Aussie made bathroom renovation

This is a story about my bathroom. I bought a very small 1960s brick cottage in Perth about ten months ago. Other than beautiful jarrah floorboards it really didn’t have much going for it. You could say it was a bit of an impulse buy after nine months of house hunting. And once I moved in I noticed all the things I should have noticed before. Like the gaps in the walls and the damaged, leaking eaves… Anyway, one of the most worn out parts of the place was the existing bathroom which had rusted fittings and water damage. So, a change was in order. And because I don’t do anything the easy way, I decided to swap the laundry and bathroom, and update the WC while I was there. A rather big exercise in the end that I definitely should have thought more about! But now that it is (nearly) done I am happy I have one space in the house that is not falling apart or damaged.

I believe we have power as consumers to shape the kind of world we want. Hence when I was renovating I wanted to incorporate as many Aussie-made elements as I could. When I buy my fruit and veg, my toiletries, gifts, clothing, homewares I try and buy Aussie-grown and Aussie-made and I want to support our local industries. So I tried to do this where I could. There are Aussie-made alternatives available for most things, if you do a bit of searching around. This part wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t cheap. But every dollar spent is a choice about the future you want to create, and so I think it was worth it. Sure, you can get cheap plain tiles from <generic hardware store> but what do those tiles actually cost? How can clay be processed, mixed, cut, glazed, baked, shipped, packed and delivered for $3 each?

If anyone wants to know some good Aussie brands that I found through my research, the main products I used are:

Tapware: Phoenix Tapware

Tiles: Southern Cross Tiles

Fan/Lights: IXL

Laminate: Polytec

Basins: Lindsey Wherrett

I had my timber benchtops made from recycled offcuts sourced from Austim.

So that’s my little bathroom story. Hopefully it inspires some thoughtful decision making. Happy renovating!