The past one hundred years have seen a remarkable revolution in bathing and bathrooms. A century ago, the once-weekly familial bath, taken in a tub laboriously filled by hand in front of the living-room fire, was gradually being superseded for the lucky few by the first Victorian and Edwardian bathrooms, complete with vast baths and […]
Whether you are planning a brand-new bathroom or making improvements to an old one, taking a moment to think about the exact role of the room may save expensive mistakes later on. Ask yourself the following questions: ls the bathroom to be used by the whole family, just the children, a couple or a single […]
Take professional advice before planning a bathroom. Take into account local water regulations, existing plumbing facilities and the construction of your house. Draw out the area on graph paper and study how best to divide up the bathroom for different tasks. Look at the options of various ‘dividers’ such as double or sliding doors, archways, […]
If young children are going to be the main users of the bathroom, choose fittings that will accommodate short legs: a wall-hung basin, for instance, that can be set at an appropriate height; a toilet with a low – level cistern and a lever that is easy to reach; a bath with a relatively low […]
lt can be hard to decide where to position the lights until you have actually started to use the room but, as a general rule, over-light rather than under light. Taking a light source out, later on, is far less expensive and disruptive than adding one after all the decoration has been completed. Place a […]
Once experienced, an en suite bathroom is a luxury that it is hard to give up. Even if you think you have no spare room in the house, it may still be a possibility, given careful planning and clever division of space. If your children have grown up and left home, then a bathroom adjacent […]
Once all the bathroom fittings and fixtures are in place you may find there is little room left for custom made free-standing cupboards and shelving, so it is vital that storage is considered at the planning stage. Returning to the graph-paper floor plan of your bathroom, assess the available space. Remember that no elements, except […]
Whether it is designed to complement a rose-covered cottage or as an escapist retreat from urban reality, the country look always works well in a bathroom setting. Easily created, involving inexpensive materials and simple techniques, the effect is pretty, fresh and appealing. The classic country look is perhaps best associated with sprigged floral wallpapers and […]
New baths for old lf the plumbing works well but the fixtures are jaded, chipped and stained do not automatically think of throwing them out. Baths, basins and even WCs can be renovated and resurfaced by professional firms (consult your Yellow Pages). Or you can resurface them yourself with epoxy paint if you are handy […]
When it comes to hiring professionals for help with home improvements, few homeowners have done it enough to become experts. Many people dread this part of the process; it puts them on edge because they’re afraid they’ll be taken advantage of. Although general awareness and careful scrutiny are important, finding the best professionals for your […]
