suggesting the basin inside the toilet was to enlarge the toilet room because the toilet looks too small for a door to legally swing to the inside and access from the hallway for most of the storage will allow more flexible arrangement of appliances and working positions eg ironing board can be left out without obstructing access but a small section (eg behind the entry doors could be dual access for linen

Yes thank you for your thoughts. the room is 2.8 (with window) vs 3.4m. I do find it a bit annoying too as I don't like that you open the door and see straight away into the shower (though I'm certain the door would have a lock). I'm sure they lined the bath up to be with the window as visually that looks better, but then I find the space at the end annoying. I like the alternative drawings (I like three of them lots!) and I had been considering an drop in bath built wall to wall rather than a freestanding but also finding it frustrating to find a really nice supportive bath and there are less drop in baths than freestanding around at the moment which is a bit annoying. Thanks Anna for the picture, that helps as that looks good (though we would have more space at either end, 50cm) and I prefer the look of yours with some space but not as cavenous... I think I might have to have a talk with my husband as we really need to work out what to do!!

@oklouise here is the full plan with the rooms now swapped. We're in the process of doing the working drawings for Stage 1, and we'll likely start on Stage 2 in 3-5 years once we've started our family and need more room so we can definitely change that as we figure out how we live once children are in the picture! Our house is a 1920's bungalow so we're trying to preserve as much of the original character & structure at the front of the house. The good light is all at the back of the house. Any suggestions and advice are welcome :)

Hi Mark — if you can keep that wall clear then all external modifications can be considered like plastic surgery: elective, aesthetic and can be as cheap or expensive as you like. You could leave that wall as is and spend the budget entirely on fittings and finishes (if you don’t mind an external door in a bathroom), or rip the lot out and replace with something else. Either way it’s best to decide beforehand to negate the need for further patching, but what you do with that wall will have an enormous impact — if, for example, you ripped that wall apart and put in a 1.5m window, you would have space next to it in the corner for a shower or towel rail; or you could remove all windows and replace the door with a tall frosted window which would open up space either side. Nutshell: what you do with that outside wall — if anything — will determine most of the layout. Best place to start then might be to price up alterations to the brickwork, replacing windows etc, to see how much of the budget will be swallowed up by altering it, especially as the trades to alter external walls are totally different to renovating bathrooms. Money money money MONey — MON-AY! Hopefully that helps :-P