This shower room in Mastrick, Aberdeen combines a dedicated enclosure with fitted storage around the window and a broad basin beside it. We removed the bath and reworked the arrangement around the existing doorway and narrow window. White furniture, an oak-effect worktop and grey stone-effect panels bring the different parts of the room together. The photographs show the room in January 2024.
The original room had an electric shower over the bath, a blue basin cabinet, a separate toilet and a smaller chrome towel radiator. Rather than replacing those fittings in their old positions, we considered how a shower enclosure and an L-shaped furniture run could use the room differently.
Give the shower its own place
The bath previously ran towards the window, with the shower above it and a curtain separating it from the rest of the room. The new enclosure sits beside the entrance, leaving the window wall available for furniture. An electric shower is fitted inside, with its handset on an adjustable rail.
This change illustrates why removing a bath is a layout decision as well as a product choice. We consider the shower entrance, the bathroom door and the neighbouring basin together. In this room, the enclosure and basin sit alongside one another, so the approach to both matters.
The tray has a raised edge. A dedicated shower can suit a different bathing routine, but its threshold still needs to be considered when choosing the arrangement.
Balance a larger basin with floor space
The basin choice prompted a specific discussion before installation. The customer selected a broad basin, and we explained that accommodating it would require a deeper unit. That would provide more storage beneath the sink while leaving less floor space in front. The customer accepted the design after that explanation.
The installer scope specified an 800 × 450 mm basin. Its width provides a substantial washing area, while the cabinet beneath contains the everyday items that might otherwise sit around the basin. The January photographs show the rectangular basin set into the worktop above a pair of cupboard doors.
A larger basin is not automatically the best choice for every small bathroom. We look at its projection as well as its width, then consider where someone will stand and how they will move past it. Discussing that trade-off makes the furniture choice part of the room plan.
Connect the storage around the corner
The new furniture turns beneath the window and continues towards the basin. The worktop follows that corner, linking the washing area with storage on the window wall. The toilet sits in front of a matching cistern unit, replacing the original separate cistern and surrounding exposed pipework.
The old blue basin cabinet already offered storage, but it served a different arrangement beside the bath. Here, the fitted run gives the basin, toilet and corner cupboards a coordinated place within the new layout.
We included matching replacement doors for the existing cupboard in the scope too. The tall white cupboard beside the entrance carries that furniture finish into another part of the room. When planning fitted storage, we consider existing cupboards alongside the new units, so those retained spaces do not become an afterthought.
Keep mirrored storage above the basin
A mirrored cabinet sits above the basin, providing another place for smaller toiletries. The original bathroom also had a mirror cabinet; the new one belongs to the revised basin and furniture arrangement.
The cabinet's position matters alongside the depth of the worktop below it. We consider the washing area as a whole: the basin, tap, mirror and storage should relate to where someone stands and reaches. In a compact room, separating smaller items into an upper cabinet can also leave the worktop available for things being used at the time.
The cabinet has mirrored doors rather than a separately illuminated mirror. Chrome handles and the basin tap provide smaller details against the white furniture and timber-effect surface.
Carry the finishes through the room
Grey stone-effect panels continue around the enclosure, window and basin. Their broad veining gives the walls a consistent finish across the different zones. The oak-effect worktop adds a warmer colour, while the light wood-effect vinyl click floor replaces the original pale tiled floor.
We also fitted a white UPVC ceiling with recessed downlights. The photographs show the lights across the ceiling and a circular extractor grille near the window. We consider those positions alongside the furniture and shower, rather than adding them to the room plan afterwards.
A tall chrome towel radiator stands near the entrance, replacing the smaller rail in the original room. Its position keeps towel hanging space on the wall opposite the basin and shower, with the cupboard and doorway nearby. Those neighbouring fittings remain part of the clearance discussion, whatever radiator size is chosen.
Plan around the choices that affect the layout
This project brought together two linked decisions: replacing the bath with a separate shower and accepting a deeper basin unit for the storage it offered. The useful starting point is to decide which daily activities need more room, then check what each fitting asks of the space around it.
If you are planning a shower room in Mastrick or elsewhere around Aberdeen, we can explore those choices during a quotation visit. Our quote and work process explains how we develop the layout and agreed scope with you.
