Full steam ahead for bathrooms
With spring a mere strangled tweet around the corner, the home improvement season is going into full swing.
The bathroom is a space where unfettered style can shine out in almost every detail, but it is important to get basic design features and investment buys right first time.
Keep in mind that moving mechanical inclusions such as ventilation ducts and plumbing points will increase your budget in a renovation, but if it makes ergonomic sense to shake up the plan, it might be worth the extra spend.
Freestanding or flush, the double vanity area has becomes something of a must-have for couples and families.
Double sinks can give even tiny bathrooms considerable class. Set companionably side by side, doubles let you chat and preen with your partner and cut down on toothbrush battles amongst young siblings.
Use two separate sinks set in a supporting task counter, or buy a double basin unit with sinks bigger than ice-cream scoops for impact.
With the wider counter, there’s all that luscious room to play with below for blind or open storage, hanging towels, and hiding a boosting stool for toddlers. Dedicate mirrors, lighting, and accessories of equal stature to both basins.
Taps and traps are essential character building elements. After assessing water pressure (some taps only perform properly on high-pressure systems) it’s all in the action.
We love levers but, as a mother I might add that too light an action in a temperamental Italian mixer can result in a comical deluge.
Angular, geometric taps say modern, and if you have over €1,000 for your bath and basin taps, look into the latest waterfall spout designs (Kelly Hoppen for Waterfront in the UK is causing something of a splash).
When it comes to loos, your major preoccupation should forever more be water usage. Whether you want your toilet to hover magically on the wall or you covet a high mounted period cistern, dual flush toilets now come as standard.
Soft close technology to a toilet seat will keep relationships together in an en suite situation, eliminating the crash of plastic on porcelain at 2am.
Effective storage is the difference between nerve-shredding chaos and a civilised wash on a school morning. Built-in cabinets make use of every available millimetre in possibly the tiniest room in the house.
One trick with an area thrown away in many skinny bathrooms is to use a back-to-the-wall loo, and set a shelf the length of the wall with blind door cabinets framed into the void below.
If the sink or double vanities are on the same wall, there’s an attractive break-front with attractive sanitary ware flowering off the wall and shielding the storage beneath. Recess the handles of the cupboards or drawers into planed-out grabs.
Add a well-lit plate mirror running over the whole lot for a fabulous finish on just one wall. Plumbers love a ‘wet wall’, with all water fixtures in one area, as it makes for easier access and repairs.
White ware with cabinets attached offer a streamlined solution. The slender-legged wash-stand or floating vanity hugs the underside of an integral sink and can be easily matched to freestanding and other built-in storage. Not reaching right down to the floor, these pieces allow light to flow where the floor plan is pinched and storage tightly centrifuged to the walls. Examine the materials of any cabinetry that comes with a sink, as they vary widely in quality and finish, but can add ridiculous amounts to a modest wash-basin.
Prices start at around €200 for two vinyl drawers and a squared-out sink without the tap.
Freestanding bathroom furniture with vertical thrust can be poked into walls and corners to tidy away the snarling mess of bottles, cosmetics, and cleaning materials. Stylistic unity adds calm, so go for chunky, stable, marriageable pieces through the medicine cabinets, drawered units, shelves, benches, and storage towers. On the wall or floor, everything should earn its place.
Even 10cm extra cabinetry encroaching in the wrong position can make a negative, invasive impact. Ikea’s shallow Lilliangen laundry cabinet, with holes for posting and separating colours and whites into two internal hampers as children strip for the shower, takes just 40x38cm of floor for €90-€100. Just as with kitchens, a touch of free-standing furniture against builtins seems to hit just the right note.
Don’t be afraid to make a feature of something unusual with character styling in colour or shape.
Mirrored wall cabinets from around 20cm in depth double on function beautifully when positioned for lighting.
Flowing water from at least three piped sources, plus that fog of humidity, must be trafficked out to the drains and outdoor atmosphere. Tiles are the perfect choice for floors and, taken to even waist level, provide hygienic, sleek surroundings. Generally, large, pale tiles look better in smaller spaces, as the visual chatter of grout lines is greatly reduced. Dark anti-slip tiling will highlight limescale. Every showroom includes tile collections in a variety of sizings and feature panels which will sing together, trimming out architectural challenges.
Fixing tile will generally outstrip the price of all but the most expensive marble, and the heavier the tile, the stronger the argument for a skilled trade installation.
If you insist on wood surfaces, keep in mind that water-resistance is not waterproofing.
Most laminate products will stand up to all put a complete drowning, but use mats to soak up the worst of the domestic tsunami.
