CrossTeam Properties Offers Advice on Home and Garden Improvements

High quality designer bathroom suites are the height of luxury for any home.  The top quality suites are usually found in specialist stores, not the high street DIY stores that standard bathroom suites can be found in.

Designer bathroom suites come in many different styles. Modern designer suites offer luxury shower enclosures that double up as steam rooms, large baths, and his and her sink units with basins made from specialist glass or marble. Taps complete the look and these also come in a wide variety of styles. Individual taps or mixer taps give a simple look, but taps that look like waterfalls when turned on are amazing on large baths.

Vintage style designer suites can come with freestanding roll top baths and large shower enclosures with round outsized showerheads. Toilets with high cisterns and long chain flushes are very popular and look stunning in bathrooms that have tall ceilings. Sink basins are usually freestanding in a classic design. Large bowls look perfect in the designer bathroom, and floor to ceiling bathroom tiles help to keep the style.

A bathroom with designer radiators adds a touch of class. The designer radiator can suit all tastes, some look like a piece of wall art and are perfect for the modern home, while vintage style designer bathrooms would benefit from a designer radiator in a more classic design. The old style ‘hospital’ radiator design comes in several sizes and is the perfect complement to any vintage designer bathroom. Salvage yards are a perfect place to find genuine vintage bathroom accessories.

When it comes to a decision; the choice of bathroom tiles would appear to be endless, they are available in every colour under the sun, in every style, size and finish.  There are different types for floors and walls, are hardwearing and easy to clean, making them the ideal covering in most bathrooms.  

Your choice of bathroom tiles can really help you to give your bathroom the look that you want.  If you want to keep the look plain and simple, then you choose a plain and simple tile.  Tiles are also an ideal way to add a touch of colour to a bathroom, as many people prefer a plain white bathroom suite. 

They can also be as cheap as you like, with the most basic style of bathroom tile available for just a few pence each.  At the other end of the range there are several designer ranges which have bathroom tiles, such as Laura Ashley and Hemingway Design.  And luckily, it is not usually necessary to traipse around every tile retailer in order to get a good idea of what is on offer. 

Most will stock a good range of both designer and basic range tiles that will suit all buyers, and if you do find that there is not enough choice for you, an online retailer may be a better option.  They will have a much wider choice than you will find in any one retail shop, although the downside is that you do not get to see or feel the tiles personally and you also have to wait a few days for delivery. 

When choosing the right bathroom suite for your home, there are many things that you will need to take into consideration.  For example, you may have your heart set on a Victorian roll-top style bath, but this is no good if you have a very small bathroom, and you may need to opt for a shower cubicle instead.

When you first go shopping for your bathroom suite, make sure you are prepared, having already taken the measurements of your room.  When you are shopping, the relevant sizes of suites will be displayed with the items, so you can easily tell if they will fit in your room. 

There are a range of styles on offer too; including ultra modern styles with sleek lines like Villeroy & Boch bathrooms, to vintage and Victorian style suites.  A good idea when you are shopping for a suite is to check if there are bathroom tiles that will work nicely with the design you are looking at.  It is also a good idea to think carefully about style if you are having a shower cubicle installed at the same time, as these tend not to fit easily into a vintage style bathroom. 

There are a number of specialist bathroom outlets which will sell shorter baths or corner baths for those who have a small bathroom and it may be worth getting a designer in to help you, if you find that you are having difficulty finding the right bathroom accessories, or getting the right look for your room.

There are many factors you will need to take into consideration when choosing the right shower cubicle for your bathroom suite. Of course, size is always the main issue, but fortunately there are many different options on the market and you are sure to find the right one to meet your needs.

Corner units are easily the more popular choice for people stuck for space. As well as taking up less floor area, another convenient feature of this type of shower cubicle is that its curved face will allow for sliding doors, leaving more room in your bathroom. However, if you are paying someone to install your shower, the extra work involved in installing these units will undoubtedly come at a cost.

The wide range of designs means there will always be an option to suit the rest of your bathroom fittings and furniture. Of course, you will find that the majority of choice will cater for more modern-style bathrooms, but there are more simple and authentic-looking designs that will be ideal for a traditional bathroom. The swinging-door shower cubicle is probably the most common and if you have the room, will be the most hassle-free solution. They can also be fitted to the wall or ceiling.

Frosted glass is also a familiar sight with the latest modern cubicles and can add a touch of class to your new bathroom suite. Of course choosing the style that is most in-demand is not going to come cheap and the higher-end of shower cubicles on offer can reach prices of up to £1000.

Bathroom remodelling is an important exercise, which has lead to the sprouting of a whole support sector. As with any home improvement project, it is crucial to undertake adequate planning beforehand.

Some of the things you need to consider include deciding whether you want to engage in just bathroom remodelling or to have a complete overhaul of the fixtures. If there is going to be upgrading of the bathroom fixtures, some of the items that might have to be updated include the bath, which might need replacing with a bigger, jetted, version. A customised showerhead might be necessary, along with new taps for the bath and perhaps new basin mixer taps. Of course, the upgrading of fixtures will all depend on the budget you have set yourself for the project.  A huge range of bathroom suites is now available to suit all budgets.

Being in an age where we are constantly being encouraged to protect the environment, it is important to ‘think green’ when planning for any bathroom remodelling. Any new fixtures that are going to be installed should pass the environmental-friendliness test. For example, you can go for water saving showerheads and double flush toilets. Not only will these items help you play your part in saving the planet, they will reduce your water bills. Buying ‘green’ bathroom fixtures does not in any way compromise on styling, quality, functionality or efficiency. These fixtures work just as well or even better than the standard versions.

