Bathroom Design Ideas

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.

Replacing an old bath, or fitting your first one, can transform a bathroom from a purely functional space into a relaxing one.  Many baths are aesthetically pleasing in their own right and can thereby enhance the value of your property.  A well-fitted bath that blends harmoniously into the overall look and feel of the bathroom is a great attraction for potential buyers or, if you have no plans to move, can make you feel better about where you live.

Preparing the Installation
Start by measuring the bathroom and planning the area where you want to place the new bath.  If the bath installation is part of a wider bathroom DIY project, you should consider the space to be taken up by any other fittings and fixtures.

Secondly, ensure you have a water supply to the bathroom; if you have bought an old property, it may have been out of use for some time.  You may find it more practical to place the bath in an area of the bathroom where the water supply has already been fitted, rather than redirect it elsewhere.

Fitting the Bath
Connect the water supply to the bath securely and without leaks.  You can use mastic filler or another suitable insulator to stop leaks from the water connection points, as well as around the plug hole.  Checking for leaks is done by switching on the taps, filling the bath fully and letting the water go into the overflow.

The most common bath is the acrylic one with a panel down one side, but  an increasing variety of shapes are becoming available and corner baths, circular ones, curved and free standing baths are now becoming very popular.

Most modern baths are made from plastic acrylic material which makes them relatively inexpensive but still very strong and easy to maintain. The main difference is that an acrylic bath is light and so it is easier to install and it retains the heat better than metal baths. Anyone who has previously used an old metal based bath will soon feel the difference in the bath water temperature. It stays hot longer.

When choosing an acrylic bath shape make sure that you have ample room in your bathroom to site the bath and install all the pipes and other fittings. The arrangement of the holes on the bath for taps is also important and it is vital to make sure that the recommended tap system for the particular bath will suit your water supply.  Make a note of the capacity of the chosen bath and ensure that your hot water tank can supply enough hot water to fill it to a suitable level.   For example, a brand new corner bath which only gets three inches of water in the bottom before the tap runs cold can be a big disappointment.

If you are unsure about the capacity of your hot water system, or have difficulty in imaging just how high the water level would be in the new bath, ask an expert for advice.

Very few of us have the luxury of a large bathroom. While we want something fabulous and showcase-worthy, we are restricted by size, shape, and budget. Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of what you have:

• Replace floor-mounted sinks and toilets with wall-mounted ones. More floor space makes a room feel bigger than it is.
• Use mirrors wisely. Placing a mirror opposite a window reflects light and adding things like mirrored cabinets helps give the illusion of more space.
• Choose pale colours for floor and walls.
• Install vertical radiators instead of traditional ones.
• Keep the fixtures small. Shallow basins, small countertops, and slim-line accessories all work towards making your tiny bathroom feel grander than it is.
• Minimise the clutter. Unfortunately, the smaller the space, the more eye-drawing things like multiple shampoo bottles and loads of toiletries are. So keep your things put away and out of sight.
• Combine your shower and bath or get rid of the bath altogether.

Most importantly, don’t give in to the space; make the space work for you! Remember that which might look garish in a large room will often look quite wonderful in a small one. So don’t be afraid to make a statement.

A small bathroom doesn’t have to be a boring bathroom. With a little thought, a little planning, and a little creativity, you can make that small space feel larger and look amazing.

Bath screens may be a functional necessity to stop water splashing from an over bath shower, but they can also be added for purely aesthetic purposes to change the over all look of the entire bathroom.

Older baths can be given a fresh look with the addition of a bath screen.  Curved bath screens tend to give a much softer feminine type of look to the lines of the bathroom, and a plain, simple curve will give an ultra modern look to the whole room.

Folding bath screens are an excellent way of saving space in a small bathroom because they can be folded back out of the way if the bath is in use but not the shower. These are much more modern looking and practical than a shower curtain which you have to pull back and allow to drip dry into the bath, not to mention the problem of keeping the whole thing clean.

Sliding bath screens are practical in family bathrooms as they are easier to slide across and don’t have hinges that may get damaged by children. However, the most popular and most common shape is the square bath screen. These tend to be minimalist in appearance and they fit well into contemporary bathroom styles that favour clean lines.

If plain and simple is not your thing where bath screens are concerned, decorative versions with gold edges are available, and there are numerous frosted designs from scroll work to fish, leaves and even flowers. Some have small frosted areas but others are frosted all over with a particular design.

Installing a new bath can be fiddly and awkward work, but if you’re relatively confident in your DIY abilities, it’s hardly rocket science. As a new bathroom can add 10% to the value of your home, it’s an essential part of any property development project.

Put the new bath into position, it’s always easier to put it where the old bath was, but it isn’t that hard to extend drainage and pipe runs. Adjust the feet and ensure the bath is level. Mark the location of the new taps and the waste outlet on the wall and remove the bath.

The trickiest part, technically, is extending the water pipes. If you’re confident, solder copper fittings like ‘end feed’ straight unions, right-angled elbows and tab connectors, so that the pipe rises to the taps. You’ll need emery cloth, solder, flux, heat-retardant mat and a blowtorch to solder the fittings. You can always cheat and use compression fittings to extend the copper, but it’s not best practice. Add service valves to each pipe near the tap. Remember to think of access; the waste and water pipes should terminate in a position that isn’t too fiddly to work on.

