General Article

Bring The Outdoors In – The Country Bathroom

We all know and love the eclectic rustic style of a country kitchen, but have you ever considered a country bathroom? It’s just as cheap and easy to achieve as a country style kitchen and can be truly unique.

With this style, your bathroom doesn’t have to be perfect. If the bathroom suite is a bit old and tatty, or your walls and floor are uneven, use it to your advantage with the country bathroom style and these negative points will turn into positives, adding to the charm of the room. You could save a fortune by changing the style of the room rather than the entire bathroom suite!

Picking a colour scheme for this look can be fun. Pale blue and white or pink and pale green both look spectacular. Don’t get too hung up on the colours though, it really doesn’t matter too much. Coloured walls don’t usually look that great in a bathroom but making the bathroom a little more dark and cosy will work in this case with a pale blue, shades of green, or a dusky pink.

Florals are key to this look. Add them where you can. A traditional pitcher and bowl will look great if you have the space. An old wooden chair can be painted, perhaps add some hand painted flowers, don’t worry if they look a bit rough, that just adds to the charm. Real plants in interesting planters will look great and plants tend to thrive in the moist atmosphere of the bathroom. Look in charity shops for interesting tins or pots to convert into planters. The charity shops are also a good place to hunt out floral fabrics for curtains and chair cushions, and also for old fashioned mirrors and pictures for the walls. Flower prints or Victorian images will look great on the walls. Put more up than you normally would, this look loves a bit of clutter so indulge yourself.

Tiles will be a real feature in this room. You can get loads of great cheap bathroom wall tiles these days. Find some vintage style flowery tiles, perhaps pick a few different types and create something truly unique. Consider tiling the window sill too, that will make a great surface for your potted plants. If you don’t want the trouble of having house plants, then consider dried flowers or baskets of pot pourri.

An array of flowery or plain towels in pastel colours will add to the look too. Don’t spoil it by throwing in bright red or vivid yellow accessories. Try and hide things that don’t fit in with the theme. Wooden towel rails and toilet roll holders will look better than chrome or plastic ones, either left plain wood or painted.

For the flooring wood can look great, or perhaps slate style porcelain floor tiles. Bathmats or rugs in light colours on top will make the room feel more cosy.

If you have a large room then an old Victorian dressing table would be a brilliant and useful addition to the room. They can often be picked up quite cheaply, keep an eye out on eBay or in your local paper.

Design Your Own Bathroom Makeover! – Peruse, Price and Plan

Thinking about a bathroom makeover? The cost of a bathroom redo can get out of hand easily and that is why you need a plan. We planned the renovation of our lower level bath carefully and have stayed within budget.

Since I have a degree in art, I am acting as the designer. I am also acting as the contractor and this will save us 15% or more on makeover costs. You do not need a degree in art to design your bathroom makeover. All you need is patience and these steps will help you sort wants from needs.

Your first step is to peruse bathroom design. I started a makeover file. When I saw a photo I liked, I cut it out and filed it. These photos helped me to refine the design. The Internet has thousands of photos and looking at some of them is worth your time. You don’t have to replace everything to update your bath. According to the “Basics of Bath Design,” an article on the bathroom Remodeling Website, “Giving your bathroom a new look is a simple as upgrading your tub.” Our lower level bath has a shower only, so we didn’t have to deal with the tub issue.

Pricing is the next step you need to take. Start a list of products and manufacturers. For example, you may like Moen faucet. Put the list in a file or notebook. “One way to begin is to start keeping a notebook for when a design idea for your bathroom comes to you,” advises the Dream Log Home Website. “You’ll soon define the room that will be the best for you.” Keep this list for several months and, as it grows, do some comparison shopping. Cross off products, put a star by the possibilities, and narrow your choices.

Financial planning is your last step. Of course, you could make a budget first. But the problem is, you don’t know what you want, or how much you can spend, until you see what is available. We comparison shopped, decided how much we could spend, and made our budget. According to an article, “Does Your Bathroom Need a New Look?”, on the Bathroom Central Website, you don’t want to get half-way through the job and discover you’re out of money. Include the cost of “contractors, electricians, and plumbers if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer.” Even if you’re handy you may wish to hire professionals.

My husband and I are both do-it-yourselfers and, though we’ve painted more walls than we care to count, we hired a professional painter. We also hired a plumber and a carpenter. These charges are included in our budget. The lower level bath is still a mess, but we are rounding the third base of our bathroom makeover, and headed for home plate. Our lower level bathroom is going to be striking.

If you peruse, price and plan, your bathroom makeover can come in on budget and be just what you imagined. Enjoy it!

Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson

Choosing Themes for Bathroom Remodeling

Going through bathroom remodeling almost always involves choosing a theme for your bathroom. The theme dictates the style and design of your whole bathroom and will determine what your fixtures will look like as well as your bathroom d?�cor.

