A friend recently said she likes to ask her sister’s opinion when she has a decision to make. “Give me an opinion so I can ignore it,” she says. I don’t have to ignore my sister-in-law’s opinions as she helps me to choose what to do with my bathroom.

A builder is waiting for decisions to be made. I’m waiting for a bathroom designer to come up with plans. In the meantime, I have to choose tiles, shower, toilet, basin and cabinet. Aaarrgghh! I asked for help.

My sister-in-law suggested an app which helps you put together ideas. This led to hours of searching and looking at endless designs. Helpful, and fun, but to a point: the point at which you see bathrooms in your dreams!

I love my wee bathroom (178×222) which was last altered in 1993, but an ominous crack in the tiles, which travels from the end of the bath to the wall opposite, shows that all is not well underneath. Then Mum broke her hip, so it made sense to not only repair the underfloor, but to put in a walk-in shower.

The bathroom has original features such as wooden (precious rimu) dado panelling and a corner wall-mounted cabinet. We considered painting the panelling, but wouldn’t you have to paint the door and the window frame too? I can’t picture it fitting with the rest of the house. I also remember the months it took to scrape away layers of paint after I bought the house in the mid 1980s. When the kitchen was renovated in 2015 I left the wooden dado panelling there, and two walls of original built-in cabinetry and other original features. The bathroom is a cheerful room which fills with sunshine in the morning. Admittedly, the cabinet added in 1993 is too big for the space and the terracotta tiles are a bit too orange…

It’s not easy finding tiles which fit a 1930s house with humble expectations. Yesterday, we went from tile outlet to tile outlet till we were cross-eyed. Having samples to look at at home (my sister-in-law’s idea) made a huge difference to the selection process. The tile we thought was ‘the one’ turned out to have phallus shapes all over it when you saw it in situ. Imagine walking over that every day. Once you’d seen it, you’d never not see it. However, that was the tile which turned our thinking from blue to soft green. We found another with a more subtle flower and diamond pattern and, thankfully, it is available locally.

We’re thinking the tiles will cover the floor, including the base of the walk-in tiled shower, with white or off-white subway tiles on the walls. The shower and toilet (currently behind the door) will switch places. A new, smaller cabinet will be chosen, possibly ‘floating’ to make the space seem larger, and I’m thinking a vessel basin (the jargon I’m learning!) will add a tiny bit of wow.

It’s great to have the first decisions made. Thank you, sister-in-law!