Beautiful Bathrooms
Why just shower when you could be soaking in style?
Creating the perfect bathroom is easy when you invest some time in designing your layout and researching the latest fittings and fixtures. Start your research by looking through the latest bathroom magazines and identifying the features you like and the ones to leave out. Consider the latest trends but never overlook functionality. The bathroom should be a place for relaxation rather than a place to simply shower.
Tile Colour and Features
Where the latest trends are headed toward more colour and bold patterned tiles, be mindful that a neutral palette with single areas of feature tiling, such as the bath face and hob will be far more enduring. Selecting tiles with tonal and textural contrast will evoke a feeling of calm and relaxation whilst still providing interest. This palette will be not date as quickly, and it will also appeal to the majority of potential purchasers when you sell and in turn optimising the return on your investment. If you are including a feature tile then choose only one and select everything else around this feature – you may wish to nominate a coloured grout, as this can help enhance the colour of your feature tile. For shower tiling consider using one wall as a feature rather than a just a feature stripe, this gives the perception of more depth in smaller bathrooms and can also be used to highlight some beautiful tap ware. Your favourite colour can easily be incorporated through towels, storage containers, soaps even a beautiful sculpture or floral arrangement. A painted feature wall opposite the mirror can also add a colour statement that you can update as you please.
Vanity Storage, Bench tops and Accessories
Storage in the bathroom is important to consider as it will reduce your visual clutter and increase usability. Most storage in the bathroom is located in the vanity, so consider whether you need to add drawers or open shelving. Tiled or glass shower shelves along with the addition of robe hooks and extra towel rails will keep the bathroom functional as well as tidy.
Many options are available for the bathroom vanity bench top; however manufactured materials such as Caesar Stone have become very popular in recent years. Manufactured stone is a great alternative to traditional laminate products, as they allow for more flexibility for basin choice and perform for many years without maintenance concerns.
Lighting
Good lighting in the bathroom is essential. It is also important to consider the opportunity to create different moods for different times of the day. A mixture of good energy efficient lighting along with low voltage lighting on dimmers will give you bright white lighting to prepare at the beginning of the day and warm calming dimmed light to unwind and relax at the end of the day.