Next ‘dress’ the bath, which is to say add the taps and waste outlet and assemble the overflow pipe. Re-position the bath and connect up the taps to the pipes and the trap to the waste drainage. Turn on the water supply and check for leaks before fitting the side panel. Finally, finish off any remaining painting, decorating and plastering and enjoy your new bathroom.

Freestanding baths give homeowners all the elegance of the tubs of old without denying them the convenience of modern plumbing. Moreover, depending on preference, these freestanding tubs can either have traditional, footed looks or more sleekly-modern and organic shapes. Some are even shaped to evoke natural stone pools, garden objects like buckets and planters, farm objects like troughs, and even animals like swans.

Essentially, whether you have Victorian, natural, or modern tastes, there’s likely a freestanding bath on the market for you. These come from a range of luxury manufacturers including Royce Morgan and Imperial and are, in most cases, guaranteed to last for a lifetime.

Some, like Royce Morgan’s Osaka tub and Carron Elysee’s Freestanding Bath, have porcelain tubs set on wooden pedestals, suggesting the elegance of Asia. Others, like the Imperial Baglioni Cobra Cast Iron Bath and the Imperial Radison Cureo Freestanding Cast Iron Bath, use the clean elegance of metal to give the bathrooms in which they are installed an industrial feel.

Luxury freestanding baths like the Rectangularo Bath even employ lighting options.

More traditional freestanding baths like the Royce Morgan Kensington Freestanding Bath, the Imperial Bentley Double Ended Bath, and the Imperial Ritz Slipper Bath all have feet that evoke Victorian baths of old. Still though these baths, and others like them, manage to harmonize the feet of historical baths with the sleek modern lines that appeal to contemporary consumers. Many of these freestanding baths also employ creative colour palettes – misty greens, deep browns, rosy corals – that will brighten any bathroom.

The bath is one of the most important items in the bathroom. If you are looking to buy a new bath, then you need to choose one that will not only fit your bathroom properly, but will also be the right size for you. You will need to decide whether you would like a twin bathtub, or a normal sized bathtub. Larger bathtubs will use up more hot water, so it may a good idea to stick to just a single bathtub so it is not as expensive.

There are many different styles of baths to choose from. If your bathroom has a designer look, then you may wish to buy a more stylish bathtub, such as a corner bathtub or an oval shaped bathtub. There are also many other different shapes of bathtub to choose from. If you want your bathtub to match other accessories, then you may wish to buy one that is a similar shape to other items in your bathroom, such as an oval shaped bath to match an oval shaped soap dish. If you want a romantic theme for your bathroom, then you can even buy a heart shaped bathtub.

If you have a disabled or elderly family member, then it is a good idea to buy a bathtub that has all the right facilities. Walk-in bathtubs are the best option for elderly people, as it saves them having to climb over the bath edge. Some bathtubs also have a slip resistant floor, which is useful for elderly or disabled people. There is also a seat and a handheld shower for convenience and safety bars available for wheelchair users.

There are a wide variety of products you can use to make your bath or shower a more relaxing experience. For a luxurious shower experience, there is a selection of shower gels to choose from. Original Source, a UK company who specialises in bath products, offers a wide selection of shower gels, with flavours such as lemon, tea tree, lavender, vanilla milk, cocoa and much more. They also offer shower pouches in a variety of flavours, including watermint and lemongrass.

Bath bombs, bath crystals, bath balls and salts are ideal for those who are looking for a luxurious bathing experience. The Bubble Store, a UK store, offers a wide variety of these types of products. Their bath bombs are just £0.75 each and come in a variety of flavours, including tropical fruits, lemon and lime, lavender and peppermint and more. You can also buy these bath bombs as part of a lucky dip that the store offers at a discounted price.

The Bubble Store also offers lots of other great items for the bathroom, such as oil soap, fragrance soap, body butter, lip balm, bath foam and much more. These items are sold separately as well as in gift packs for around £14.99. Their bath crystals come in a selection of flavours and are priced at £1.20.

If you have children, a bubble bath can make their bathing experience more fun. Bath toys such as rubber ducks can help make your bathroom more suitable for children. Bubble baths are offered in a variety of interesting flavours, and some may be more suitable for children than others, so have a look around and see what kind your children would like.

If you are aiming to have a Victorian theme for your bathroom, then there are a variety of accessories available that will help you achieve the look that you want. Victorian bathrooms usually have dark colours and wood. Antique stores are a good place to visit if you are looking for Victorian bathroom furniture and usually have a wide variety of top quality products to make your bathroom look good.

Victorian Plumbing, a UK company, offer a selection of Victorian products to suit your theme, including Victorian basin taps, which can be purchased with a matching bath mixer if you wish. If you are looking for a bath to fit your Victorian theme, then Plumbworld offer a Clearwater Victorian Bath, which is available in Green and White, with stone cast resin reinforcement and is priced at around £530.00.

Having a Victorian theme may be more suitable if you have a lot of money to spare, as some products can be quite expensive. But if you look around on sites such as eBay, you may be able to find a few bargains. There are some stores that offer discounts for products purchased on their website, or you could have a look around to see which stores have items on sale.

Finding a website with an online decorator will help you to see which colours are suitable for your Victorian theme. Visiting showrooms is also a good idea, as this will give you an idea of different layouts, colours and products for your Victorian theme.