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Posts Tagged ‘bathroom hints and tips’


Choosing the Perfect Taps

November 12th, 2012 by steph

 

Choosing the taps for your bathroom can be an extremely difficult decision. Taps can often bring the decisive, finishing touch to the overall look of the room, which makes it vitally important that you make the right choice. The problem however, is that there are so many different factors to consider, that creating the right combination becomes much harder than you’d first expect. Not to worry though. Here you’ll find a selection of easy to follow tips, which will help you to make the right choices and add the perfect finishing touch to your bathroom décor.

Shape

The shape of your bathroom taps can have a massive impact on the rooms’ appearance. There is a wide selection of tap shapes; from square to spherical and round to semi-circular. The best way to optimise the style of the room through tap shape is to match them up with the mirrors. So, for example, if you have square mirrors purchase round taps, if you have circular mirrors purchase circular taps etc. This will add a feel of stylish consistency to your bathroom and allow both the mirror and the tap to blind into an overall interior design.

Bathroom Décor

The key to choosing the perfect tap lies mainly in the décor that surrounds it, meaning that modern taps suit a contemporary bathroom décor, whereas traditional taps suit a classical décor. So, for instance, a sleek, metallic style within the bathroom would be complimented perfectly by a curved tap with a chrome finish.

Ease of Use

Alongside style, the perfect tap must also be highly functional. This is hugely important, as you want the equipment in your bathroom to easy and quick to use. Taps that require twisting may be difficult for some people, like the elderly, to operate. Therefore, taps that offer easy use become a massive part of the decision process. You can purchase taps with an easy lift lever, or, if you have an ultra-modern bathroom, get rid of the handle all together with a sensor operated laser tap.

Flexibility

Continuing the need for functional taps, flexibility is another important factor in selecting your perfect tap. Some taps are fixed in one set position. Whilst this will probably not be a regular issue, there will be times when its lack of movement will restrict what you can achieve. Taps that swivel can be invaluable, especially if it is installed in a tight space, like a cloakroom suite, where there is little room to manoeuvre.

Keep these tips in mind and not only will your decision making process be a lot easier and quicker, you will also have the tap that is perfect for you, both in style and convenience.

Posted in Bathroom design | Comments Off

Creating an Illusion of Space in the Bathroom

November 5th, 2012 by steph

Unless you live in a custom built home with a luxurious walk-in wardrobe, balcony and games room you probably wish your bathroom was bigger. Without knocking down a wall or adding any additional square footage, you can feel a little less cramped with our top Tapshop tips, which will make your bathroom feel a little less claustrophobic.

Adding the Right Coat of Paint

This is where most people go wrong. Pale, light colour schemes tend to give the illusion of a larger area of space. We’re not saying that the whole room has to be pristine white, with white fixtures and fittings, especially to you trend followers. Add a little ‘zing’ to your bathroom by adding bright accessories or a bright feature wall. Try a lime green that will create a fresh, airy atmosphere, or a pastel green to create a cool serene sanctuary. These colours and designs will create the illusion of space with only a paintbrush and a pot of paint.

Cutting Back on Things which Stick Out                     

You would be surprised at how the smallest piece of furniture or accessory can suddenly make your room seem to shrink. Removing wall shelves and replacing them with a streamlined cabinet will dramatically transform the size and feel of the room in a matter of seconds. Of course, you may need some of the pieces for comfort or uses, but if your bathroom looks a lot bigger without them, try and think of some other ways to supply the space you need.

Say Goodbye to Visual Obstructions

It may have seemed a good idea at the time, but without you even knowing, a frosted glass style will have made your room look a lot smaller, by obstructing your view of the room. Replacing frosted glass or shower curtains with clear glass will create a continuous streamlined look, making your bathroom look a lot larger. Eliminating shower doors altogether and replacing them with clear glass which can be pushed back would be the easiest and most effective option for this design.

A neat, tidy and clean bathroom will always look larger and more spacious than a cluttered, dirty one! Spend a little time organising storage areas and make the most of what you have. Just because your bathroom is small doesn’t means it has to look small. Show off your sense of colour and style in a bathroom which makes the most of its limited space.

