Cabuchon Bathforms offers a stylish range of traditional and modern composite baths, which can be customised to clients’ specifications. They can also custom-make completely new baths.

Habibi Moroccan Tiles and Interiors  are known for their handmade ceramic floor tiles and pre-assembled mosaic borders. They also design bespoke fountains, bathrooms and stock antique brass lamps, rugs and furniture. Habibi can make a hand-hammered brass basin in the size, shape and finish you require.

Wool carpet is unsuitable for bathrooms. If it persistently gets wet, the backing and underlay deteriorate.  There is no way to waterproof carpet that we are aware of, but you could use a good bath mat to absorb some of the water. Cologne & Cotton  for example, have a good selection. If you do a Quick Search on www.thehousedirectory.com for bath mats you will find other companies to contact as well.

However, it would be far better to change the flooring, even if your home is rented. Carpet can be taken up then relaid once you return your home to the landlord. Flooring that is best suited to bathrooms includes cork, vinyl, linoleum, ceramic and porcelain tiles. See also our ‘Design Topics’ pages for more advice on choosing bathroom flooring.

Catchpole & Rye have one of the largest collections of old sanitaryware in the UK. They also manufacture reproductions of antique items in short supply. Products include Edwardian glass shower canopy baths, throne-like loos and Victorian cast-iron washstands. Also fully restored turn of the century French ‘Porcher’ bathrooms and French and British period tubs. They could provide your thunderbox WC. www.crye.co.uk.

Manufacturers of the type of bath taps you are after include:

Barber Wilsons & Co (www.barwil.co.uk)

Bristan (www.bristan.com)

Lefroy Brooks (www.lefroybrooks.com)

Their ranges are available through good bathroom showrooms like Aston Matthews (www.astonmatthews.co.uk) or Edwins (www.edwinsbathrooms.co.uk); alternatively contact the above companies directly for suppliers nationwide.

Another company you could try is Catchpole & Rye (www.crye.co.uk).

Make sure you order a brochure from each of these companies to compare the look and price and study the technical specifications to determine if you could use each particular tap set on your bath. Most of these companies could also provide ‘legs’ for the tap set, so that the taps would be suspended from the floor, rather than fixed to your bath. If there are already holes in the bath you should speak to your plumber before ordering to be sure you could use the tap set with your particular bath.

Have a look at the ‘Braga’ bathmats in white or clay with a geometric floral motif from Balineum (www.balineum.co.uk), or the ‘Oporto’ mats with a diamond or spot border and the larger ‘Salamanca’ mat from Cologne & Cotton, who have several shops in London. Visit www.cologneandcotton.com.

You should contact wet room, bathroom and steam room specialists Liquid Design. They say the tray can be made to order or you could use other waterproofing methods depending on the location. They not only do full installations but will also carry out the tanking (waterproofing) of the room only, if that is all you need. If you are just looking for products and equipment so that you can carry out the installation on your own, you should visit their website www.liquiddesign.co.uk.

Another company on our website, European Heritage, supplies wet room products (trays, drains, membranes, waterproofing materials). www.europeanheritage.co.uk