Other fixtures, which can either be upgraded or added, include heated towel rails, radiators, illuminated bathroom mirrors, lighting and bathroom fans.

While on the subject of bathroom remodelling, you should also think about installing bathroom vanities, drawers and cabinets to give yourself more storage space.

The bathroom is just as important as any other room in the house…perhaps even more so, since we can spend several hours in the day in them. It only stands to reason then that you should strive to make the bathroom as inviting, as pleasant and as comfortable as any other room. A good way to do this is by decorating and accessorizing it just as you would any normal room.

It is common practice to line the fixtures and bathroom furniture along the wall to maximize the available space. If you have a lot more bathroom floor space however, you have more opportunities for more creative furniture arrangements. You can for instance set up different areas in the bathroom itself depending on their function. This leaves the centre of the bathroom fairly open, yet avoids the barren look that so many bathrooms have.

Since many bedrooms have the bathroom built into them or at least directly accessible from them, you will want to design your bathroom to be as visually pleasant as possible from the outside with the door open. If you have a bathroom that is of adequate dimensions, there is simply no reason that the eventual occupants should have to see the toilet from the bedroom! From the bathroom user’s point of view, you will also want them to be able to enjoy a pleasant view no matter where they are. You can for example place the tub so that it has a view of the outside from the bedroom window.

Before you even start to lay the groundwork for your bathroom, it is important to visualize how it will fit in relation to the other rooms in the house. Most people prefer that the bathroom be easily accessible from the master bedroom, therefore you should plan with this thought in mind. In addition, you will also want the bathroom to be located in such a way that people can get to the dressing room – if there is one – easily. You may want to look at samples of existing bedroom and bathroom designs to give you an idea of how other designers plan out these rooms, and to give you a starting point for your own creation.

One thing that you will also want to consider is privacy. If the bathroom is not inside the bedroom itself, you should ensure that people have enough privacy to get to the dressing room from the bathroom. This is commonly done by building the bathroom adjacent to the dressing room, which then connects to the bedroom, placing the bathroom farthest from the door into the bedroom. This ensures the bathroom users maximum privacy.

Since most people typically leave the door into the dressing room open, you will want to design the elements in this “hallway” to be as attractive and inviting as possible. There is a unique design opportunity to be had here, with elements that can really serve to tie the look of both rooms together. Feel free then to let your imagination take control, but keep the overall theme in mind.

Many householders find themselves unhappy with their current bathroom and look to us to offer help and ideas before embarking on a bathroom project. Remodeling a bathroom can be a simple or complex task, depending on just how far you want to go with the project. The outcome of a bathroom makeover can enliven a house and totally change the feel of the bathroom. Here are some considerations which should be taken into account before we undertake any work with your bathroom makeover, ensuring that you get just what you are looking for.

First start by determining what needs to be changed in your bathroom, the existing fixtures, are they to your liking or are they outdated? In some cases, it may be necessary to remodel a bathroom so that light and air can be admitted to the bathroom for better ventilation. In others, the bathroom floor may be alright or will you require this to be replaced, perhaps with ceramic tiling? Are the decorations looking tired with signs of condensation and mould growth? All these and many others we can help you with, which can save money for you in the long run.

White bathroom furniture used to be the only colour that most people could afford. It was utilitarian, cheap and the DIY stores shelves were lined with it.

As more and more colours became available, people started to choose wooden veneer and wood effect furniture. White, as the colour choice for bathroom furniture, became less popular and for a while it came to be associated with cheapness.

However, over recent years, white furniture has experienced something of a renaissance and to some extent, in design or fashion terms, ‘white is the new black’, or to put it more accurately, white is the new beech.

This turnaround has come about as a result of our current obsession with minimalist and crisp bathrooms, which are very white and uncluttered. White also has the amazing capacity to bounce light straight off, so if you have a bathroom that is not blessed with too much natural light, then you should seriously consider installing some white furniture. This will really help to maximise the light levels and give your bathroom a look that is both modern and stylish. It is a trick used by many of the top designers, who also like the very clean look which white gives to a bathroom.

So don’t ignore white furniture or just dismiss it, for the latest design innovations have created products that are neither overly priced nor cheap. The style has ultra modern fixtures and fittings, which taken as a complete package, has led to it becoming ever more popular, especially at the discerning end of the market.

When you look in a bathroom shop or on the Internet and see a suite with the WC, bath, shower, bidet and so on, they will usually be individually priced. This means that you don’t have to buy the full package, you can buy a toilet from one group and a bath from another. However, many people are quite nervous about doing this, because they are worried that the various component parts will not match and will look odd. This is certainly a risk that you run, but you should bear in mind that many items, particularly if they are from the same manufacturer, will have the same colour shade and will be built to the same standards. You can therefore have a considerable degree of confidence if you do decide to ‘pick and mix’.

There are, however, some basic principles to bear in mind when selecting the various items. If you have gone for a very angular and sharp, funky bath, then don’t buy a heritage, (old fashioned), wash hand basin and expect the two to look stunning together. Simply choose another angular type wash hand basin, preferably from the same manufacturer, but not necessarily from the same suite.

Do not import some of the items from a bijou bath boutique in Italy and then expect to find complementary items in your local DIY store. Like should go with like and European standards may be slightly different, so either go for an all European or all UK specification, do not attempt to have both, since it rarely works.

Apart from these simple suggestions, don’t be constrained by suites, which are just a manufacturers design teams’ view of what works well together, but also be prepared to express your individuality and taste.