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.

I will start with an admission - I have read nothing of the comments. However I have helped a friend design a compact laundry. Here was how we did it. 1. Start with a list of everything - and I mean everything, include pegs, those little lint ball things for the washing machine, buckets, mops, vacuum, airers etc - that you want to store in the space. 2. Break that list into where you want to store it - drawers, wall, or cupboard - and then rewrite the list as cupboard, drawers, wall etc.As you are doing this, see if you can store those items elsewhere - we added a ceiling airer in the bathroom using pulleys. Also mark any item that a special storage gadget might help. We added to the back of one door (I think they were custom made 925mm and 2300mm high) a hanger for the vacuum hose, and in the cupboard a hanger that slides out for the brooms and mop. 3. Go measure the space you have, and be exact - if the measurement is 1457mm it is 1457mm. Also, see where you might "borrow" space from. We managed to add another 650mm deep, 750mm wide cupboard by swapping the two bedrooms around, and using space in the guest bedroom wardrobe. 4. Draw up a plan, and be really specific. If you think you need four drawers and a top mounted sink then plan that way. Whilst you are planning think over whether you want top spec and not hide it, or to hide it behind really nice doors. We used reasonable quality from Bunnings and modified because it was behind doors. Also, don't be afraid to "borrow" something from a different zone. In my laundry I used a round kitchen sink, because I didn't want a really deep laundry tub so I could use the room underneath. 5. Go and find a really good quality cupboard manufacturer or builder and ask them to look over your plan and ideas. They may tweak to assist, but remember you know your space and what you will be using it for better than anyone. In my friends case, she had a brother who assisted and made a super looking set of doors. As to resale value, that depends on who you want to buy it, but I have one piece of advice - don't go for the resale value, do it because that is what you want. In my friends case she turned her laundry into the bathroom, and then turned the oversized bathroom into a very natty study. Good Luck.

Thanks tweeza, the second idea is also very nice. Gives a long platform to put things on. Also, thanks to Ray. I understand but I have got extra powder room for guests so I'll keep the toilet in. Now working on the bathroom for the back house. This is what the architect has come up with. I like it so far but the vanity is against the window, so where will the mirror go? What are my options here? Do I make the window smaller and taller? or are there any other options.

Great ideas - love the play pen concept, ha! Good point about finding another location to iron but I’ve asked for the washer/dryer cavity to be moved inwards by 120-150mm so I do have a spot I can slide the ironing board into instead of taking up space where a broom might otherwise live in a broom closet. I’m keeping the stacked arrangement bc a) I have a condenser dryer that can’t be wall mounted anyway so the stack arrangement currently works fine and b) I too wish to use baskets under benchtop for storage. I can’t see much use for cupboards the way I use my laundry and I like that I won’t have to bend for one more appliance (if only it could be the washer since I use it more!) I’ll have to deal with the washer door opening the wrong way for a while but she’s a teenager - at least 14 years, we reckon - so how much longer can she last? I’ve since researched the doors on my brand and they have all changed to the RHS opening now. So it’s a good thing I didn’t locate the machines next to the door! That would have been awkward. My dryer door can be rehung to suit any side for opening. The more I think about it, the more a centrally located sink makes sense to me in a small space and I’m happy to have come to this positioning. It’s arguably the only ‘appliance’ you’d need to stand right in front of while using, and therefore be standing comfortably in the middle of the room, not off to one side. I’ve realised that when loading a machine, you have to stand to one side. And similarly if you’re either opening a lower cabinet or pulling out a basket from under a bench. So putting either of those items bang smack in the middle of a galley arrangement means you’re cutting off your space while using it. Thanks for your input. Appreciate it!