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The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited

The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited

4.6(96 reviews)See reviews ↓·Newcastle upon Tyne

About the company

The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited is a family-run bathroom showroom and supplier based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Its history began in 1972 when Michelle's family started manufacturing luxury acrylic baths in the North East. The company became involved in its first retail showroom in Durham in 1974, and its flagship showroom in Newcastle opened in 1989. Graham and Michelle Shanks assumed control of the family enterprise in 2008. Graham Shanks holds an HND in Art and Design from Sunderland University.

Paul Gales is the warehouse and distribution manager and has worked for the company for over 18 years. Clare Gales joined the company in 1995. Michelle McPhail is the senior designer and has been with the team for over 20 years. The company has twice been awarded 'UK Master Retailer for Bathrooms'. The Newcastle showroom has over 65 displays. The company serves the North East and beyond. Michelle McPhail has worked on exclusive projects such as Close House Country Hotel. The company offers consultation, design and installation services.

What customers say

Based on genuine customer reviews

Repeat custom shapes much of the feedback for this Newcastle upon Tyne design-and-install operation, where the pairing of planning and fitting recurs as the strongest theme. Michelle is named repeatedly for turning vague ideas into workable layouts, advising on tiles and guiding customers through specification choices, while Graham is credited with fitting wish lists into awkward spaces. Fitters including Steven, David, Dave, Guy, Mark, Darren and Cein, along with the tiler Dean, are described as polite and methodical, with Dave singled out as a craftsman.

One thing mentioned again and again is that work was completed to a high standard and kept to the agreed schedule, whether the brief was a full renovation merging a bathroom and separate toilet, a wet room conversion or an en-suite. Communication is praised for staying responsive from first enquiry through to aftercare, and honest advice on design and costing is given as a reason for returning. Two households came back for a second project, one following a wet room adaptation, and the results are regularly called transformative, with one customer describing the finished shower as a spa experience.

Bathroom Supply Shop
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo
The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited — Customer photo

Reviews

Reviews are taken from publicly available sources.

SH
SHEILA HARRISON27 June 2026

I have recently had my bathroom redesigned and fitted by The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited. Graham produced a super design and Andrew fitted my new bathroom with care and experience. I am delighted with the result. Michelle was extremely helpful at every phone call and kept me updated. This is the second bathroom I have had designed by them. The first, 9 years ago, and it still looks good. I would completely recommend them to everyone. From the first chat about whatI wanted to the actual completion I have been very satisfied. It is a family firm and clearly they try and do their best for their clients. Well done.

NM
NB Miller18 April 2026

If you are considering using this outfit to do any work in your house: Don’t. Here is a company that has a shiny façade and smooth talking front people, but behind that lurk endless problems. Promises of using only carefully vetted and carefully selected tradespeople experienced enough for the job at hand turned out to be a fiction. Promises of carefully managing the project to fit new bathrooms were never properly realised. Saying they would have the foreman of the team chosen for the work come out and do an inspection pre starting date to check the plans were sound and there were no unexpected issues never happened (with serious consequences). Assurances they would carry out the work to a reasonable fixed timescale, with no hidden costs and with minimal disruption was a myth. The result: work that was due to start in May last year is still not complete in April this year. The ‘very best subcontractors’ they promised turned out to be a bunch of uncoordinated, random, tradespeople, definitely not up to the job at hand – with a couple of exceptions. Demanding the full 100% costs had to be paid before work could start, using our house as a storage depot rather their warehouse were just the start. Work packages were done in the wrong order, so work had to be undone and then redone – sometimes several times. Work was often substandard so had to be redone. We were left without plumbing for whole days at a time. Toilets were ‘connected’ with leaks. Hot and cold pipes were mixed up. Doors were left not closing. Showers leaked. The main subcontractor was a from Sunderland who it turns out has had compulsory strike-offs – so much for the reassurance that we would have carefully vetted and managed contractors. He repeatedly turned up late, failed to turn up at all for days on end, took unannounced holidays in the middle of the job, often simply did not reply to phone calls and texts, and gave flimsy or no reasons for any of this. His was not a bathroom and plumbing business, a lot of the time it was just calling in this and that contractor without any coherent plan about where, when and how work was to be done. Attempts to have the Bathroom Studios alleged project managers sort out this mess produced little improvement. Their usual response was ‘we’ll fix that right away, you’ll hear back tomorrow at the latest’. Only for days, weeks, or no reply at all despite repeated prompting. They were happy to let things string along, content in the knowledge they had all their money from the start (should have smelled a rat when they insisted on that!) and didn’t need to do anything further. They do, apparently, have one or two good subcontractors, and this looks like where their positive reviews come from. We didn’t see any of the positives mentioned by others. Their Trustpilot reviews look closer to the mark. If we catalogued all the negatives about the Bathroom Studios and their sub and sub-subcontractors this review would stretch to pages long. Don’t have yourself end up with such a list: Avoid this outfit at all costs.

