What are the most regretted bathroom upgrades?

The most regretted bathroom upgrades are the ones bought for the photograph rather than the daily routine. Top of the list is the oversized freestanding bath. In a typical Victorian terrace bathroom in Sydenham or Dulwich, a big roll-top swallows the floor, leaves nowhere to stand and dry off, and collects dust behind it where no mop reaches. Owners tell us a year later it gets filled maybe six times.

Open shelving is the next one. It looks calm on day one because the photograph was styled. Six months in it holds half-squeezed tubes and a hairdryer lead, and everything on it needs dusting weekly. Countertop basins with shallow bowls are a quieter regret: splash across the worktop every time you wash your hands, water pooling around the tap base, sealant going black.

Cheap digital showers fail early and cost more to replace than a decent thermostatic valve would have cost to fit in the first place. And bold patterned tiles date fastest of all. We have ripped out plenty of feature floors less than five years old. My advice is to spend the money on the things you touch every day (the valve, the brassware, the seat) and keep the fixed surfaces plain. Colour can come from paint and towels, which cost little to change.