Donvale Home
Two-Phase Bathroom Renovation
One worn ensuite to begin with. Five renewed spaces by the end. The family living in the home the whole way through.
Location
Donvale, VIC
Scope
Two bathrooms, two powder rooms & laundry
Type
House renovation
Client
Returning client
Renew the rooms they used most.
With the family still living in the home.
The project began with the ensuite - the most-used bathroom in the home, and the one showing the most wear. The owners were living in the house throughout, so keeping the home livable and the work areas clean mattered as much as the renovation itself. Caesarwood coordinated and delivered the work, managing the trades directly from start to finish.
The brief covered three spaces to start: the ensuite, the adjoining powder room off the hallway, and a second powder room at the rear. The owners wanted them renewed to a standard that would last - and the rooms kept usable for the household while the work was underway.
What mattered most
Renewing the most-used rooms first
Keeping the home livable while the family stayed in it
A result built to last, not a cosmetic refresh
A consistent look across every space
Three rooms became five. One consistent home.
The ensuite and powder rooms were renewed properly - rebuilt where the old waterproofing had failed, and refinished to last. After the first phase was complete, the owners asked Caesarwood to carry out the main bathroom too, and added the laundry partway through. The same trades ran both phases, and the palette carried across all five spaces, so the home reads as one renovation.
The relationship didn't end at handover. A couple of small items that surfaced afterwards were sorted promptly - standing behind the work is part of the work.
A note on timing: the phases ran either side of a Christmas break, and bathrooms can't be rushed across waterproofing and drying times. We work to a schedule, but we don't compress the things that decide whether a bathroom lasts.
Make the most of what was there. Refine it, don't reinvent it.
The rooms didn't need reinventing - they needed renewing with intent. A single, calm palette runs across every space: soft grey porcelain floor to ceiling, brushed nickel fittings, and custom joinery in a warm white. The consistency is deliberate. Five spaces, finished so they read as one home.
In the ensuite, an existing skylight had been covered with a flat, opaque panel - letting in light but adding nothing to the room. We lifted the panel as high as the ceiling cavity allowed, lined and painted the recess, and replaced the cover with clear glazing. The result is a pocket of real depth overhead that draws daylight into the room - from a feature that was already there.
Where space was tight, the design worked harder. In the rear powder room, a built-in wall conceals the cistern, frees up just enough room to move comfortably, and doubles as a storage shelf. In the main bathroom, the layout was reworked so the bath sits centred on the window and the vanity moved to where the door could open freely. Small changes - but they're what make a room feel right to live with.
A look through the home. Room by room.
Five spaces, finished and photographed. Here's how each one came together.
The ensuite
Where it started. The renewed shower, the daylight from the reworked skylight, the new vanity.
The powder rooms
Compact spaces made to work, including the concealed-cistern storage wall.
The main bathroom
Phase 2. The freestanding bath centred on the window, the reworked layout, the custom vanity.
The laundry
Added late in Phase 2, finished in the same palette so it belongs with the rest.
Walk through the spaces.
What we found behind the walls.
When we stripped back the ensuite, we found the previous waterproofing had failed - water had been getting into the wall framing for years. It needed rebuilding before anything new could go back over it. We flagged it, talked the owners through what we'd found and what it meant, and rebuilt it properly. No surprises, no quiet workarounds - a clear conversation and the right fix.
“There was no waterproofing behind the original tiles, and the framing had been wet for years. You don't tile over that - you rebuild it, then carry on.”
Caesarwood Projects
“Kevin was impressive in how he planned and organised the work, his attention to detail, and his ability to listen to and meet our needs. We were living in the house during the renovation and really appreciated how clean and tidy everything was kept. He kept us across the schedule and any changes as they happened. What's really nice is that the service has continued after handover - a couple of small issues were addressed promptly and professionally. We couldn't be happier, and have recommended them to friends and family.”
Returning client · Donvale · Bathroom renovation
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