Weight training/weight loss/ protein shakes?

Hi, recently started a fairly massive overhaul in my life in terms of diet and exercise. Hitting 18 stone 5 pounds before Christmas at 19 was quite a depressing thing. So, new years revolution and all that I have been hitting the gym pretty hard and really watching what I eat over the past 3 to 4 weeks.

Have so far lost around 1 stone 4 pounds which I'm really happy with by going to the gym maybe 3-4 times a week as well as sticking to a fairly simple diet of carbohydrates and protein, probably averaging consuming around 1800 calories a day. My work out basically consists of doing 15kg dumbbells frequently at home and then doing a 1500 metre row on level 8/10, followed by 30 mins on a fat burn style workout on the cross trainer, then around 15 mins on the bike on a fairly mediocre setting, then just working my way around the fairly basic weight sections: pecs, shoulder press, bench press etc.

I am not one of these people that want to lose 5 stone in 2 weeks or anything ridiculous; I understand these things take time, it has taken me 19 years to get to this weight lol! I would like to achieve maybe a loss of 4 stone, so I would say my goal is 14 stone. But here's the thing, I have quite a lot of muscle already and a fairly naturally large frame, so I would most definitely like to lose weight and bulk out as opposed to simply lose a lot of weight.

I am basically looking for some advice on how is best to achieve a lot of muscle gain, but at the same time lose quite a significant amount of weight? Having briefly researched protein shakes it would appear that staying on a strictly protein shake diet can do this, however this seems pretty boring to me. Have also read that certain protein shakes containing creatine can be excellent for people looking for a lot of muscle growth, but at the same time are generally used for people like athletes. If I were to carry on my regime of weights in my room as well as gym 3-4 times a week would this be ok?

Any posts would be great...