Sounds like a very stressful situation! If there is absolutely no way the builder will allow you to change things (even if they did, I imagine they would ask you to foot the entire bill of pulling the tiles down and replacing all water proofing in addition to new tiles), I can make a few suggestions for improvement. Firstly I would suggest replacing the tiles above the vanity with a white mosaic, a patterned or a textured feature tile/strip. You could also use this same tile to replace the vertical feature in the shower. There are some beautiful shapes and sizes available to choose from. Secondly I would address the grout situation in this way: Floor - dark colour grout & Walls - Light colour grout. Lastly if it does not prove too difficult or expensive, maybe replace the tiles below the vanity with a plain white tile (could be similar size). Good luck and I am sure once you have a lovely mirror up and some crisp white towels, it will look just wonderful.

Hi Deonne If your bathroom requires the two doors, my suggestion is NOT to have a bath. Keep it very clean and neat Across the recess have either a walk-in shower with a 600mm opening OR a glass panel and door. You may consider a seat in the shower ( example on our website ) A recess ( niche ) for shower 300mm high max length Wall hung, all drawer vanity. In-wall cistern toilet suite. Mixer diverter, overhead and handheld shower. Quality tapware, with min 10-year warranty Porcelain floor tiles min 300 x 300. Tile to ceiling, ( unless home has high ceiling, if high, tile to an architrave height ) min tile size 600 x 300, Ceramic to rein in cost

For those interested - as expected, the pendants were t going to work on the left side of the vanity due to proximity to the shower... our electrician actually suggested three pinhole/mini recessed down lights spaced over the vanity for task lighting. I think they should look nice and minimal and not clash with our larger surface mounted down lights. Anyway, will post an update pic when it’s all done! Thanks again everyone for your comments. :-)

Hey Larkspur, thanks for the great response! Actually, you are correct, according to the building inspection: "The original section of the dwelling is constructed upon a strip "edge beam" concrete footing system incorporating a suspended timber frame (bearer and joist flooring system) with the newer addition/s constructed upon a concrete slab footing system." That original edge beam has had a damp course put in along one side of the building, just FYI. I actually have trouble telling where the original section ends. The floorboards extend into the 'dining' area (hardly a dining area - you might fit a small table with 4 chairs in there). However, the rear of the bath area towards the courtyard is sided with that same weatherboard type material that's on the extension. I suspect they may have rebuilt the exterior of the bath and laundry area but that it was the original profile of the house. Regarding the fibre cement. My inspector noted there was a chance such material contained asbestos. But the building approvals attached to the Form 1 were given in the very late 80s / early 90s. As far as I am aware, they stopped making that material in the early 80s so I am hopeful we missed that. There is, however, a small amount of confirmed asbestos backing in the power meter box for example. As you saw. I am a huge bath fan and would definitely put one in. I have a soft spot for the cedar wood japanese baths but I suspect that's a pretty niche taste and wouldn't add as much value for future owners as much as me haha. The bathroom, even in it's current envelope, has heaps of spare room. The northern light actually enters the 'bottom' of the layout - e.g. the verandah / lounge / spare bed side. However, we get a fair bit of light in from all those windows in the breezeway. There is a very odd step down between the dining room and the are marked as living. As in, you jump off the floorboards onto tiling in the living area. As you get to the rear of the extenion, you actually step back up again. Not sure why they did that. The courtyard is level with the lower dining area. If I had a vision of a great kitchen, it'd be one with a bar running along that wall where the laundry meets the dining area. Maybe that bar would run along the windows to the courtyard too, forming an L shape. And a very functional, big cooking and prep area with a window to the courtyard. So, someone cooking could chat to their buddies and hand them a plate over the kitchen counter, or through a window potentially. The first house we really loved had a huge walk in pantry, triple insulated. That'd be awesome too but not sure if we would have room for it! Style is up in the air. We need to live in a bit longer to figure that one out. It already has a nice warm feel and I think we would try and keep that.