MM
Michael Mills7 March 2026

If you are looking for a new bathroom, or considering a renovation, and want high quality products and professional installation, we would highly recommend The Bathroom Studio in Newcastle. We recently used them on a major bathroom renovation that included removing a wall and door to combine separate bathroom and toilet spaces into one large room. We were delighted with Michelle and Graham, who are very friendly and helpful, offering expert advice based on long experience and knowledge of the industry. They considered every small detail, including things we might not have thought about. The same can also be said about the various team members who carried out the work, all of whom were quite resourceful and diligent during the project, which was important when, due to the age of the property, certain issues arose that had been anticipated during the planning. The project costs were clearly defined, including estimates of possible extra costs if additional structural renovation was required. In the end, however, there were no unpleasant surprises, and the project went according to plan and finished on time.

SS
Sophie Steele28 January 2026

We are so pleased with our gorgeous new bathroom. The process was amazing from start to finish with the warm welcome in the showroom from Michelle, the helpful design meetings with Graham and the fab fitting by John. Thank you very much, we were recommended by family who also had great service and we will continue to recommend the Bathroom Studios to others.

DC
Darren Critchlow29 July 2025

We just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the work your team have done for us replacing our old bathroom with a swanky new one! We are absolutely delighted with the outcome …it is a real transformation. Your team have been fantastic from the design work (Michelle) , the timely delivery of the kit , the professionalism of Mark and Darren (fitters) , the electricians and finally Dean the tiler… all have been polite, understanding, caring, clean in their work and ultra professional. I would definitely recommend your work to anyone!

DG
David Glover7 November 2023

Just had a bathroom renovation and could not be more delighted with the results. From first contact to completion everything ran like clockwork. Graham's design work was so professional and the quality of materials used of the highest quality. Guy, our installer, did an amazing job with the minimum of upheavel and Michelle kept in touch to assure we were happy with the progress. We are thrilled with our new bathroom and recommend The Bathroom Studio highly.

DK
Debbie K25 October 2023

FABULOUS - One word says it all. With nothing in mind other than a crocodile skin bath we booked an appointment with the lovely Michelle. All the staff at bathroom studio are really nice and so friendly and the displays are top quality. Having bought a house needing updating my partner and I had totally different ideas of what we wanted and the only thing we did agree on was the bath. Michelle was very professional offering advice and suggestions and for our 2nd visit she had somehow managed do a great design which amazingly we were both happy with. Our fitter Guy was amazing, and the whole fit from start to finish was totally stress free and quality workmanship. We are absolutely delighted with our new bathroom. Its so nice to find a company committed to giving good customer service and supplying quality goods. Thank you Bathroom Studio So pleased with our bathroom we bought another !! Delighted with upstairs we also had our downstairs bathroom remodeled again by the very talented Michelle. This time with a bit extra space we were able to incorporate with a wet room with waterfall shower head. Guy fitted the 2nd bathroom with the same stress free quality installation and quality of work. I cannot thank the bathroom studio enough and would not hesitate to recommend them.

Bathroom showrooms & suppliers in Newcastle upon Tyne compared

Ordered by rating, weighted by the number of reviews — businesses with only a handful of reviews do not jump to the top automatically. 5 businesses in this category in Newcastle upon Tyne are compared.

RankProviderRatingReviewsOpen Sat.
1Gosforth Bathrooms & Tiles Ltd.★ 5,011Yes
2Bathrooms @ Kingston Park★ 4,86Yes
3James Hargreaves Bathroom Showroom★ 5,01Yes
4The Bathroom Studio (NE) Limited (this page)★ 4,696Yes
5Newcastle City Bathrooms★ 4,312Yes
Contact
+441912715800www.thebathroomstudio.co.uk4D Airport Industrial Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 2EF
Working hours
Monday09:00–16:00
Tuesday09:00–16:00
Wednesday09:00–16:00
Thursday09:00–16:00
Friday09:00–16:00
Saturday10:00–16:00
SundayClosed