Forest Hill — North Shore, Auckland
Classic Bathroom Renovation
in Forest Hill, North Shore
Three ensuites and a guest toilet, designed to stay timeless
Completed October 2022
RENOVATION
Designed By
Dorothy Li
Lead Designer and Consultant
dorothy@superiorrenovations.co.nz
0800 199 888
Quick answer: This was a classic bathroom renovation in Forest Hill, on Auckland’s North Shore — three ensuites and a guest toilet reworked in a timeless, won’t-date style, the whole job managed remotely while the owners were overseas. Completed October 2022.
| Location | Forest Hill, North Shore |
| Completed | October 2022 |
| Scope | Three ensuite bathrooms, a guest toilet with vanity, balustrade rebuild and associated building work |
| Designer | Dorothy Li, Lead Designer and Consultant |
| Project type | Owner-occupier — multigenerational family home |
Why a Forest Hill Family Took On Four Bathrooms at Once
Kerry bought this Forest Hill home to bring her family under one roof — room for her parents, a proper multigenerational setup. The bones were good. The bathrooms were not.
“It wasn’t very functional. I quite liked the structure and the layout of the house, but the bathrooms were just atrocious. My son’s bedroom door and the bathroom door both opened into the hallway and banged into each other,” Kerry told us. That clash of doors is a small thing until you live with it every day — and it’s the kind of thing a good renovation quietly fixes.
Why they came to us
Kerry had renovated before and was happy with the firm she’d used. When she went back to them, a GIB shortage meant they couldn’t fit her in. So she rang around. “I contacted about two or three, and you guys had the best Google reviews,” she said. Reviews do a lot of the talking for us — but they only matter because of what happens after the contract is signed.
Designing it with Dorothy
Dorothy Li led the design. Kerry’s first read on her: “She was lovely, and very accommodating when I was talking about the different things we wanted to achieve.” Because the family wasn’t in Auckland for much of the project, the process leaned on screen time. Dorothy took the measurements, came back with a plan, then ran Zoom sessions and walked them through 3D elevations so they could picture each room before a single tile was ordered.
“With a classic bathroom you’re designing against the calendar, not the trend cycle. Matte tiles in a quiet shade, chrome tapware, clean lines — choices that still look right in fifteen years. That’s what timeless actually means in a renovation: nothing you’ll want to rip out the moment fashions move on.”
— Dorothy Li, Lead Designer and Consultant, Superior Renovations
Managing the build from Thailand
For a chunk of the project, Kerry and her family were overseas — a stretch of it on holiday in Thailand — and not living at the property. That puts the weight on project management, and it landed on Nick.
“Nick was great. He’d often tell us if something wasn’t practical and offer solutions that worked in real life. When the vanities arrived he asked what a comfortable height would be before installing them — we’re not tall people, so that was a great suggestion. We could trust him with anything. He gave us daily updates and reports to keep us in the loop,” Kerry said.
The trades had access to an empty house and earned it. “They checked every detail with us. They cleaned up after themselves each day, arrived at a reasonable time, and we had no complaints from neighbours about noise or anything,” she told us. Renovating a home you can’t drop into on a whim only works if the people in it tell you the truth daily. That’s the part that doesn’t photograph.
The Brief: Timeless, Not Trend-Led
Kerry and her husband wanted bathrooms with every modern amenity but a classic feel — rooms that wouldn’t fall out of fashion the way so many trends do. That single idea drove every material decision.
The vanities change from room to room, but the theme holds across all of them: modern and classic at once. Each space runs 600 by 600 tiles in matte shades, chrome tapware and simple, clean lines. It’s a restrained palette on purpose — the kind of classic bathroom renovation Forest Hill homeowners can live with for a long time without it dating.
1. Large Ground-Floor Ensuite — Bath and Shower
This ensuite sits on a neutral palette — light grey matte tiles across the walls and floor, balanced by a clean white vanity. Timber recesses in the vanity bring a little warmth against the chrome. The brief here was simple: clean lines and an airy feel.
Wall and floor tiles
- Cordona Pearl antislip 600 by 600, walls and floor, from The Tile Depot
Floating vanity and mirror
- Qubo 900 two-drawer wall-hung vanity in white with a vertical groove, Natural Oak accent strip, from Reece
- 800mm round LED mirror with anti-mist properties
- Mizu Drift uni pop-up waste, from Reece
Bath, shower and toilet
- Kado Lux rimless toilet with soft-release seat
- Newark left-corner bath, from Reece
- Posh Canterbury basin (M)
- Custom-built tiled shower with a niche, matched to the room’s tiles, with custom glass
- Kado and Posh accessories
Other accessories
- Evoke round seven-bar heated ladder rail, from Reece
- Mizu Drift toilet roll holder and chrome robe hook, from Reece
2. Ground-Floor Ensuite — Walk-In Shower
This one carries a touch more colour — a timber-finish double vanity, beige tiles and chrome accessories. With no need for a bath, we built a larger walk-in shower into a generous rectangular space.
