We had our claw foot bath professionally restored as re surfaced over 20 years ago and I gold leafed the claw foot and shellacked it numerous times it looks fabulous the bath still looks as new today as it did 20 years ago, we looked for a professional re-surfacer of bathrooms to do it, I finished off the claw feet as mentioned, we bought the bath that was being used as a sheep dip on a farm so it was much worse than your bath, we live in Adelaide but I am sure there would be prfessionals in Melbourne, just google and then look for feedback of their work, good luck.

that's a relief i thought you meant two sinks for the washing machine and a third for hands! my suggestions includes a separate laundry cupboard with either a drop in skinny tub with underbench washer or stacked washer and dryer with skinny tub and bifold door, a double walk in shower with grab rails and low down taps that can be reached from outside with an overhead and handheld shower for showering while seated...rotate and raise the toilet higher for a little more comfort and privacy and add a grab rail with integral toilet roll holder, wall hung vanity for easy access for extra towels, toilet paper and toiletries and so slippers, floor mats, waste bins and scales etc can be under the vanity out of the way when necessary, mirror doored wall cabinets and an extra shelf could be extended across over the top of the vanity and toilet for more counter area and there's just enough room for a small shower chair (used inside and out of the shower and much better and cheaper than fixed shower seat), several easy access locations for towels and don't forget clothes hooks on the back of the door

Agree it is hotly debated. In our first home we renovated we had a big bathroom, double shower, clawfoot bath, double vanity. Our laundry was right outside our bathroom and we decided instead of having a change table for our babies, we would put a mat on the laundry bench and use that, much to several of our friends dismay who promtply delcared we would get sick of it after 5 minutes and do the changetable in the nursery. Um nope, never did and used the laundry bench the whole time, actually made cleaning up several 'poonamis' as we used to refer to them as, rather easy actually. In the end, both children ended up bathing in our laundry tub, no kneeling down and bending over a bath, and right next to our designated 'changing station' lol, and it worked perfectly. Failing that we would often shower the kids, we had a bumbo that we put in the shower with us and they would sit in that, loved it. As they got older as toddlers, both used to shower a lot and not use the bath at all. We left that house when our eldest was 7 and our youngest was 4. We went on to purchase and renovate another house that never had the bath put in until we were nearly finished the reno and were selling, so no baths there either. Now we are in their (the kids) third house since they were born and they are 12 and 9, small bathroom layout, they've had baths here a few times...but not a lot. And now like you we are debating...when we redo this bathroom...to bath or not to bath...lol. Not sure if it helps... :)

To be fair @Kate , if your councils are anything like ours this side of the ditch -- they want to control almost everything . Especially considering the smaller sized section , our councils over here will make it so that you have to either have 1.5 mtrs to your boundary or 1/3rd of the section cannot be built on . That seems easy enough to understand , BUT in reality they are basically saying that you have to go 2 storey , and there possibly aren't modular designs that fit that space efficiently . Basically , they will make the rules fit their desired outcome . We have rules like you can't have a garage opening onto the street or footpath -- they must either be at a 90 degree angle , or 7 metres in from the boundary . The 'excuse' given is so that someone doesn't back out and hit a kid or obstruct a footpath , but in reality it is because some developers years ago would have a row of say 6 garages across the front of a section , maybe with apartments above or behind . It meant they didn't have to lose space or spend money on driveways . So councils changed the rules . And as far as modular or any type of construction -- generally people mention it ( like the Original Poster did ) as thats their preferred construction , and thats because they see some percieved advantage . In this case possibly $$$$ . If someone just wants an idea , they post 'Approx what would it cost to get a 4 bed , 2 storey 250 sq mtr house built on my section, -- the OP didn't , he simply asked about 1 construction type , so I ( maybe incorrectly ) assumed it was on price .