Janieful: "The advanced toilet makes sense to me - at least much more than a separate bidet would. I have never used either, but bidets take up so much space. The one in all model is much more practical." The advanced toilet seats are not, strictly speaking, direct replacements for bidets, though one generic term for advanced toilet seats is "bidet seat." The first and foremost function of an advanced toilet seat is water washing a bit further to the rear than a bidet cleanses. Cleansing the anus with water is far superior to wiping (and spreading) with dry paper. Most current models of advanced toilet seat have a second washing function called "feminine cleaning," or a variant thereof, which has many similarities to the function of a bidet. As you may guess, that function directs the water somewhat further forward than the primary function does. However, in "real" bidets, the water comes from the front, whereas in advanced toilet seats, the water approaches from the rear, so there is a difference. The various brands of advanced toilet seats approach these functions in different manners. Inax, which invented the advanced toilet seat category, determined that the optimal angle of incidence of the spray on the anus should be 70 degrees from horizontal or, in other words, just 20 degrees from vertical. The Inax advanced toilet seats therefore have spray wands for posterior cleansing that extend out fairly far, so that the spray can be more nearly vertical. Toto, the biggest player in the market, was obsessed by the spectre of "backwash," the (small proportion of the) water that rebounds off the user's posterior, and accordingly Toto Washlets are designed to spray water at the anus at 43 degrees from horizontal, which reduces (but does not not eliminate) the amount of backwash that hits the spray wand. But spray directed at Toto's 43 degree angle does not wash as effectively as the 70 degree spray of the Inax models does. Inax addresses the backwash matter with an aggressive self-cleaning cycle for the spray wands, executed both before and after each use. As to the feminine function, Toto can get by with a single wand for both posterior and feminine cleansing, with two spray nozzles in the single wand, because the 43 degree spray angle for the posterior wash already is so shallow. Inax has to use a separate dedicated spray wand for feminine cleansing, because the wand that Inax uses for posterior cleansing would not be positioned well for the feminine cleansing function. But, whether or not you use the toilet seat for bidet-like functions, water-assisted posterior cleansing is a huge step up from dry wiping after a bowel movement. There probably is no way to upgrade your bathroom more effectively than to replace a passive toilet seat with an advanced toilet seat.

I have a washing machine in my kitchen area and HATE IT! I see in your option 3 you have the stacked washer and dryer in your eating nook. In my household there are always laundry baskets that have to be stored somewhere (which takes up space in an already small kitchen). Just something to think about. Also, is there a reason you need a bathtub on the main floor? If you could get rid of it you'd have alot more space because you wouldn't need such a huge bathroom.

Thanks all! Sry, my house has mahogany wood trim... I didn’t know about the cabinets :). I don’t mind the colour either, but we added extra overhead lighting and it’s still too dark to do even basic makeup. I will take a look at the suggestions and maybe only go up a couple shades on the same paint strip since that color is safe. And yea... the tile is limiting too.

Food for thought: when people start getting cataracts, they tend to see things in a more yellow or even brown tint. I sometimes wonder if that’s why some people lean toward the cooler end of the spectrum. That being said, I don’t think 4000k is terrible for a bathroom or even a dark kitchen. It’s actually fairly neutral and still has a slight yellow tint. To my eyes, 3500k starts to look too yellow. Now 5000k is too much for most indoor places (though I use them in my basement). You are correct that CRI is important for color rendering, which may be important in a bathroom, especially if you are relying on it to put on natural looking makeup. But going too yellow or too blue will also affect the way we see color to some extent. After my mother had cataract surgery many years ago she came in my house and told me how much she liked my living room paint color. It was a pale yellow beige at that time. She said before her surgery the whole room looked like it was way too yellow and brown.