Hi Jennifer, this would be a very very costly exercise - plenty of our clients have achieved a similar look with rectified tiles, utilising a minimal grout line - making the cleaning aspect easier, ultimately you are left with a 1/2mm grout line. It is very minimal! Porcelain panels can also be very expensive too - and there will be added costs involving transport + delivery, as they are heavy and in large sheet sizes. It depends also whether you are building from new, or just renovating - as it may be a bit more difficult to maneuver the large panel into an exiting home. Certainly do your research though - there are lots of options out there - best of luck!

I have only seen one wooden bench top that has managed, over time, to keep the wet out and avoid that black mouldy creepage where the water splashes behind the taps and around tap inserts. It was built by a carpenter and then the owner applied oil to gain the colour desired before applying several coats of marine epoxy (several = at least 5), sanded back before every new layer. It was burn proof and the colour locked in by epoxy coat with no maintenance required (until a visitor put a burning pot on it and left it there while attending to fire on stove, still... only left a black ring. That said, the owner promptly got out the sander and ground back until black ring was no longer charcoal texture, then reapplied oil and layered epoxy until black ring looked like it belonged (can't do that with any other surface I can think of?). After 15 years there is no sight of the insidious black mould from water penetration so I suppose it is the same recipe as with most thing successful projects in life, research, research, preparation, preparation, preparation and don't falter at the finish line.

We installed a skylight over shower (velux fixed) in a tiny ensuite and I would highly recommend. It looked absolutely amazing and was heavenly to shower under the sky. We only had the house for a year and sold it (about to install another skylight over shower in our new house), so I can't comment on the long term, but no mould problems or condensation drips. I think if anything the sunlight was actually helpful to dry up moisture. We live in Tasmania so I'd doubt condensation dripping would be a problem elsewhere. We had a fan installed not in the cavity with the skylight but just on the ceiling next to it. In the second bathroom we put in a skylight over bath and put an extractor in the skylight cavity as the ceiling was higher. Could not feel a draught- so I think the question of where to put fan really depends on ceiling height. Do the skylight over shower!! You will not regret it. It really takes your bathroom to another level and there are really no maintenance problems if installed properly with custom flashings. I found velux quite repellent of dirt etc, we did not need to clean after a year (one flat roof skylight, one very large sloped) and I have seen velux skylights looking great with no cleaning for 7 years plus.

custom made vanity and wall cabinets should only be needed if you have awkward sizes as an off the shelf cabinet allows you to see and touch the product and is often much more economical than custom made ...unless you need to keep some special supplies (eg 24 pack of toilet rolls?) i suggest that a base cabinet need only be 450-500 deep which is plenty for folded towels and drawers and the in wall cabinet about 150mm deep (including most of the cabinet inside the wall and only a small frame for doors and mirrors projecting out) but the in wall cabinet may depend on existing wall studs and electrical wiring so think about what you would put inside the cabinets and only have enough inside cabinet space for those items (maximum toilet roll or fat shampoo bottle about 120mm...in small bathrooms the extra floor space makes drying and dresssing much more comfortable and by rotating the shower in the family bathroom there would be less wet floor in the walkway and if the vanity in the ensuite is away from the corner you can allow space for a handtowel and/or a very convenient space to hang a hair dryer ...