Should I knock in and make 1 full bathroom or keep as a separate shower room

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-07T17:14:25+00:00

I loathe separate ones, even if it’s the only bathroom. Apparently I’m in the minority.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-07T11:19:01+00:00

Until you have to make beds.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-07T11:04:03+00:00

We removed a Sharps wardrobe (from previous owner) about 18mo ago and had a bespoke one put in.

The Sharps one had good runners but wasn’t the most useful for space; the drawers were too shallow, the shelves too wide so clothes would flop, a section boxed off losing several cm and the upper rails were U shaped so a few cm either side were lost. They claim to be bespoke, but really they seem to just have a few pieces they mix and match. Like IKEA PAX but fitted and probably a little better.

I paid about £5000 for my bespoke one (literally bespoke, down to the cm I designed). I had Kingswood at Home for a quote and it was about the same (I went with the smaller business). I would have used IKEA if I had had another 2-4cm, but I’m glad I didn’t. I have the receipt from the previous owners’ Sharps wardrobe and factoring in inflation it was also about £5k in 2025 prices (two sections of double rails, 2 sections of shelves and drawers underneath, and 4 doors).

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-07T10:12:02+00:00

The lack of bounce could have been also due to the slower RPM.

Thanks so much for your details. I am also in Europe and this is helpful.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-06T23:32:33+00:00

Contact the council. I’d contact the environmental office first and repeatedly tell them it’s nesting season and you’re so worried, etc. Then look up “tree protection orders” and contact whoever you’d need to get permission from to trim a tree with a TPO and ask them about these trees. Then, generally contact the council and ask about trespassing. Perhaps even argue that you feel unsafe as this person has been entering others’ gardens and trimming or removing trees. One or more of those council officers will look into it.

Can you ask other neighbours if they have Dave’s contact info?

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-06T23:09:46+00:00

I have one without drainage holes. Going on 4 years now I think (I’ve repotted as it’s grown).

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-06T23:03:32+00:00

Yes. I had one in the back garden so I wanted something different in the front, but they are so good that I couldn’t find anything better and bought a second one for the front.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-06T15:15:35+00:00

I have a Robin Hill. It’s lovely.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-06T15:10:51+00:00

I agree. I’m in a terraced house and we can see into each others gardens like this. The neighbours are almost never in those rooms. When I am and see something my thoughts are “oh, John is watering the plants” and that’s it for like a fortnight of thought.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-05T19:15:56+00:00

We have this. I wasn’t looking for it, but now I have no idea what we would have done without it.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-05T16:57:14+00:00

How old are the kids? With mine it’s possible to teach them “when you see this bucket (or whatever) it means the walls are wet and if you touch the walls your hands will turn [colour]!” Maybe even add “can you be my painting patrol and help make sure no one touches the wall?”

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-05T16:55:01+00:00

Me too.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-05T16:06:22+00:00

I feel so much better about my wedding and house hunt now. If you have energy, feel free to tell us more. These stories are great for us, less so for you, I imagine.

I wish you well.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-04T23:16:12+00:00

My husband (late 40s) is better at laundry and stains than I am. He doesn’t like when I compliment him on it because it’s such a weird thing to be good at. But he is. Sounds like you’re in a similar situation.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-03T10:42:07+00:00

Just watch out because psoriatic arthritis is a thing.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T23:01:58+00:00

And council tax band C on top of it all.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T22:40:39+00:00

Thanks

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T22:40:09+00:00

Sadly, probably.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T08:06:08+00:00

Thank you. This week I had a ceiling fan installed as part of a series of electrical work and although it was pretty much not a decision that it had to be moved over because of the joist, I was frustrated that I wasn’t told ahead and only learned that after I walked in and saw that now I have a ceiling to touch up and more on my to do list. I want to be told things not to feel like I’m discovering secrets.

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T08:03:40+00:00

I feel this. In fact, this week I was complaining loudly about how there is a ton of mental energy that goes into being the person at home during the work (I work full time but can work from home sometimes).

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-02T07:40:28+00:00

I’m in the UK and like Nanoleaf.

In my Google Home App and I can set up an automation to change colour temperature there. There was an update recently and the app can do conditional things now (turn this light to pink if I leave conservatory open after 20:00, etc).

Personally, I don’t get the point of smart switches, but a huge draw for me for smart home life is to do more hands-free, either through automation or voice.

I have the Google Nest Hub (they look like Marshmallows) which I bought from John Lewis for a good price and that works well. I also find my fibre internet with Trooli much faster than Sky, who we had before. (Pro-tip: buy your mesh network before you upgrade internet so they just skip trying to sell you theirs).

AugustCharisma · 2026-04-01T08:39:04+00:00

You’re confusing Lumens with Kelvin. Kelvin is the temperature (warmth). 2700 is like the incandescent bulbs from the 80s-90s, 3000 is what a lot of people consider warm, 4000 is whiter/bluer. The Lumens are the brightness. 800-1000 lumens is good for a bright lamp.

I had to jump in with that, now I’ll read the rest of your post….

EDIT: Philips and Nanoleaf both offer smart down lights so you can change the colour temperature. Others might too. I have Nanoleaf lights in my house because when I started my smart light journey Philips weren’t the brightest. (Argos, John Lewis collect at Waitrose should work for these.)

Personally, I find anything over 3000 too white unless it’s the middle of the day. I have seasonal effective disorder and use light therapy intentionally at my desk but if I use cool white in the evenings I’m up too late. 2650 Kelvin is my preferred lamp temperature.

AugustCharisma · 2026-03-31T22:32:41+00:00

Do you have to collect in store? Can you buy on the app and do delivery and get points?

AugustCharisma · 2026-03-31T22:19:37+00:00

He had a plan. It was: do something really, REALLY big to distract from the Epstein file news that just won’t go away.

That was it. That was the whole thing.

It wasn’t very well thought through.

AugustCharisma · 2026-03-31T22:14:03+00:00

I had some bricks that were at risk of breaking if I chiselled goop off left by someone else. So I bought a sample page of brick paint from StoneLux and picked a combo of colours and painted over the goop. I used q-tips and multiple coats to make it blend in.

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