LB I think you confuse me as much as I probably confuse you. LOL. ;-) I noticed I had some crazy auto correct word in my last post which I think was supposed to say "able" (I can't remember now what it even said) ;-) Oldroo I think the builder said something like sticking the old roof bats under the floor. The rain, yes we had it here more then a week straight!! It was great because 1) I was on the sunny coast in Qland that week! And 2) we are on tank water which we have been running off empty for about 6 months now and we just got a second tank connected a few weeks ago as well as guttering on our shed and guess what.... Our tanks were overflowing for days!! We could of filled 3 or 4 tanks at that rate!! So I am very happy about the rain!! :-D

We built about ten years ago. If you've ever read Susan Susanka's books about the "not so big house" concept, that's where we were coming from. The attention went into the efficient design of the house in relation to topography and orientation, and into the quality of fittings. We didn't want to have rooms we didn't use. So, 165 sq m, 3 bedrooms (one became the study), a small but very efficient g- shaped kitchen, open living/dining. We did have two bathrooms - one en suite, the other a combined bathroom /laundry - but while both had showers, neither had a tub. Bathrooms without tubs aren't very marketable to families with young kids, admittedly, but older folk often prefer showers. I do yhink having only one bathroom is problematic, but sticking with 3 beds, no study, isn't. We have an aging population looking for smaller, better houses.

Removing the flow restrictor wont help, as the knuckles in the modern shower head set-ups are too small and wont allow sufficient volume of GF hot water through. Best detach the old rose head from the pipe/knuckle set-up, throw it away and then find a rose head that you can adapt to the old knuckle /pipe set-up. It's what I did when I reno'd my bathroom and every thing works fine - good flow with good temp. Plus, you can also buy pressure equalising washers for the cold tap which will give you even more control balancing the hot and cold water.

Slate tiles and tongue and groove are not Art Deco, so sounds like you need to gut your bathroom and start again. The following photos are mixing earthy, natural aesthetic with a Art Deco twist.