Bathrooms – the wet room solution

Bathrooms have evolved, and the wet room is the latest popular trend. To find out more visit http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/design/design-guides/bathrooms/wetrooms

An increasing number of people are choosing to add wet rooms to their homes. For most, the wet room is added as a second bathroom, but in chic flats and small apartments, the wet room is an ideal way to make the most of your bathroom space. The idea doesn’t appeal to everyone, but like most bathrooms, if you plan and research well, a wet room can work beautifully.

Bathrooms vs. wet rooms

Building a wet room is quite an undertaking. Essentially, where bathrooms are separate rooms with enclosed areas for bathing or showering, a wet room can be open to other areas of the house if you choose, and have no shower screens or enclosures and no bath. A central drainage point allows the shower to drain whilst the toilet and basin are conventionally plumbed, but in the same area as the shower. A wet room gives you:

• Modern look – wet rooms are very desirable and when they are properly done, they look great – sleek and contemporary.

• Ease of use – no need to jump in and out of the bath or squeeze yourself into a small shower enclosure. Just switch the shower on and go.

• Ease of cleaning – fewer pieces of sanitary ware means less worry about keeping everything clean. The whole area is tiled, so cleaning the tiling regularly and keeping the showering equipment clean is all that’s needed.

Whilst many people like the idea of having a wet room in their home, building one takes expertise and attention to detail. The whole area must be waterproof, and the showering area designed so that other things in the wet room, such as towels and accessories are far enough away to stay dry. If you’re looking at installing new bathrooms and you want to consider a wet room, your best option is to talk to a bathrooms expert before you begin. There’s nothing worse than having bought everything you need only to discover that a wet room won’t work in your home.

Bathroom’s luxury and wet room’s style

Building a wet room doesn’t mean you have to stint on the luxury element of your bathroom. Underfloor heating, for example, is often recommended because it not only helps to heat the room, but encourages the tiled floor to dry out more quickly and evenly. You can still have a bath in the room if you want one, and if you have space, you can have the wet room as a separate area of your bathroom, allowing the more traditional area to retain the luxury you want.

The Secret of Great Bathroom Shelves

When it comes to bathrooms, shelves and shelving units have the capacity to make or break the room. Modern homeowners are increasingly designing their bathrooms to be functional units as well as visually appealing. Look for a good granite showroom that can offer great countertops and shelving.

According to a report in Bath Design, one of the key features when it comes to designing bathrooms is that of bathroom shelving. With this in mind, many homeowners are opting to redesign their bathrooms with new bathroom furniture and shelving which rejuvenates the room and makes it a more relaxing and rewarding place to spend time. Bathrooms are easy to make striking in the design stakes yet still highly functional by choosing the right sort of bathroom shelving to complement the style of the room.

Bathrooms - Getting the Design Right

Bathrooms are one of the most utilised rooms in the house so it is important to get the design and layout of the room just right. One of the main problems that bathrooms often have is a cluttered appearance. This is something that can be easily remedied through a careful choice of bathroom shelving units. According to the report in Bath Design, most homeowners tend to opt for contemporary looking storage and shelving units for their bathrooms. Speaking to Bath Design, leading designer, Deborah Burnett, states, “Open shelving is now being integrated into the design of bathrooms as another architectural element, particularly in line with today's modern decorating style.” This goes to show the importance that shelving and storage in the design of contemporary bathrooms and striking the right balance between style and storage is crucial in achieving the right bathroom look.

Bathrooms - Shelving or Storage Units?

When thinking about redesigning bathrooms, one of the key considerations should be how you intend to use the space that is available to you. Obviously, bathrooms come in all shapes and sizes and your choice of shelving or storage units will be largely dictated by the amount of space you have to work with. Shelving units are probably more suitable for smaller bathrooms as it will make the room appear larger by not eating into the available space on the floor. If bathrooms are of the larger variety, however, then free-standing or fixed storage units can certainly deliver the desired visual impact. It is, of course, important to bear in mind the overall tone and design principles of bathrooms when it comes to deciding what direction to go in with shelving and bathroom furniture.

Bathrooms – planning for the future

Bathrooms can’t be refurbished every year, so make sure you plan ahead for future use. To find out more visit http://www.utopiamag.co.uk/

Bathrooms can be expensive to refurbish, so you’re not going to be spending money every year on keeping your bathroom up-to-date. This means that you need to think ahead and plan, if you can, for the way you will use your bathrooms in the next 3-5 years or more.

