@Santo, Hi Daniel, Well I'm pleased to hear that you do in fact use your double sink and that the children have their own too. As I have said, I love the look and truth be known I would have liked it in my bathroom as it does create an elegant look I feel and my bathroom is pretty big but the layout didn't allow for it and hubby wouldn't use it with me anyway!!! He's a farmer and he's more likely to use the laundry trough to wash off the dirt that he comes home with at times ha-ha Merry Christmas to you and your family. Cheers, Barbara

We too live in a cold winter climate with our bathrooms all on the southern side and faced similar issues as you do. One smaller bathroom does not have a window so we put in a Velux skylight which provides amazing natural light through the day. This may not be to your liking, especially if you have a period home. We also use heated towel rails and under tile heating (just enough to take the chill off and stop mould) in winter. Although we have a light in the shower recess, a bonus is the large fixed shower head with inbuilt LED, which at night gives the feeling of showering under moonlight. We chose light colours and mirrored recessed cabinets to reflect as much natural light as possible.

Yes, your towels will get a little damp opposite a rain-style showerhead. If you are determined to have one of those, it might be worth looking at enclosing the shower. You could always make the shower space wider rather than longer, then you will have a dry floor area to put your bathmat, instead of right behind the door! The towel rail could then go across the middle of the wall and have the opportunity to dry properly (especially if you get a heated one).

It is nice for guests to have it as an ensuite but the doors are quite close together and I’m sure they could survive walking a few steps through the living area if it meant a better bathroom foe the people that live there full time. But you know how you live and the priorities.