything would sit together. It's a standard part of our process, because a floor plan on paper doesn't tell you nearly as much as seeing the finished room from every angle first.
This project needed a bit more of that back-and-forth than most. The vanity and WC unit was where things got tricky. The homeowner had her heart set on pink for the vanity and WC unit, a lovely choice, but not a common one in bathroom furniture, so it took a bit of searching to find the right fit. She also loved the idea of the basin and toilet reading as one piece of furniture rather than two units simply placed side by side. Our team solved it by combining a Bathrooms to Love WC unit with a separate stone worktop piece from Deuco, cut to sit across both units and disguise the join. It's a small bit of behind-the-scenes bespoke thinking that makes a genuinely big difference to how the finished room looks.
Why Does the Design Stage Matter So Much?
Because a problem like the one above is far easier to solve on a screen than halfway through a two-week fit. Our design service includes full plans, elevations, and specifications, down to radiator dimensions and valve positions, so your fitter has everything they need on day one. You might bring your own fitter, as the homeowner did here, or ask us to recommend one. We're on hand throughout the build to answer questions as they come up.
Why Choose a Feature Tile Over the Whole Wall?
The homeowner started with a clear idea for the wall tile, a wood-effect slat design, and chose the Porcelanosa Nantes Caliza for the main walls early on. When it came to the bath and shower wall, Genna suggested something a little different: the Porcelanosa Diamond 3D Roble, a tile with real dimension to its pattern rather than a flat wood print. She loved it as soon as she saw it rendered, and it's become the standout feature of the whole room.
Keeping a bold tile like this to one wall, rather than using it throughout, is a trick worth knowing. It lets a striking pattern do its job as a focal point without overwhelming a smaller room, and it pairs the drama of the 3D texture with the calmer, more neutral Nantes Caliza everywhere else.
What's the Deal With Shower Niches?
Rich built two recessed niches into that same feature wall during the fit. They're rather on-trend right now. Chrome shower baskets have a habit of rusting over time, so more and more people are opting for a tiled recess instead, something that blends into the wall rather than hanging off it. You can even buy ready-made versions now, though a tiled one built to match your walls, as Rich did here, tends to be the more popular choice since it disappears into the design rather than standing out as an add-on. A bit of lighting inside a niche is a nice extra touch too, if you want to take it further.
A Bespoke Touch in Pink and Brass
The Matt Peony pink on the vanity and WC unit was the homeowner's own request from the outset, paired with brushed brass fittings throughout, including the Bathrooms to Love Aurora shower system and a tall Grada towel rail. It's a combination that could easily feel too much in a smaller room, but the warmth of the brass against the soft pink, and the restraint of pairing it with plain walls elsewhere, keeps it feeling considered rather than overdone.
The Finishing Touches
The floor brings the whole room together: a herringbone-laid Porcelanosa Atlanta Dark wood-effect tile, chosen after the homeowner felt the original flooring wasn't quite right for the space. Once this one was put forward alongside the Diamond 3D Roble feature wall, it was an easy decision, and she liked it enough to lay the same herringbone floor in her utility room too!
Dimmable IP65-rated downlights and a quiet extractor fan round off the practical side of things, while the brushed brass towel rail and fittings tie back to the shower system and taps for a coordinated finish throughout.
It clearly paid off. Here's what the homeowner had to say on Trustpilot:
"We had such a great experience designing our bathroom. The design team were brilliant at bringing our ideas together and changing bits when the ideas evolved. We couldn't be happier with our finished bathroom. Thank you TABO for everything!"
If you'd like to see more reviews from customers like her, you can find them on our Trustpilot page.
Thinking About Your Own Bathroom Refit?
You might already have a clear vision, or perhaps, like this project, a puzzle or two still to solve. Our design team is here to help with both. Pop into our showroom to see various ranges in person, get in touch through our contact page, or find out more about our design service. We work with customers and their own trusted fitters right across Milton Keynes and beyond, including Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Northamptonshire, and as far afield as Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. Check our service areas page for the full list.
Before the fit began, Genna created full renders of the space so the homeowner could see the design from every angle. Here's how the room looked on screen, ahead of the finished result above.
Genna's original floor plan render, showing the layout before the fit began
An early render of the finished design, before the recessed niches and final styling were added
Another angle from the same design render, showing the towel rail and flooring layout
What Else Should You Know Before Your Bathroom Refit?
Are Shower Niches Better Than Shower Baskets?
For most people, yes, and it's a swap worth considering if you're planning a renovation. A chrome shower basket does the job but tends to rust or discolour over time, and it always reads as an addition rather than part of the room. A tiled recess, on the other hand, is built into the wall during the fit, so it holds shampoo and shower gel without a visible fixture at all. It costs a bit more to install since it needs to be planned before the tiling goes up, but for a lot of homeowners the cleaner look is worth it. If you'd rather not build one in, ready-made niche units are now widely available too, so you don't have to choose between the look and the convenience.
Can You Mix Bathroom Furniture From Different Ranges?
Yes, and this project is a good example of why you might want to. Most furniture ranges are designed as a matching set, which works well until you need something outside what a manufacturer offers as standard, a specific colour, size, or finish, for example. On this project, we combined a unit from one range with a compatible worktop from another, cut and finished to fit both pieces so the join disappears. It takes a bit more planning at the design stage, since colours and finishes need to line up properly, but it opens up combinations that wouldn't otherwise exist off the shelf.
