Ten top tips for the perfect bathroom
07 June 2010
More than just a place for a quick wash and brush up, today's bathroom occupies a central place in the home. The multitude of choices on offer means you can create the bathroom of your dreams without breaking the bank.
The Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) offer the following tips for anyone embarking on a redesign:
- Think about who will be using the bathroom: depending on the size of your family you may want to install twin washbasins, super-sized shower cubicles and double ended baths, for example, or simply create the ultimate in grown-up luxury with a chic and stylish wet room.
- Stick to a white suite: it will help stop the room looking dated and give you greater flexibility in colour schemes.
- Think before you rip out the bath to install a shower cubicle: you'll be limiting your home's resale value. Buyers with children will always want a bath. If space is limited, install a showerbath designed for the purpose.
- Small bathrooms can be made more spacious with ‘back to wall' sanitary ware, corner basins and smaller baths or showers.
- Freestanding baths give an immediate ‘wow' factor and you don't need a huge bathroom to include one. Some are designed to be tiled in on one wall.
- Achieve the designer bathroom look on a budget by choosing an inexpensive suite and pushing the boat out on good tiles, lighting and accessories.
- Dark bathrooms with limited lighting can be dramatically opened up by strategic positioning of mirrors to reflect available light.
- Make sure your shower and bath mixers are fitted with thermostatic controls. Every year 20 people are killed in bathroom scalding accidents, but a thermostatic control will ensure the flow of water is maintained at a constant, safe temperature.
- You don't necessarily have to stick to one size of wall tile - try mixing large format tiles with toning mosaic tiles to add interest.
- Radiators that double as towel rails warm the bathroom and the bather! Again, several designs are on offer, ranging from traditional style radiators with built-in towel rails to ‘ladder' style radiators of varying heights. Just make sure, if it's your only source of heat, that there's enough output to warm the room when covered with towels.
