Bathroom and Ensuite Update in Watsonia, Victoria

Located in the suburb of Watsonia, just 16km from the Melbourne CBD, this 20 year old, family home was ready for a bathroom upgrade. Having lived with their builder range bathrooms for 13 years, Amy and Gavin were keen to redesign and modernise both the ensuite and family bathroom.
Whilst searching online for a suitable company to do the work, Gavin came across the Refresh Renovations website and got in touch with Marcus Smith, Renovation Specialist at Refresh Renovations in Melbourne. After receiving quotes from a number of builders, Amy and Gavin chose Marcus, and his dynamic team at Refresh Renovations.
Marcus listened to their requirements, understanding their budget and in particular, the time frame. Amy and Gavin were going overseas and it was essential that the renovation was well underway by the time they’d leave and all decisions were made before then, to ensure the project could reach completion for when they returned. This gave the team five weeks to complete the work.

Bathrooms design goals

Rather than take a phased approach, it was decided to do both rooms at the same time. Fortunately, the house also had a downstairs toilet and with Amy’s parents living nearby, a daily visit to use the shower became part of the routine, until the new showers and toilets were operational.
“A major goal was to maximise floor space in the ensuite, as the layout was poorly designed,” said Marcus.
“The ensuite was tiny, but we managed to fit in a custom vanity, with double vessel basins, which is awesome,” said Amy. We blocked up the ensuite door and moved the opening to the side of the walk-in robe. This gave us more room to allow for a 900mm x 900mm shower and makes much better use of the space,” she added.

Carrying out the bathroom renovations

Marcus and his team designed modern, functional bathrooms, with high-quality fixtures and fittings. A new freestanding bath in the family bathroom makes bath time a lot more enjoyable for their young daughter. Relocating the toilet and removing the bidet, created enough space to install a very large 1.5m x 1.5m walk-in shower. The choice of timber-lined vanities, semi-frameless shower screens and Beaumont Tile’s charcoal and white, large format tiles completed the look that Amy and Gavin were hoping for.
Working with Refresh was really good
“Working with Refresh was really good. Being on maternity leave, I was here every day, so we could have a discussion, make a decision and keep going. Anything that I had an issue with, I would talk to Marcus and then he would sort it out, so I didn’t have to talk to all the different tradespeople. I definitely see the value in doing a project this way,” said Amy.

Bathroom renovation costs

“The project was 90-95% complete when we went on holiday.  The only thing missing when we left were the stone benchtops and the basins and we knew we could always message Marcus when we were away, if we needed to,” said Amy.
“We said originally we would like to spend $40,000 AUD but we knew once we started picking the fixtures, it would be more,” said Amy.  Marcus came back with an estimate of $48,000 AUD. We then went from a single vanity to a full custom, double vanity in the ensuite, we changed the entryway to the ensuite bathroom, we upgraded the benchtops to stone and during the project, we also had to upgrade the electrical panel on the house,” she explained. The final spend was $54,000 AUD.

Amy and Gavin are exceptionally happy with the end result and the service provided by Refresh. They have already recommended Marcus and his team to other family members and friends.

You may also be interested in reading Total Home Renovation in The Basin, Victoria

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