I am not the best person to comment on lights but would a few downlights be the go or one of those integrated heat/fan/light things be best in centre. Also a lot of people have task lighting......so lights just above the mirror for makeup etc. Personally too bright lighting while doing makeup sends me into a spin as I look like i have about a month to live! I hadn't thought of approvals for my proposed window - so thanks for that. Must keep that in mind. My bathroom is very hidden and looks nowhere in particular. It is all looking good. On another note my friend got a heated towel rail and much as I hate wasting power it is fab. Our towels seems to stay dampish in uninsulated BV '60 box in Melbourne. Also i would have a look in bathroom showrooms for some ideas too if you have any handy. Or buy a bathroom specialty magazine. It is going to be so nice this bathroom. What tiles etc?

I have tried all the suggestions Perini - didn't look purple in real life. Tile Boutique - no purple floor tiles at all. All all the lots and lots of other places = no purple floor tiles. Yes I have seen purple glass mosaics almost everywhere but I don't want small mosaics on the floor. Will also cost $55 sqm more to have grouted than a regular size floor tile. Looks like I'll just have to do boring grey as it's the trend but I have at least found one with sparkles if I can't have purple. I'm also amazed at reactions of the tile sales people - questioning, surprise, snobbery and happiness to be trying to look for something that is different. Cant' say I can't find purple, I have but with a 10 to 14 week wait to be ordered from O/S and lots of $$$ but I need to reno the bathroom by then so can't wait. Motto: If you have time and money can do anything.

And in the storms last week, we had a 24 hour blackout!! I'm with wuff - just how simple is simple. I think there is quite a bit of difference between labour saving devices and technology now. Labour saving devices became more and more essential as our lives got busier, women were freed from the drudgery of housework and given encouragement and the freedom to grow, seek out careers and a life outside the home. In many ways, I feel technology is putting us back in our homes and not encouraging us to explore the outside world. We are letting too much technology take over our lives and we are not interacting with people like we did in the old days. The other disadvantage with technology is its continual need to be updated and upgraded which can not only be expensive but also requires constant learning. Take TVs for example - in the olden days you bought a set plugged it in and that was it, now they have to be specially installed and set up and for the average person to know how to do this and understand it is not easy. Older people are being disadvantaged by all this technology too, they were not raised with it like the young ones today so it is constant learning, even learning a whole new language, and quite frankly there comes a time in life when head space just reaches saturation point.

Ideally you would want 900-1000mm clear space in front of your vanity and for walkways, unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world and have to work with what we have. 700mm would be the absolute minimum width for a walkway to still allow reasonable passage, although I would be reluctant to go this tight. A floating vanity will help the space look larger and storage can be included in a mirrored shaving cabinet or mirror with shallow shelf above the vanity.