Summer is the time when many people choose to modernise their bathrooms. Unless you have more than one bathroom in your house, and depending upon the extent of the alterations that you are planning, your bathroom could be out of commission for a week or more, and most people can’t face that in the winter when it is cold outside and they want to be able to take a warm bath or shower whenever it suits them. When the weather is sunny, having no bathroom somehow doesn’t seem to matter so much.
Here are some design ideas for bringing your bathroom into the 21st century.
Colours
Many bathrooms are, of course, on the small side. In order to make the bathroom seem larger and lighter choose light colours like white, beige, cream, magnolia (always popular), or light grey. These colours also ooze cleanliness and tidiness which are ideal attributes for the bathroom.
Mirrors
The larger the better. Again, a mirror will reflect light around the room adding to the air of spaciousness. A large mirror also means that you won’t be fighting over mirror space with your other half. There’s plenty of room for you both when you are getting ready in the morning. You could also install a heated mirror which won’t fog if the bathroom gets steamed up.
Mirrors don’t have to be plain glass, either. You could have a pattern cut into the sides or the corners, still leaving plenty of space for the necessary shaving and make-up. You could even go the whole hog and have a mirror wall. Yes an entire wall covered in mirror!
Lighting
Light and bright is what is needed in the bathroom, although if you want to relax in the bath and read or listen to music you might want to add a dimmer switch. Pot lights are great in a bathroom. These are tucked away flush in the ceiling and you can have a row of two, three, or four, or even a couple of rows, evenly spaced depending on the size of the room.
Tiling
You can let your imagination run riot with tiling. Ideally you want something that is not slippery for floor tiles. Quarry, slate, or pebble tiles will fill the bill here.
For wall tiling you could choose to go for marble or granite. These come in a range of different colours, and with marble being a natural stone every piece is different. Certainly, tiling your walls with marble is not cheap, but the effect can be stunning.
Underfloor Heating
This is also something that is not cheap to install, but can really make a difference, especially if you have a tiled floor. Tile is naturally cold, so having it heated will add considerably to your comfort and will also help to prevent steam from fogging the mirrors.
Install A Shower
Many people are switching over from a traditional bath to a shower. Indeed, if you take the bath out and replace it with a shower it will make for more space in the bathroom. An alternative is a wet room which is built directly into the walls and floor of the bathroom. The area of the bathroom that you have chosen is waterproofed, sealed, and tiled, and now you have a wet room.
Bath Design
Out with the old tub, in with the new. The bath does not have to be a white oblong box attached to one of the walls. You can install a free-standing bath which can be of Victorian design with the classic claw feet, or you can go completely modern with a bath with sweeping curved lines, and in a choice of colours. Either way, a free-standing bath tub makes a dramatic statement in the bathroom.
Add A Plant
Why not? As long as you have some light coming into your bathroom you can have a houseplant that will brighten up a corner and cheer you up in the morning. If there is not a lot of light a snake plant, bamboo, or aloe vera will do well. For a more brightly lit room why not choose an orchid? You can select from a variety of different coloured flowers and it will flower for several months. When the flowers die down you simply cut back the stem or stems to one bud and it will grow new stems and flower all over again.