My house and bathroom are small so space saving is critical. The original old bathroom layout has a small square shower and a separate half bath, with an even smaller basin right next to the toilet. It was claustrophobic and the half bath was only used for storing cleaning stuff. When we renovated, the bathroom was gutted, keeping most of the original plumbing points. Though we are not "bath persons" we decided to have a shower over (normal length) bath with frameless swing glass screen. From past experiences, I find it easier to clean a shower-over-bath than a fully tiled shower area, or one with a shower base. When visitors with young children came to stay, having a bath was handy. Combining shower/bath gave us room for a long vanity with plenty of bench space and away from the toilet. It now has ample of space in the middle for changing and moving around each other. Shower-over-bath definitely is an efficient use of small bathroom space.

I love your idea of extending, but understand your concerns re over-capitalisation. I think your budget will need to reflect how long you plan to stay in the house, and whether you consider the enhancements to your lifestyle as valuable an investment as the actual financial cost vs possible capital gain. Have you thought of getting in a real estate agent to discuss what effect any potential extensions or changes will have on the value of the property? I agree with MB above that the laundry is under-utilised space, and using the entry space would also be a very cost-effective solution. A way to really modernise the home with less expense than a large extension and new ensuite bathroom would be to close off the door between the existing bathroom and toilet and add a toilet to what would now be the master ensuite. The laundry and current toilet could become the family bathroom, and the kitchen could be extended very slightly by pushing out the exterior wall to create a scullery with back door, which could be closed off from the kitchen with a cavity slider. If you pushed out the laundry/bathroom wall to match, you could add a bath, too. Best of luck.

Hi, what colour matt were you thinking? Matt black is the most common colour to be used in this context at the moment, black marks more than any other. Even in gloss finishes, fingerprints etc on this colour will show. If you choose one of the many other available colours out there, the marking element will reduce. See GLOBO for an example of how much freedom you have with matt finishes available. Please contact me should you want to know more about the products we offer in colour finishes.

Having had 4 x 2 bedroom holiday Villas I would suggest that one bath for two couples to share doesn't work.. When booking the 2 bedder for one couple we always locked off the other bedroom as people will still use it for bags etc or just another bed and expect not to pay for the extra bedroom and Bathroom which always needs to be serviced So a bath in each bedroom with a view, plus a TV for separation and not having to watch FOOTBALL. The deck space can be better used within the Chalet by having a narrow railing glass Juliet style across the large opening doors. We found that everyone loved sitting at the island, the coffee table can be extendable to become a dining table when needed. If you do add a deck one table services both spaces. The following suggestions that you can play with and resize to suit