Sunday, December 18, 2011

Practical Bathroom Design Ideas

The bathroom is a good place for you to relax and rejuvenate yourself. However, this will be the effect only if you have a bathroom that has a relaxing atmosphere. Here are some ways on how you can do this without sacrificing your budget:
A modern interior design for a bathroom is comprised of furniture that have very simple designs. They are not embellished with styles that will occupy space and will require a lot more material. This design will be best to have if your bathroom is small. You can take advantage of the minimalist styles that occupy the least space as possible. Furniture that have modern designs are very easy to find. They are readily available in almost any furniture store. They are also available in a wide range of prices. This is a type of furniture that will give you a lot of options. You can readily weigh the price as well as the design to have the most suitable furniture.
For a traditional looking bathroom, you can think about furniture that will be comfortable for you to use. These should be the same styles of the bathroom items that you once had. A traditional bathroom will also comprise of classic prints or shapes. Anything that was regularly used for the past decades can be considered traditional.
If you only have small space allotted for your bathroom, you can try to think of ways to wisely use the space. Begin with choosing small furniture. Or if this is not possible, at least avoid bulky ones. When you need to have bathroom vanity sets, those that can be mounted on walls can be good to have. Also think about dual purpose items. For a vanity set, it will be better if you can have one that can double as a storage cabinet. Aside from having the sink area, there are also shelves where you put your bathroom items.
To save space, you may also consider removing items that take up too much space. Think about whether or not you really need to have a bath tub or a shower stall inside. If it is possible for you to not have these things, you can have more space for the essential parts like the toilet, the sink, and the shower area.
Another design that you can have for your bathroom will be the one that follows a color scheme. You can choose just a single color and work from there. Secure bathroom products that comes in one color or you may also add its complimentary color. Then, you also have to make sure that your bathroom furniture are those that come in your base color.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Bathroom Design - 5 Key Steps

Bathrooms are one of the largest investments in a home when building or renovating and designed well will add much more than their equivalent value. Here are 5 key steps to ensure you maximize your return on your investment:
1. Form Follows Function
Equal consideration needs to be given to what you would like your bathroom to do functionally, as well as how you would like it to look, as a good design outcome must exhibit both creativity and functionality. However, starting the process by writing yourself a checklist of all your functional requirements is the best way to start, as there is always many design solutions but if locked in too early, may compromise functionality. For example what do you need to store, what grooming appliances do you use, how many people use the bathroom at the same time? There is no point spending money on a beautiful new bathroom if you still have the same old storage problems, so give some thought to your projects requirements before moving onto your aesthetics.
2.Planning Your Layout
Once you have a checklist of your functional requirements and some conceptual ideas, start to begin planning your layout. Bathrooms need to be very well planned, as there is a lot going on in a relatively small footprint. So before you rush out to purchase a freestanding bath that you have fallen in love with, you need to survey your available space to determine what will fit (especially if you are considering installing a bath!). So start with a quick survey of your available space and block it out with the approximate sizes of each item from your checklist and minimum circulation clearances you require for each of these elements. It does not matter how pretty it is, but make sure it is to scale!
3.Planning Your Services
Planning of your services is a very important part of the design process, if you wish for your bathroom to be built on-time and within budget early provision is the key factor. Service inclusions are elements such as ventilation, heating, lighting and electrical. The location and specification of these elements must be well documented. Some key points to consider:
- Natural & Mechanical Ventilation: Ideally your bathroom will have both natural and mechanical ventilation, to assist with eliminating moisture build-up. Try to give your bathroom that extra designer touch with a great view for natural ventilation but keep mechanical ventilation discreet.