Bathroom Design Ideas

There is no longer any excuse for anybody to have a cluttered bathroom.  The variety of bathroom furniture that is currently available is enormous and no matter what your requirements may be, there will be a piece of bathroom furniture that does the job and fits the space properly.

There was a time when the laundry basket dominated many bathrooms, and filthy garments were regularly strewn across the floor.  Today there is bathroom furniture available which features an integrated laundry basket, and some pieces even have separate compartments for light and dark clothes.

Sinks in modern bathrooms are regularly incorporated into vanity units which have drawers and feature a large amount of storage space, integrated lighting, and a marble surround. 

We no longer see exposed plumbing or pipe work in the modern bathroom, either.  Today, it is hidden behind the walls or contained in cleverly designed bathroom furniture.  Furniture that is water-resistant and wipes clean now fills our bathrooms, hiding our toiletries, pipes, and toilet rolls. 

How did we ever cope in the bathroom before?

DIY enthusiasts often struggle to achieve a decent seal between the edges of a bath, shower tray or basin and the wall. If a seal is allowed to open up, the walls and the floor can suffer from moisture damage. This means that it is essential for a bath, shower tray or basin to be permanently sealed.

In the event that you need to seal small gaps of approximately three millimetres in width, silicone mastic is the material of choice to use. This is a flexible sealant that you squeeze evenly into the gap from a tube which is fitted into an application gun. Once the sealant has been squeezed into the gap, it is smoothed with a wet dowel. The mastic is available in colours to suit your bathroom’s decor.

Larger gaps can be sealed using quadrant tiles or else special strips of plastic bought for the purpose. Whichever you choose, they’ll need to be bedded on mastic so that a waterproof seal is assured.

Damp in bathrooms is an ongoing problem but as long as all edges are properly sealed there should be no danger of water getting into the cracks and causing damage.

Redecoration in kitchens or bathrooms will often involve replacing or removing tiles from the walls.  It is a fairly straightforward task, but can become monotonous after a while.  Also, depending on how the tiles have been stuck to the wall, you could be in for a lengthy job to get them off.  The older method was to use cement mortar instead of the more recent move to using tile adhesive, which isn’t as strong but more practical.  If you are unlucky enough to have cement mortar behind the tiles, you will probably have to remove that with just as much effort as removing the tiles.

Before starting, make sure you have a pair of safety goggles, as small chips of the tiles are likely to fly off unpredictably during the process.  The only tools you will need are the trusty combination of hammer and chisel.  Starting from the edge of the wall if possible, hammer the chisel into the side of the tile.  The first tiles will often be the hardest to remove as they are supported by others around them.

Once the tiles are removed, you are likely to be left with some adhesive or cement on the wall, which needs to be removed as well.  A paint scraper should suffice for any adhesive, while it’s best to continue with the hammer and chisel in the case of cement.  If you find that you are chipping cracks into the wall, don’t be too concerned as you will probably have to use filler anyway in preparing the wall for the redecoration.

The beauty of modern shopping is that most department stores and many smaller retailers are now accessible online, enabling you to create and accessorize the perfect bathroom without leaving the comfort of your own home.  One thing for sure when choosing your dream bathroom is that no bathroom would be complete without a bathroom cabinet, the perfect place to store your more mundane items, and the perfect piece of bathroom furniture in which to display your favourite toiletries. 

Typically, bathroom cabinets are wall-mounted above a sink and incorporate a mirrored surface.  However, depending on the style of your bathroom, you might wish to make a statement by choosing a metallic medicine cabinet, kept locked and out of children’s reach for safety, or a glass-fronted display cabinet that could showcase your prettiest soaps, bath oils and even perfumes.  The latter would be in perfect keeping with an old-fashioned but comfortable bathroom, complete with a decadent free-standing bath.  In smaller bathrooms, however, a simple, slim cabinet mounted above a piece of bathroom furniture would make better design sense.

If space is at a premium there are a variety of design tricks that can be utilised when selecting your bathroom cabinet.  These range from a wall-hung unit with adjustable shelves to hide the most awkward of toiletries to a selection of shelves which could function as an open cabinet, hung above the bath to save crucial floor space.  Alternatively, an all-encompassing vanity unit surrounding the sink can be used to hide a multitude of sins, from bathroom cleaning products to spare toilet rolls.

Partial Blockage

A partial blockage means that the toilet is not completely blocked and it is still draining, only very slowly.  In order to unblock a partial blockage you will need to let the toilet drain completely.  Fill 50 – 75% of a bucket with tap water and hold this high above the water.  Next, pour the water directly into the bottom of the bowl.  The pressure should clear out the blockage.  Do not use this method if your toilet is completely blocked.

Complete Blockage

A complete blockage means the toilet isn’t draining at all.  Before using any of the methods below, remove most of the water by scooping it out with a bucket or a bowl.  You can dispose of this water in your garden or elsewhere.

Using Your Hands

Make sure that you are wearing gloves before sticking your hand down the u-bend of the toilet in order to feel the blockage.  If you can feel a solid mass in the u-bend, simply pull it out straight away.

If not, you will need to use one of the following methods.

Using a WC Plunger

Push the plunger down the bottom bowl of the toilet and start pumping the handle.  The sucking, plunging action will, hopefully, clear the blockage.

Using a Drain Auger

Feed the drain auger down the u-bend until you can feel it hit the blockage.  Turn the drain auger a couple of times in order to dislodge and break the blockage.

Finally, disinfect the toilet immediately and dispose of the used gloves.

Bathroom cabinets not only help to improve the look of your bathroom, but also provide you with extra storage space. There are a wide variety available to suit all tastes and budgets. By adding cabinets to your bathroom, you can keep your bathroom looking organised and tidy whilst still achieving a modern look.

