My favorite spot to hide myself and get some moment of peace is my balcony. I get cut off from the members around and lock me in balcony seat on my arm chair and relieve myself from the extra burden, or tensed situation. Come alive in an hr or 2 and get mixed with the people around.

I live in the country and am completely reliant on tank water. I also have a grey water recycling system and can tell how much water has gone through it at any one time as the filters need to be cleaned after so many litres of water go through them. I can almost guarantee that the bath with a couple of grand kids splashing about for twenty minutes having fun will use less water than any of their parents showering does. Even topping it up with more hot water if needed. Unless you are very conservative with your showers baths are not that bad and the value they add to the resale of the average home outweighs any downside. I definately wouldn't buy a house without one. I have had a house that has a bath the size of the shower though, about 1m x 1m by maybe 40cm deep and I think it was called a hip bath. My sister in law has one at her house, she got it from Lanark, as her house only had a shower which is not practical and it was the cheaper option than redoing the whole bathroom. I dont know if that is what you are after or not.

Have seen many vanities butted up against walls on all 3 sides and 2 sides as well as the usual wall below a mirror. No idea of operation of drawer/etc. until one was seen in the flesh. Depends on hinges, etc., what its being installed near, etc. Basin top taps are probably easiest to install. They also generally use a stop cock to turn water on or off (for maintenance & the like) underneath the vanity with the basin top taps. More aesthetics than anything else really.

having lived in a home with beautiful Tasmanian Oak ceilings, feature walls and cabinets for many years i can appreciate the gorgeous look of timber BUT over the years the timber coatings darken and eventually it became dark oppressive and, rather than painting them to achieve a fresh new Hamptons look we couldn't do it and sold the house instead!! Our new home will have some timber but much more restrained and in smaller areas