 

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How To Bring The Beach Into Your Bathroom

May 25th, 2012 by steph

When it comes to designing or even redesigning your bathroom there is one theme which, if well applied can be altered or personalised to suit almost any shape, size and preferred personality of bathroom. The ocean and beach theme is a universally loved and generally beautiful style which is ideal for any contemporary bathroom.

Here are some handy hints and tips for adapting and recreating this classic yet contemporary theme, whilst avoiding clichéd or over bearing parts of its style.

1- Colours Are The Key: It’s best to remember that whilst accessories can really make this style personal and give it feeling, the key to really making it stand out and look as beautifully as possible is the colours you choose. Just because the colour scheme for this style seems simplistic and easily achievable doesn’t mean it’s worth rushing the choice of colour. Blue is an obvious necessity and it should be ideally mixed with a shade of white, but a soft and lighter shade of grey is also a great addition to this colour scheme. It’s worth trying a few different mixes and concentrations of soft ocean blues, nostalgic and minimalistic shades of white, and an occasional dash of contrasting grey. Take your time over deciding on which shades and combinations will work best for your size and shape of bathroom and try not to forget, too much use of deep blue can often make a bathroom seem too dark to really pull off this theme correctly.

2- Simplify Accessory Choices: It’s time to talk about accessories, although this theme almost demands one or two personal items to add character and to really push that “ocean beach” theme, too much or too many can make it seem tacky and false. A large conch shell is a perfect addition to the theme providing it’s real, and there’s only one of them. The soft shade of this type of shell is ideal for one corner of the bath, windowsill or bathroom shelf and really puts across the theme well, although it’s ideal if you actually go and find it on a beach for yourself. A brightly coloured beach towel to offset the soft shades of paint is a great idea too, orange or soft pink are perfect colours to contrast with the blue and white on the walls. An ocean view painting or two on the wall is again a great choice of accessory for this theme, but again it’s best if you find them somewhere a bit more personal rather than going to IKEA, or Amazon.

3- Fittings and Flooring: The ideal fittings for the ocean theme are a soft, slightly matt coloured metallic finish. A set of brightly shined chrome fittings can work, but if you’re going to choose a chrome  finish it’s best not to have a any brightly coloured accessories because it will become too much and remove focus from the style of the fittings. The floor should ideally be wood or laminate with a faux wood finish to create that naturalistic and nostalgic feel. If it’s not possible for you to obtain a wooden or laminate floor don’t despair there are a few other options for you. For example obtaining a rug in either white or soft grey to offset the blue walls is a great way of reinforcing the colour theme.

With a little forethought and some inspiration, creating your own personalised version of this classically chic bathroom theme is not a difficult task. By sticking to the simple hints and tips provided on this blog post, it’ll be hard to go too far wrong.

Posted in Bathroom design, DIY Hints & Tips | Comments Off

How To Fit a New Bathroom As A Novice

May 1st, 2011 by admin

When I was quoted the ridiculous price for taking out my old bathroom suite and putting a new one in I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I finally awoke and picked myself up off the floor and decided that there was no other option than to fit the bathroom myself. The question was, could a complete novice handle such a big job?

I am a complete novice when it comes to DIY and being brutally honest the thought of doing it made me feel physically sick. The first thing we had to do was choose a new bathroom from the plethora of bathroom suites that are available online. I have quite a small bathroom so was looking for something that would look great but maximise on the space I have available. In the end I went for the 321 corner suite. Reasonably priced and most importantly I wouldn’t have to do any major plumbing work.

I don’t think I would have attempted this project if I had to start moving any plumbing. Lucky enough for me the suite I chose would fit quite nicely and because of its space saving corner bath would actually give me more room to move around.

With most projects I undertake I usually just get stuck in, but this time I decided that it would probably be best to formulate some sort of plan. After careful thought my plan was as follows:

  • Rip old bathroom out
  • Put bath in
  • Put sink and toilet in
  • Tile the walls
  • Tile the floor
  • Add a radiator
  • Paint the walls
  • Add in all the extras
  • Done

Sounds easy doesn’t it? Lets see how I got on.

Posted in DIY Hints & Tips | Comments Off

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