*This is a paid collaboration

Ok, so it’s only December, but let’s face it, Christmas will have come and gone before we know it. In January, our thoughts drift to either booking a holiday in the sun somewhere or doing a bit of redecorating and renovation. There’s just something about the beginning of a new year that brings about a want or need to smarten our home up and get it ready for the year ahead.

For us, it’s the bathroom. Living in a rented house, we have had to put up with the slightly ‘interesting’ taste someone who has lived here before had. We have an oldish bathroom suite which could do with being replaced in the next couple of years, slightly dodgy tiling around the shower and sink (seriously, tiles with dolphins? What the hell were they thinking), grey vinyl flooring, complete with a big purple hair dye stain on and the icing on the cake: the most hideous wallpaper I have ever seen. I’m not going to show you a picture of it because I’m too embarrassed about how ugly it is. Think underwater scenes – all over the bathroom!

Our letting agent and landlord both agree that the bathroom does need some work doing to it, and we are hoping that this year, they will come and have it renovated. They’ll obviously have the final say over it, but we will get some input into it – it may be rented but it is still our home. At even the first mention of this, I hopped onto Pinterest and started looking for ideas and inspiration!

We only have a small bathroom, so despite wanting a separate shower cubicle, I think the only option is a shower over the bath as we have now. I’d rather they switch out the shower curtain for a glass door, as shower curtains creep me out. I always imagine moving it to see a huge spider on it or a murderer behind it. I’ve clearly watched too many horror films! I’d like the cupboard in our bathroom, which I think once housed a boiler, shelved out so I can organize all the towels and bed linen a bit better. At the moment, it’s all shoved into plastic boxes which are a pain to get to.

I’d really like to have a white and grey bathroom. I’ve always loved the whole subway tile type look but it just wouldn’t really work in our house. Instead, I think we would go for a coastal theme (especially as we can see the sea from our bathroom window!), with these Laura Ashley tiles from Tiles and Bathrooms.

My favourite part of redecorating and renovating is being able to ‘dress’ the room, with plants and bits and bobs. I’d love to add a few succulent type plants, as I’m hopeless at keeping things alive, and some nice beach themed knick-knacks. At the moment, our only nod to coastal living in there (if you can ignore that horrific under the sea wallpaper!) is a big shell which doubles up as a soap dish!

Fingers crossed that 2019 is the year where we finally get the bathroom of our dreams!

#Collab