Bathroom Design Ideas

If you feel your bathroom is cramped, but you cannot afford to build any extra space, then there are many ways in which you can make it appear bigger, without having to spend too much. There are colours, such as white or cream, which you can use to create the illusion that your bathroom is bigger than it actually is.

If you have items that take up a lot of space in your bathroom, then swap them for smaller items. This will make the room look much bigger. Choose furniture that suits a small room. Some stores offer sinks that have a vanity cabinet attached to them. This provides more floor space and can help your bathroom look larger. ‘Shades’, a bathroom company, offer a selection of space saver products, including small, wall-mounted basins, which are ideal for saving space.

If you have a bit of money to spare and really wish to improve the look of your bathroom and make it look more spacious, then Heritage Bathrooms offer a selection of space saving suites. There are many different styles available, as well as a variety of wall-hung products that create more space. The company also offers washstands, which combine a sink, drawer and shelf at the bottom of the stand. These are ideal for small bathrooms as they offer lots of storage and increase floor space.

Getting rid of items that you keep on the floor will also allow you to have a bathroom that looks bigger. Instead of keeping your bathroom bin on the floor, try opting for a cabinet that has a built-in bin or swap it for a smaller one.

Bathrooms are usually exposed to moisture more than other rooms, so it is a good idea to install proper ventilation. Condensation can lead to damp walls, which can cause mould to build up. By fitting an extractor fan in your bathroom, you can reduce condensation and mould and also stop bacteria from spreading.

Extractor fans are also useful for preventing fumes from spreading. Any cleaning products that you use in your bathroom may contain harmful chemicals, so an extractor fan will help to properly ventilate your bathroom and prevent fumes from lingering in the air. It will also keep your bathroom free of unpleasant odours.

Having a good air conditioning system provides your bathroom with a comfortable atmosphere. It can become extremely stuffy in the bathroom when you run a bath or a shower, so keeping the room cool and fresh will allow you to feel more relaxed. There are bath fans, which you can use as both a light and an extractor fan. If you wish to disguise your extractor fan, then there are lights available that have an extractor fan built into them.

If you don’t feel comfortable with installing an extractor fan, then you could always opt for a portable air conditioning system. These come with different settings, so you can experiment and see which setting you are most comfortable with. Other features of portable air conditioning systems include built in dehumidifiers and extraction hoses.

If you wish to stick with an extractor fan, then there are companies that will provide advice on how to properly install them or even offer to install them for you.

If you choose not to tile your bathroom, but instead decide to paint the walls, and then make sure you choose a waterproof paint which is specially designed to cope with the steamy conditions which running baths or showers will create.

Decorating a bathroom is no harder than painting any other room of the house, but if your suite is fitted, be sure that you cover it up well prior to starting, so that it doesn’t get any splashes of paint on it. It’s very easy to think that you will be so careful that this isn’t really an issue, but paint does and will, drop off your brush and can very easily ruin a bath.

Prior to painting, make sure that your walls are flat and that any rough patches of plaster have been sanded down. Painting will show up any tiny imperfections on your walls and exaggerate them, so take extra care to prepare them so that they look like a blank sheet of paper and are completely smooth. You may also want to patch-up any other imperfections, which can be quicker than if you simply try to sand down the rest of the wall.

Painted bathrooms can look very good, but may be a little ‘cold’ in atmosphere, so you may want to think about introducing a little warmth, with splash-backs over the bath and wash hand basin. A splash-back is simply a couple of rows of tiles, which act as a way of preventing water soaking into the walls.

The bathroom may have remained relatively overlooked in considering environmental issues for some time, but those days are over and the bathroom is now subject to the same scrutiny as other rooms of the home.

In the future, all homes which are sold are likely to be affected by energy efficiency rules, which means that the house will be ‘energy rated’ as to its impact on the environment and whether or not it uses energy and possibly water efficiently.  Toilets already use less water to flush than they did thirty years ago.

However, this does not mean that your bathroom has to be transformed into some kind of sawdust toilet with a jug for bathing.  It is still possible to have luxury and save the planet.

All it takes is a little careful planning and consideration.  Can you maximise natural light coming into your bathroom?  This is great for energy efficiency and natural light really helps when applying make up! Is your hot water system controlled by a condensing boiler? Have you set a timer for water and central heating?

You can also make sure that the bathroom is double glazed, thereby cutting down on heat loss.  Or you can fit water saving devices to take water from the shower or bath and store it for use in the garden, if you want to be really water-efficient. For many people, a few basic energy saving principles are all that is necessary and still have the bathroom of your dreams!

Traditionally, bathrooms have often been decorated with lots of blue, or even just touches of the colour, to reflect the bathing regime and water. Alternatively, they have been white, which resulted in a very cold and clinical feel. Now, however, contemporary bathrooms can be decorated in any hue and the range of colour schemes available is almost limitless, although black may still not be the best option.

Whichever colour you choose, try to pick something that is not too quirky or individual, since this is likely to date very quickly and can become a real problem if you ever want to sell your house. So, whilst starfish, mermaids and appliqué unicorns may look great for the first six months, they can soon take on a quite tired air that quickly dates and looks rather unfashionable. 