• The couple’s bathroom – if you are a newly married couple or in a partnership that is settled, it’s lovely to be able to create bathrooms that you can enjoy. If you want to start a family in the near future, you might want to think about how that will affect the way you use your bathroom. You might choose to put in a bath with an overhead shower, for example, rather than just a shower cubicle, so that you can bathe children easily without having to spend money on changing your bathroom.

• The growing family – as families grow, so the bathroom usage changes. Children move from having baths to having showers and of course, they are growing all the time. As they reach their teenage years, they are demanding more time in the bathroom, and so you might want to consider adding bathrooms to your home if you have the space, rather than adapting your existing bathroom. Make sure that shower cubicles are spacious enough for growing kids and that there’s plenty of storage space for all those teenage toiletries.

• Empty-nesters – if you have children who have left home, you might find that you’re re-doing your bathrooms at a time when the house is much quieter. This is the time when you can design your bathrooms with you in mind. Go for the luxury bath or extra-large shower cubicle you’ve always wanted, or use a newly-empty bedroom to create a really stunning larger bathroom.

• Safety first – if you’re planning to stay in your home well into retirement, it may be worth thinking about how your bathroom can be used when you have less mobility. Making sure the floor is level and has a non-slip covering, along with handles on the bath and easy-to-use shower enclosures can all help to ensure that you can stay in your home easily without having to spend money re-configuring your bathroom later on.

Branch out and Give Your Garden a Make Over with Artificial Grass

Artificial turf grass is the easy way to transform your average garden into an horticultural haven.

A lazy Sunday can be ruined by the menial task of having to mow the lawn.  However, mowing can now be made a thing of the past by replacing your lawn with artificial grass.  A common question that surrounds artificial grass is why?  Well, there is a multitude of reasons as to why artificial grass is the nicer and cleaner alternative to the traditional turf, especially if you have children. 

Children plus Pets plus Mud equals a Lethal Combination

Every parent knows the amount of washing that can accumulate as a result of playing in the mud.  If a family has pets as well as children than this can be made even worse with muddy paw prints ending up on the brand new sitting room carpet.  If this sounds familiar then artificial grass should be a serious consideration for your home.  Artificial grass looks the same but eradicates the mud aspect meaning you can have a sparkling clean house as well as a constantly fresh looking lawn 

Why Scrap Real Grass for Artificial Grass?

If the sole fact that your house will be saved from an involuntary mud bath is not enough to convince you that artificial grass is the way forward, there are plenty of other reasons why any family should consider switching to artificial grass.  These include:

·         Artificial grass is easy to install

·         It looks the part once it has been laid. 

·         Artificial grass is also clean and safe for children to play on

·         Very easy to maintain

·         No need for watering

Installation of artificial grass is very easy and it can even be laid on slopes making it fitting for most gardens.  As well as this, it feels very soft under foot.  No wonder so many families nationwide are going artificial!

Bathrooms – The Battle of the Sexes

Men and women are, the cliché goes, from different planets – and perhaps the room that most illustrates these differences (and battles) are our bathrooms.  To find out more visit http://www.home-designing.com/2011/02/modern-bathrooms-designs-ideas-pictures

Bathrooms can become much-fought over rooms for couples. The myth is women spend hours and hours in bathrooms, whereas men are in and out. But research shows that the time spent in bathrooms by both sexes is quite similar; although men and women do differ on what they do in their bathrooms. According to research published in the Daily Mail newspaper, women spend six months in a lifetime going to the toilet, with few women wasting time flicking through magazines or reading on the loo. Men however spend an average of three years on the loo in their bathrooms – 40 minutes a day! You'd better make sure you love your bathroom if you're going to give it this kind of attention!

Bathrooms – Men and Women Dividing Time

But if women out there are using this statistic to insist their menfolk take more responsibility cleaning the bathrooms, it's worth considering that although on average men take six months in their lifetimes getting ready, women take two years (a conservative estimate some might add). The average women spends ten minutes in the shower, compared to the 11 minutes it takes a man to shower, shave and do his hair (although that time almost trebles to 32 minutes if he's going on a date). Meanwhile, women are spending an additional 30 minutes in their bathrooms putting on make-up, 24 minutes styling their hair and another 26 minutes decided what to wear and dressing (although not necessarily in their bathrooms).

Bathroom Products not just for Women

As well as time spent in bathrooms, the sexes are always moaning about bathroom products – the idea however that men only have a handful of bathroom products, whereas women are drowning in bottles and make-up is probably true – but men are quickly catching up as the male cosmetic industry continues to boom.

Battles over Bathrooms

With all these battles going on over bathrooms, it's no wonder that research has found that both sexes use their bathrooms as escapism – as a place to go for peace and quiet, a place to think, or as an opportunity to spend time to themselves.