Investing in a luxurious bathroom will prove money well spent, as it will be a joy to use and should add value to your home.
With static or falling housing markets, the “improve, don’t move” mantra has struck a chord with many of us. We assess the pros and cons of selling up…and fast conclude it’s simply not worth it. Consequently, we’re casting critical eyes over our homes and thinking about how we can feel more inspired by them.
A new rug or a lick of paint may be enough to put a spring in our step, but anyone lucky enough to have a several thousand pounds to play with may well think about re-doing the bathroom – especially if the grout in the shower is discolored and the bath, basin, and loo look like something out of the Dark Ages.
A new bathroom will definitely improve our quality of life, because it’s a room with cleanliness and relaxation at its heart. Think about fabulous bathrooms in boutique hotels and how we spend hours in them. Think of a bathroom that may not have been touched for 30 years and note how we’re in and out in no time.
So, if we’re going to invest in a new bathroom, it’s worth finding out just what amazing products are available from our local bathroom store. “I think investing in a bathroom is always worth it,” says London contemporary interior designer Paul Warren. ” I urge clients to go out on a financial limb if they can to create as luxurious a room as possible. Product design today is amazing and many there are also water-saving features for those with an eco-conscience.”
Designing A Bathroom
Here are some great ideas by the top Bathroom designers East Sussex.
- Consult a bathroom designer or ask your bathroom store to send one of their people over to discuss designs with you. They will then deal with the plumber, who is crucial to a successful bathroom re-fit. People who do not consult professionals can make terrible mistakes because they don’t measure correctly, don’t know what to order, or order products that don’t fit the spaces.
- Ideally, choose between a bath or a walk-in shower. Many adults prefer showers, but if you must have both, have a shower in the bath, with a glass screen. But having a shower with the head on the wall, a tray that is flush with the floor, and a floor-to-ceiling glass wall on one side will look minimal, very clean, and won’t crowd the room.
- Tile the bathroom completely, walls and floor. Small rooms come to life tiled in jewel-bright glass mosaic tiles. See Italian manufacturer Bizazza’s range for inspiration. These tiles are not cheap, but they are gorgeous.
- Have a wall-mounted loo and basin. Pedestal sanitaryware is old-fashioned and takes up too much space.
- Choose a chrome towel rail rather than a painted one because it’s easier to keep looking fresh.
- Think about storage. One small wall-mounted cabinet won’t be enough. Bathrooms look best when everything is put away. You don’t want to see surfaces cluttered with cosmetics and towels.
- Never ever put down carpet in a bathroom.
- Ensure that bathroom has an extractor fan, even if the room has a window. Without a fan, condensation will, over time, cause ceiling paint to peel.
- Buy the best taps and metal fittings you can afford. You touch them every day and they are always on show.
Larger bathrooms
Paul recommends a large walk-in shower, without any sides if the room is large enough. If you do want the shower to be contained, use glass “walls” for a barely-there look.
Again, make sure the shower tray is flush with the floor. This may involve getting a builder to shave some height of the floor joists so the tray can sit on them.
If the area for the shower is large enough, consider a rainshower head, which is fixed in the ceiling. This gives the sensation of being drenched in warm rain.
Install under-floor heating. Tiles can be very cold underfoot in winter.
Think carefully about lighting – have spotlights in the ceiling, but lights in the shower area and under any wall-mounted cupboards give more options to create different ‘moods’.
Bathroom storage is excellent these days, and cabinets and draw units with a lacquer finish look very modern. Choose heated mirrors that won’t mist up.
Some Companies to Look At
Vola – for taps
Inbani – a top-end Spanish company that makes beautiful contemporary storage with lacquer finishes.
Cosmic – another Spanish company that makes a wide range of stylish storage and accessories.
Duravit – for sanitaryware
Hansgrohe – for sanitaryware
Bizazza – Italian manufacturer of glass mosaic tiles
Luxury products to consider
Sky showers – the shower head is recessed in the ceiling, giving an even more tropical shower effect than rainshower heads.
Infinity baths – these are baths within baths, so to speak, so there is a constant flow of water over the edge of the inner unit. This water is continually piped through, so it is not wasteful of water. These baths can cost up to £6,000, be warned!
An in-bathroom steam unit
A sauna unit
Chromatherapy or massage showers
You can visit Bathroom showroom East sussex for amazing bathroom products.
Water conservation
If you are concerned about water usage, by all means have a power shower pump installed, but don’t use it every time you have a shower…keep it for occasional use.
Choose a function that allows your bath water to be siphoned off to be re-used. These so-called grey-water systems take water from baths and showers, then clean and filter it so it is safe to use to flush loos and supply washing machines. A family of four could save up to 90,000 litres of water a year using such a system. Pontos AquaCycle from Hansgrohe is well worth looking into.