Bathroom Design Ideas

A good pump can create a really powerful shower, even if you live in a very large house where water pressure may be affected by the size of the house and usage at peak times.  One of the best types of pumps which you can fit is known as a salamander pump.  This pump will actually give the water pressure a real boost, so that you find your shower suddenly is a real deluge of water, whereas before it was a very gentle experience!

One of the benefits of the salamander pump is that it is very ‘plumber friendly’ and is marketed with the strap line ‘fit and forget’.  This means that it is easy for a plumber to install, making it quite a straightforward process and reducing plumbing bills and also it is so reliable that it will perform its function simply, without you having to keep calling a plumber back to rectify any problems. 

Whichever type of shower pump you choose, salamander or another type, make sure that it will reduce any possibility of aeration. Aeration is a term used to describe air getting into a system when you fit a pump to the cylinder or storage tank.  If aeration occurs you may find that the temperature of your shower can fluctuate or find the pump somewhat noisy.  Salamander pumps will usually remedy this problem as part of their design, so they may be worth the extra cost, but be sure to check out the risk of aeration prior to choosing a pump.

Fitting a bathroom cabinet seems quite easy. You buy a cabinet; if it is self-assembly then you take it home, fit all the bits together and then fix it to the wall. What else is there to it?

In fact there are some considerations that you need to take into account. First, is the cabinet replacing an existing one, in which case you will already have the holes that held the wall plugs and screws that supported it. It is unlikely that these will be suitable for the replacement cabinet, so you may well have to drill new ones. If you do, be sure to block up the old ones first.

If you do have to make new holes, will you have to drill through tiles, which can be tricky? If you are very nervous about drilling through tiles, can the cabinet be located elsewhere, where you can avoid the tiles?

Next, consider the height the cabinet should be on the wall. If there are two or more of you in the home, what is the ideal height for all of you and do you want to make sure the children can’t get into the cabinet? Before you even pick-up a drill, you all need to agree at what height the cabinet should be.

Finally, cut no corners when it comes to fitting the wall plugs etc. The cabinet needs to be supported, because it may look and feel quite lightweight when it is empty, but once on the wall and filled with all sorts of bits and pieces, it may become a lot heavier. If it doesn’t have the correct support it will simply work loose and fall from the wall.

Freestanding baths can offer a real sense of luxury within a domestic bathroom.  They can either stand proud and alone in the centre of the room, or be close to a wall.  Some are fitted onto legs; others are actually on the floor.  Some have a roll top, which is a very traditional type of bath, but there is actually a wide range of designs now on the market, many of which are very chic, angular and modern in design.

The main design feature of the free standing bath is that it looks much less cluttered and fixed than a standard bath and through installing it in the centre of a room; you can make a real focus of the bath.  You can even have it near a window, so that you can gaze out on the sky.

The legs or feet that the bath has fitted can also make a real statement about your way of life and your sense of style and there is certainly a wide variety of accessories to complement them, so you can tailor your choice to your exact specification.

It is also possible to have a whirlpool bath that is freestanding.  However, if you do choose a freestanding bath, placed in the centre of the room, then you should bear in mind that you will have to have a separate shower, since it will not be possible to fit a powerful shower to the bath; you can have a shower mixer fitted to the taps, but these are not as powerful as an electric shower.

Showers are increasingly becoming a hot topic, as more and more people become more environmentally aware of the implications of using too much water.  Most showers will allow you to control the flow of the water and the temperature, to ensure that a shower meets your own, very specific requirements.

However, from this very basic idea, the sheer variety and range of showers is simply immense.  Showers range from very basic ones, which deliver a good jet of water; are very competitively priced, but somewhat basic, to state of the art and extremely expensive, ‘wet rooms’ where the shower (or showers) are the key features.

Most people choose to have something in the middle of this range, so that they can have a shower and a bath in the bathroom, thereby affording the luxury of a bath, with the practical benefits of a quick shower.  So in other words, you get the best of both worlds.

Even if a bath is not ‘your thing’, you should be aware that properties which combine a shower and bath facility will sell much better than those which are fitted only with a bath or a shower.  Thus having both may ensure that your property is more appealing to a prospective buyer.
 
You should also consider your water pressure when choosing a shower (for purely practical reasons).  If your home experiences poor water pressure, then you should consider getting a relatively powerful shower, just to ensure that you get the maximum efficiency in terms of water output from the shower.

When trying to decide between fitting a soap dispenser or soap holder in your shower area, why not err on the side of caution and install both? There are times when you may wish to use a traditional bar of soap, but other times when you may want the handy convenience of a soap dispenser. To give you more flexibility, if you find that you aren’t using the soap dispenser, remember you can also dispense shampoo from it; you don’t have to use it only for soap.

Obviously the choice of soap holder and dispenser should complement the type of shower you have and they should blend in with the overall style of your bathroom.

You should have no problem in achieving a co-ordinated look, as the choices available for both the holders and dispensers are actually quite extensive. You can find clear, coloured, square or round dispensers and clear, frosted glass or coloured holders.

Clear dispensers may not look as chic as some of the frosted glass options, but they will allow you to see when the soap is low or needs to be replaced. 

Soap holders are also available in complementing styles and many are fitted with holes on the bottom, which makes cleaning them that little bit easier and helps prevent damp soap simply melting away in the heat.

Both the holder and dispenser should be fitted at a height that is readily accessible, but they should not be placed where you risk knocking your head when standing up after bending down in the shower.

A power shower is not only a great way to wake oneself up in the morning it is also a fantastic way to unwind after a hard day’s work. The variety of power showers on the market also means that deciding which to choose is not an easy one.

You can have a power shower fitted if you have a water supply from both a cold-water cistern and a hot water cylinder. The power shower is actually fitted with an electric pump, which drives the water at you, but you can regulate both the temperature of the water and the pressure. You therefore have the choice of a cold but gentle shower, a very hot, extremely powerful shower, or any combination in between.

This flexibility makes the installation of a power shower a very convenient and useful addition to your bathroom. If you prefer, it can just be a normal shower, then you simply turn on the power as and when you please.

There are two main drawbacks to a power shower being fitted in the domestic bathroom. Firstly, if you currently have water heated by the shower unit alone, then it may not be possible to install a power shower easily. Secondly, you need to have a 50mm waste water pipe, which it is not always possible to retro-fit in an existing bathroom; otherwise the water simply won’t drain away quickly enough. 

If you have got the facilities to install a power shower, they really are well worth the investment.

A bath panel will complete the look of your bathroom and it is vital that you choose an appropriate one. Remember that the panel will be something you look at every day and should last for years, so even if you really must have the jazzy one with pink spots, will you still like it when you are 40? You can usually buy replacement panels, but it is still nice to choose one that is stylish and not too extreme, since you may well not be in the same home when you are 40. If you decide to relocate, you may want to swap your beloved jazzy bath panel for something more conservative, in order to make the house more saleable.

So the usual style criteria apply. Try to choose a panel which is subtle and will not dominate the bathroom; be practical, will it cope with normal day to day knocks, or will it look slightly shabby in just a couple of years? Will you be able to clean it easily, or does it have little grooves and architectural detailing which in reality will simply act as a magnet for dust and dirt?

You should also consider its suitability for use with the other items you have bought. Many suites come with a bath panel, but if you don’t like it, then don’t be afraid to look for another that will complement the bath you have chosen and also suit your particular style and taste.