Without a proper theme, your bathroom may not have a consistent design and certain items or fixtures may clash with others leading to an uncomfortable atmosphere. For example: your new bathroom vanity could be modern but if the walls of your bathroom or the surrounding bathroom d?�cor has a traditional design, then these elements would clash and at that point it wouldn’t matter how beautiful or stylish the individual pieces are.

Some people have problems choosing a new theme for their bathroom remodeling. If you are having difficulty yourself, you can try choosing a single fixture in your bathroom with strong a presence, such as a bathroom vanity you particularly like and build the theme around that. It is not uncommon for the focal point of the bathroom to be the bathroom vanity and many of them come in styles that can set the mood for your entire bathroom.

Here are some commonly used bathroom themes that you can consider for your bathroom remodeling:

Asian

This kind of theme is becoming frequently found in several homes. This theme can be done in a lot of ways but it commonly has strong yet balanced contrast of light and dark colors. You may find yourself using wooden fixtures with a strong presence along with matching glass bathroom d?�cor strategically placed around the bathroom.

Zen

This is a popular theme that focuses on enhancing feelings of peace and tranquility. This is normally found within several spas, as it is calming and easy to work with. Adapting this theme for your bathroom remodeling will entail a neutral color scheme and tasteful, somewhat minimalist, bathroom d?�cor such as thin plants, scented candles, and bamboo flooring just to name a few.

Modern

This is probably currently the most popular theme now and not just for bathrooms. While there are many different kinds of modern themes and several fusions of a modern theme with various other styles, there are some very common distinctions among all of them — It is minimalist and places more focus on functionality over intricate designs. It is very easy a theme to accomplish and it normally costs less than other themes.

Your chosen theme will drastically affect your bathroom remodeling and must be given time for consideration as you will be seeing a lot of this theme likely for a long time.

Organize and Redecorate Your Bathroom With Vanity Units

We usually spend a great deal of time in the bathroom so it it’s important to organize and decorate it to make it a more pleasant and convenient room to use. A great way to start is with a vanity unit. A bathroom wouldn’t be complete without one. They can add style to the bathroom and can serve many purposes.

Vanity units that come in many different styles. They can also come with different accessories such as cabinets, drawers, wash sink and mirror. There are plenty to choose from to fit the specification you need in your bathroom. They are multi-purpose and play a big part in creating a fresh new look in the room.

Vanity units come in different sizes and shapes. If you need for more storage space then choose a unit that has more storage capacity where you can keep different accessories, towels brushes, perfumes and other items. Keeping and organizing these things in a vanity unit is a great way to avoid clutter in the bathroom. With the many items in the bathroom, it is important to have enough storage space.

Keeping and organizing items in the bathroom is made more easy with vanities. It is important to choose the right size that is appropriate to the bathroom and for the storage space you need for your items. If you are a big family, you may choose a double vanity unit with plenty of storage and another sink or mirror.

The shape, style and design must also suit the theme and design of the bathroom. It will look more elegant if the decor, furniture and other items complement the existing theme and design.

There are plenty of choices for vanity units. Depending on the size, design and material, their prices vary. If you are on a tight budget consider buying simple vanity features. But if you opt for more luxury in your bathroom, more expensive units are worth investing in.

Inspiring Bathroom Trends for 2012

Are you planning to upgrade your current bathroom? If so, it is important to ensure that you use the best designs. The process of remodeling a lavatory is not always simple since there are so many essential considerations that have to be made. For instance, you have to choose the best design and purchase the right fixtures. Since most of the latest lavatory fixtures are quite expensive you will have to shop around for the best prices. Therefore this task requires wide research and experience in designing washrooms. Although it is costly, bathroom renovation can be of great benefit to you.

Bathroom renovation adds value to the entire house, especially if you have plans of selling the home in future. Every buyer wishes to buy a house that has a comfortable and stylish bathroom. Many homebuyers today want to have the strongest bathrooms that can assure them longevity and effectiveness. The problem with most property developers today is that they pay so much attention to important fixtures such as sinks and showers, and ignore the significance of their bathroom design. Do not just remodel your washroom by replacing the old fixtures; you should change the general design of your lavatory. If the current bath is not effective or needs to be upgraded by means of a design overhaul, it is important to consider making those changes. When you are choosing the right bathroom design you need to take consider the purpose for which you are upgrading your lavatory. Nonetheless, you should always ensure that the trend you choose will make your bath more convenient, attractive, and user-friendly. There are several bathroom remodeling ideas that can help you design your bath more elegantly.

• Pure line bath decor style: Lofts are still top in fashion. Today, they can be used for bathroom renovation. If you love lofty style, you need to have a perfect combination of different shades including gray, white, black, and other chrome accents. These tones help in reinforcing the feeling of strength. In fact, this style is suitable for the strongest baths. You can also add a few drops of purple and dark blue to dilute the strictness a bit.

• Pepsy Orange bath interior design: If you appreciate humor or wish to remain optimistic all the time, then you need to design your bathroom in this style. This trend utilizes juicy tropical colors such as orange. You can create this style by adding fittings in orange color. This trend makes it easy for you to upgrade your ordinary lavatory to a stylish bathroom that everyone will love.