Searching For Style in the Sales

The August bank holiday weekend means the same thing to many of us; end of summer sales. So now is the time to get out and about, or searching around the web, to find your next home improvement bargains while you can.
There are so many different sales available at present as new styles and ranges are introduced by bathroom design companies and suppliers, so this a really exciting time of year to begin planning and plotting your new-look bathroom. You know, the one you’ve been promising yourself and putting off for years!

Planning a new bathroom can be a daunting prospect; it can feel like a marathon task. But remember, there are a few quick and easy options to give your bathroom a new lease of life without needing a JCB or a million pound budget. The key to any new design project is to plan carefully and thoroughly. What are your specific requirements and needs? What are your limitations regarding space and budget?

So, those and quick and easy options I mentioned. Well, make sure you’re giving yourself a good foundation on which to build. A new coat of paint in a fresh, bright white and some new or cleaned up grouting and sealant will take years off the appearance of any bathroom. An easy and cost-effective starting point to get the ball rolling.

Next, examine your furnishings. Are they still functioning correctly and in an acceptable state of repair? If so, there may be no immediate need to install a new basin or bath. However, a great way to update the feel of your bathroom furnishings, to make your bathroom appear more modern and stylish, is to install new taps and wastes (plug-hole covers). There are a huge number of models and styles available, so you will be able to find a design that you love for a price you can afford. Modern taps can add real glamour to a bathroom, and you should usually be able to install them into your existing tap-holes, but be sure to check all relevant dimensions beforehand. New taps will also usually come with guarantees of quality and a longer life-span than older models.

One of my absolute favourite bathroom design ideas of recent years has been the reintroduction of cabinets and furniture to the bathroom. Bathroom furniture designers and suppliers have rediscovered the practical and stylistic applications of bathroom furniture, and suddenly hundreds of new combinations of designs, finishes and materials have become available.

A few well-selected storage units, such as a vanity unit built in beneath a basin, or a stand-alone rack of shelving will instantly help de-clutter and streamline your bathroom. This will allow you to keep your essential bottles and supplies whilst retaining a calm, peaceful and clean appearance.

With such a variety of high quality and affordable bathroom furniture now available, the best option is to have a good luck at a number of different styles and finishes, from painted woods to natural finishes, then cross reference your preferred models with your sizing requirements. This really is a wonderful way to transform your bathroom, to simultaneously add storage space and style.

Happy Hunting!

Bathroom Furniture Faux-Pas – How to get it Right!

Nothing can dampen the look of a bathroom quite like a bathroom furniture faux-pas. Bathroom furniture mistakes can be summarised in various different ways but are mostly furniture pieces that simply ruin the overall look of the bathroom. Furniture that is broken, out of date or simply unsightly can instantly age the look of a bathroom – even if the surrounding decor and bath suite is actually quite modern. However, fear not, if your bathroom features a furniture blunder, there are ways that you can fix this and and refresh your bathroom setting with quality bathroom furniture in the process.

One of the main bathroom furniture faux-pas is broken furniture. Usually as a result of overfilling drawers, shelves and storage units with a serious amount of bathroom clutter, the wear and tear of filling units over time can cause drawers to break off or doors to snap at their hinges. Once bathroom furniture becomes broken it gives the bathroom a dated look. Another negative impact of broken furniture is that if any storage units become broken then the clutter that you had initially tidied neatly away will become exposed to give off a messy vibe to the room.

To combat this untidy look, it is best to fix any broken units as soon as they become broken as not only are they unsightly features to the room but as you could trip or fall over broken pieces, they are also a hazard to the room. It is important to remember that if a broken unit is beyond repair then you should replace the unit promptly.

Another way that you can go wrong with bathroom furniture is through having outdated units in the bathroom. Contemporary bathroom furniture trends sees modern styled units in stylish gloss finishes however if your furniture is decades old then it is likely it will carry an aged look to it that will instantly date your bathroom setting. Bulky furniture pieces that take on a practicality over style function will give any bathroom a drab look. Due to the rising popularity of bathroom furniture designs, there are countless options available that are elegantly styled yet maintain a level of practicality with generous storage space. By updating the bathroom with these contemporary units you will update the look of your bathroom too!

Finally, one of the most common ways of ruining the modern look of a bathroom is through selecting furniture on the basis of quantity over quality. While it can be said that adding bathroom furniture does bring interior design flair to the room, if you add too many units it can overwhelm the room and create a lacklustre and cramped environment. To solve this, opt for wall mounted units over freestanding pieces. Wall mounted furniture frees up any valuable floor space to maximise the size of the room while acting as statement pieces of furniture to complement the overall bathroom setting.

Installing Bathroom Cabinets, How to Avoid a DIY Disaster

If you are looking to maximise the space of your bathroom while tidying away any messy clutter, it is likely you will be thinking about adding a bathroom cabinet to the room. Associated with their handy internal storage space, bathroom cabinets are often installed on a wall in the bathroom, usually above the basin. As bathroom cabinets are fitted to the wall, it is important that they are installed correctly to avoid any DIY disasters later on.

If bathroom cabinets are not installed correctly, there are a number of things that could happen to the unit. If you don’t take into account the weight of a cabinet, including what items are stored within, this could result in the cabinet leaning or falling off the wall. A cabinet that falls off the wall is not only a safety hazard in the room but can also cause paintwork or tiles to be ripped off the wall along with the cabinet. Another example of a DIY nightmare when installing bathroom cabinets is that the unit could start to slide to one side. When a unit begins to slide, this is all down to the fact that it wasn’t positioned evenly when it was first installed.

To correctly install bathroom cabinets – and avoid those risky DIY disasters too – here is a guide that you should follow:
1) Use your stud finder to locate where the wall studs are, as these will ease installation. Mark these areas lightly with a pencil as a guide.
2) Take a spirit level and draw a horizontal line below where the cabinet will be fitted to act as a guide when fitting the cabinet later.
3) Drill a hole into each corner of the cabinet. Always remember to wear safety glasses and gloves when drilling.
4) Lift the cabinet into place, if you need any additional help ask someone to help you with this. Then take a spirit level to ensure the cabinet is evenly positioned.
5) Take a pencil and mark the wall to indicate where each screw will need to be placed in the wall.
6) Remove the cabinet and drill these indicated holes in the wall.
7) Take the cabinet again and align it with these drilled holes, again asking for help if you require it. Use a screwdriver to fix the cabinet to the wall.
8) Once you are confident that the cabinet is level and secure, you can begin filling the cabinet with your everyday essentials. Remember to check the manufacturer’s guidelines as to the maximum weight of products that can be stored within.