It is far better to stick to mainly neutral colours, creams, beiges, whites or even slightly shaded colours with hues of blue, green or just a gentle shade of pink, but nothing too strong. Vibrant colours, if you can’t live without them, can be introduced in your accessories, but should not be on the walls. If they are, then the whole room becomes dominated by the colour and you almost lose the bathroom suite. It is also far from relaxing to be lying in the bath, surrounded by bright red walls, which can be more than slightly oppressive. 

The bathroom should be a place where peace and tranquillity is afforded and gentle colours will do this very well. A colour scheme such as this will also help show off the accessories and bathroom suite to their best advantage.

The type of bathroom suite that you choose will really define your bathroom and say a lot about your taste and your lifestyle, so choose carefully!  Price is obviously something to be taken into account, but there are also other considerations.

Space is obviously an important issue, since there is no point in buying a walk in shower and massive whirlpool bath if they will not fit into the space you have available.

Style is also the other big factor.  You should think about the look that you want to create in your bathroom and how you can achieve this.  Do you want it to be an oasis of calm, or the epitome of urban chic?  If you are a bachelor with a busy lifestyle then think practical and no fuss.  If you are a busy mum with a young family, then you need to think about children’s bathing requirements, as well as time for you and your partner.  You may also need to have some ‘me time’ and the bathroom can be a great place to achieve this.

Bath suites can date quite easily (i.e. the ‘avocado’ suite, that style ‘nightmare’ of the 1980s) ad so with this in mind, a classic, well designed and practical style of bathroom suites can act as an investment, adding to the value of your home.  Thus making it easier to sell on and still looking good in a few years, rather than just looking out-dated.  So spend as much as you can afford and go for elegance, rather than just modern trends.

Tiled walls are a very popular choice for the bathroom, since they can help repel water, are easy to clean and with a fantastic range available it is really easy to attain a very stylish look. You can have a professional do the work, but it is also possible to do it yourself.

Before you start the tiling, make sure that your walls are flat and clean and that there are no little bumps of plaster or dampness.

The main thing to bear in mind when tiling a bathroom is that you must use a tile adhesive which is waterproof, otherwise the humid and damp conditions will mean that your tiles might soon drop off. You should also be sure to use a waterproof grout between them, so that they are fully protected.

Due to the number of pipes and fittings you have to cut around, bathrooms can be fiddly to tile. The best way to do this is simply by trial and error, using a good quality tile cutter to cut your tiles so that there is a perfect fit. It is always best to allow some extra tiles in case some of them break, are damaged, or you make a wrong cut. Just be patient, hold the faith and you will find that with a little practice you will be able to cut the tiles to fit around the most awkward pipes.

When you grout, be sure to omit the gap between the bath and the tiles or the shower tray and the tiles. For this you need a special silicon sealant, which is widely available in DIY stores.

The days when bathrooms for the disabled were clinical and sterile environments have long since gone and now they can be as funky and stylish as any standard ones, whilst still affording easy access.

The most challenging problem, from the point of view of bathing, is obviously a profound physical disability, where the user may require a hoist to get into and out of the bath. A bath fitted with a seat that rises and lowers, to facilitate easy access and egress, might offer another solution. Whilst these features will assist the disabled person, able-bodied people living in the house may find them to be utilitarian and uninviting rather than luxurious and welcoming.

The answer may be to have a standard bath, which is free standing, but deep enough to accommodate a hoist, or even a whirlpool bath for hydrotherapy. Either option will accommodate the disabled person, whilst also allowing able-bodied users the opportunity to bathe in a conventional and attractive environment. 

The day-to-day bathing requirements for a disabled person can also be satisfied by installing a shower fitted with a level entrance point and perhaps ramped drainage. This can be a standard shower unit, with just some slight modifications to the plumbing.

In order to allow a wheelchair user easy access, wash hand basins will need to have sufficient knee room under them.

With some careful thought and planning, a bathroom for use by both the disabled and able-bodied can be successfully installed without it having to cost a fortune.

Painting your bathroom cabinets may be a way to give your bathroom a really great look for a very low cost, especially if some of your cabinets don’t match. Painting is also an excellent way of achieving a co-ordinated look to the room, without you having to replace all the units.

Before you paint them, remember to check what materials the cabinets are made from.  If they have a surface that is plastic or plastic laminated, then they can’t really be painted, since it won’t stick. If they are wooden, have a wooden veneer or are metal, then you can go ahead and paint them.

Prior to painting, the cabinet will need to be prepped and for this it’s usually easier to take the doors off. Both the doors and the cabinet structure will need to be sanded down, since this will form a surface for the paint to latch onto. Often this is referred to as ‘giving the paint a key’. If there is no key, then there is nothing for the paint to soak into and it will not be very long before it cracks and wears off.

Once you have finished the first coat, wait overnight before applying the second. As tempting as it may be to rush these things, it is actually better to wait a while and allow the first coat to dry thoroughly.

Finally, before you replace the doors, think about replacing the handles, and since these can give your cabinets a fantastic look for only a few pounds, this will really help transform them into up-to-date, modern and very stylish pieces of furniture.