Wall and floor tiles
- Venice Beige 600 by 600 glazed porcelain (PEI 3), matte finish, with minimal grouting for a near-seamless run
Fixtures
- Qubo 1200 wall-hung vanity, four drawers, double bowl, in Natural Oak, from Reece
- Underfloor heating
- Kado Luxe rimless in-wall toilet
- Custom-built sliding door, 1000mm by 1200mm
- Mizu Drift uni pop-up waste, straight toilet roll holder and towel rail
- Mizu accessories throughout
3. First-Floor Ensuite — A Vintage Note
Upstairs we leaned into character. The standout is a vintage-style vanity with matte antique-black cup handles — a quiet bit of elegance. Oval basins and long, curved tapware push the vintage feel further.
Vanity and fittings
- London 1200 wall-hung vanity, from Reece
- Cabinet in Slate Matte
- Carrara benchtop
- Antique-black cup handles
- Custom-cut diamond-shape glass, ideal for the corner shower
This first-floor ensuite is one of many bathrooms we’ve designed and built for Auckland homeowners, start to finish.
Custom Flooring and Balustrades
The bathrooms weren’t the whole job. We rebuilt the balustrade and handled the custom flooring that ties the two levels together, plus the building work behind the functional fixes Kerry wanted — removing the doors that clashed in the hallway and covering over one opening that no longer made sense. It’s the unglamorous half of a renovation, and it’s what makes the finished rooms actually work.
What a Renovation Like This Costs in Auckland
Every bathroom is priced to its own scope — the size of the room, the materials, the fittings, and how much building work sits behind the finish all move the number. A four-space project like this one, with custom-built tiled showers, a Carrara benchtop and underfloor heating, sits well above a single straightforward ensuite. Rather than quote a figure that won’t match your home, use our bathroom renovation cost calculator for a realistic Auckland estimate on your own project.
💡 Quick tip: A custom-built tiled shower carries more cost than a pre-made enclosure — you’re paying for waterproofing, tiling labour and custom glass, not just the fittings. It’s usually worth it for a room you want to last.
In Kerry’s Words
“You had access to the house at all times as we weren’t living there, but we got regular updates on what was done each day. They checked every detail with us. The trade teams were very good — they cleaned up after themselves each day, arrived at a reasonable time, and we had no complaints from neighbours.”
— Kerry, Forest Hill
A Timeless Result, Run Remotely
Four bathroom spaces, three distinct characters, one consistent idea: rooms that won’t date. The family came home from overseas to a house that finally functioned the way they’d pictured it — and they did it without setting foot on site for most of the build. That only works with design you can trust on a screen and project management that tells you the truth every day.
If you’re planning your own renovation with our in-house design studio, here’s where to start:
➡ Book your free in-home consultation with Superior Renovations
➡ Estimate your bathroom renovation with our cost calculator
➡ Request a free feasibility report for your project
Forest Hill Bathroom Renovation — Your Questions
How many bathrooms were renovated in this Forest Hill project?
Four spaces in total: three ensuite bathrooms and a separate guest toilet with vanity. Alongside the wet areas we also rebuilt the balustrade and carried out the building work behind the layout changes — including removing the doors that clashed in the hallway. It's a larger-than-usual classic bathroom renovation Forest Hill homeowners might recognise from older two-storey homes where several bathrooms date from the same era and all need doing at once.
What tiles were used across the bathrooms?
Each room runs 600 by 600 tiles in matte shades to keep the look calm and timeless. The large ground-floor ensuite uses Cordona Pearl antislip from The Tile Depot on walls and floor; the second ground-floor ensuite uses Venice Beige glazed porcelain with minimal grouting for a near-seamless finish. Matte over gloss was a deliberate call — it hides water spots and reads as classic rather than trend-driven.
Can a bathroom renovation be managed while the owners are overseas?
Yes — this whole project was. Kerry and her family were out of Auckland for much of the build, including a stretch in Thailand. Our designer Dorothy ran the design over Zoom and walked them through 3D elevations, and project manager Nick sent daily updates and reports with the house under our managed access. It works when the design is locked before you leave and the communication is genuinely daily, not weekly.
What makes the first-floor ensuite different from the others?
It carries a vintage note the downstairs rooms don't. The vanity is a London 1200 from Reece with a Slate Matte cabinet, a Carrara benchtop and matte antique-black cup handles, paired with oval basins and long curved tapware. Custom-cut diamond-shape glass suits the corner shower. Same timeless brief as the rest of the home, just a more characterful read on it.
Was underfloor heating included?
Yes, in the second ground-floor ensuite. It's a common addition in Auckland bathrooms where tiled floors feel cold underfoot in winter, and it's far easier to install during a full renovation than to retrofit later. If you're tiling a bathroom floor anyway, it's the moment to decide on heating.
How do you design a bathroom that stays timeless?
You design against the calendar, not the trend cycle. In this home that meant matte 600 by 600 tiles in quiet shades, chrome tapware, clean lines and classic vanities — choices that still look right years later. The vanities vary room to room for interest, but the underlying palette is consistent, so nothing in the house will look dated the moment fashions shift.
How much does a classic bathroom renovation in Forest Hill cost?
It depends entirely on scope — room size, materials, fittings and how much building work sits behind the finish. Custom-built tiled showers, stone benchtops and underfloor heating, like the ones in this project, sit at the higher end. Rather than guess, use our bathroom renovation cost calculator for an Auckland estimate matched to your own home, then we firm it up at consultation.
Further Resources
- More completed Auckland renovation projects
- Real client stories from across Auckland
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