Cabinets are available in a variety of different designs. If you have a small bathroom and require a cabinet that has plenty to offer without taking up too much space, then a mirrored cabinet is a great choice. Mirrored cabinets provide you with a mirror and extra storage space all in one and the many designs available means that you can seek out something that adds style to your bathroom without taking up too much room. Mirrored corner bathroom cabinets are a particularly ideal choice for those who need something that fits their small bathroom perfectly and provides plenty of style and storage space.

Bathroom cabinets can not only be used for storing bathroom products but also medicine. There are a wide variety of medicine cabinets available that provide just enough space for you to store all your important medicine products. For those looking for something stylish that offers plenty of features, there are medicine cabinets that offer locks and magnetised doors, enabling you to keep your medicine secure.

For extra style and elegance, you may wish to opt for bathroom cabinets that provide lighting. Some cabinets come with small spotlights installed above the mirrored doors, leaving your bathroom looking modern and sophisticated whilst providing you with plenty of convenience.

Hard flooring such as quarry and ceramic tiles, stone and slate, creates a tough surface that is waterproof and hardwearing, ideal for busy parts of the home.  They will provide you with many years of service if you lay them correctly.  Planning is the most important thing here because they are trickier to lay than soft floor tiles.  It is often worth planning the floor layout on graph paper first, and you will need to use the right tools for cutting.

With ceramic tiles, plan the layout first and then fix marker battens against the edges of the final whole tiles you have been able to lay.  Make sure they form a right angle and secure them in place using nails.

Use a notched spreader to apply the adhesive over about 1sq metre of the underlying floor and start laying the tiles down.  You can use thick card strips as spacers for the grout.  Aim to lay about 12 tiles at a time, using a spirit level and a long edge to make sure that they are perfectly straight.  Let these main tiles settle for 24 hours before tackling the edges.

You can use a floor tile jig to make the cutting of edge tiles easier, and apply the adhesive to the tiles rather than to the floor.  Put the grout in after leaving the floor to set for 24 hours, applying it with a dry sponge 1sq metre at a time, and using a grouting tool to tidy up the joints.

The lure of having a master suite in your home with its own en suite bathroom is tremendous.  This could not only be a key selling point for your property someday, but also serve as a relaxing and private retreat within your own home.

Older homes can have quirky layouts and space may be an issue.  One thing to consider is wall-units, which eliminate the need for bulky dressers, wardrobes and sets of drawers.  By moving your storage onto the walls you gain valuable floor-space, which you can then use to install a master suite. 

If you have the space, a popular idea for master suites is to include a separate basin for him and her to eliminate marital competition in the bathroom while preparing for work in the mornings.  If you have a hectic lifestyle, his and her shower cubicles or a shower built for two creates great functionality.  A separate room for the toilet would also make the bathroom an inviting place for dual occupants. 

Be sure to choose your bathroom suite fixtures wisely, with purpose in mind.  Above all else, it should be functional.  There is little point in installing an expensive bath if you are never going to use it and little reason to have a shower if you prefer luxurious baths.  While installing a master suite will add value to your home, build it with your own personal preferences in mind, because if you find it useful others will too.

Rooms in which condensation collects, such as utility rooms, bathrooms and kitchens, can benefit from having an extractor fan fitted.  These fans suck up the moisture and direct it to the outside of the building, replacing it with dry air collected from other parts of the house.  This will discourage the build up of mould on surfaces affected by moisture.

It is always possible to simply open a window, but heat will just be wasted by doing this, whereas an extractor fan will keep the interior at a steady temperature whilst removing the moisturised air and will be much more effective at doing so.

An extractor fan can be mounted into a window by cutting a hole in the frame, placed on a ceiling or mounted directly into an outer wall.

It is important to buy a fan that operates at the correct power for the job that it is required to do.  The extract rate as displayed on the packaging will indicate the power rating, and as a guideline when choosing one you can figure that the average kitchen or utility room needs ten complete changes of air per hour.

Fit the outer grille into place first, in the opening you cut in the window frame and line up the gaskets.  The inner mounting plate can then be fitted to the grille in accordance with the instructions included with the unit.  It is usually better to have two people doing this, one on the inside and the other on the outside holding it in place.  The main body of the fan is then fitted to the inner plate and screwed in place.

There is one thing most bathrooms have in common, clutter.  The hairdryer on the sink, clothing draped on towel rails and radiators and toothbrushes abandoned on any convenient flat surface.  This clutter makes bathrooms uninviting, a feeling that can easily be eliminated by installing bathroom cabinets.

It is best to consider how the room is going to be used before purchasing your new bathroom cabinets.  The biggest reason for this is that most cabinets on display in your local home improvement store all serve exactly the same function, they just have different finishes.  If it is not going to work for you in oak, with a marble sink top, it will not work for you in maple with a granite top, either. 

Bathrooms are not normally thought of as requiring storage space, but they actually hold a lot of items.  Soap, towels, deodorants, shaving equipment, oral hygiene equipment and as the parents of most teenage girls will know, bathrooms also serve as beauty parlours, makeup counters and fitting rooms, thanks to the lighting and mirrors.  When you have an ill-functioning bathroom cabinet, you will inevitably spend hours of your life temporarily moving displaced and homeless items or will just give up and leave them where they are.

When you are shopping for bathroom cabinets, be aware that a cabinet is a cabinet.  Keeping that thought in your head, wander along to the kitchen showroom at your DIY store and you will find the possibilities become much wider.  You can maximise your space by installing floor-to-ceiling cabinets, which are commonly used in kitchens and will make a great home for all of those things we cannot live without in the bathroom.