Bathroom fittings sourced
December 26, 2008
By John Francis Power
It has been said that "how long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you’re on". So, depending on your luck, chances are you regularly either spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom or find yourself waiting a frustratingly long while to use one. With this in mind, fitting your bathroom in the way that’s right for you will help all that time spent soaking in the bath be even more enjoyable, or, if you happen to be unfortunate enough to be on the other side of the door, make the wait a bit more worth it.
According to Fiona Wilson, presenter of RTE’s Desperate Houses, in the last ten years there has been a major shift in how people see bathrooms, and thanks to the fast pace of modern living, comfort is more important than ever before. “The minimalist style is very in at the moment; very clean lines, the emphasis really being on the actual functionality,” she says. “Because people are so busy and working one or two jobs, being able to relax is so important. Little luxury things like heated floors, heated towel rails and rain-head showers are huge now. Anything that’s about comfort and trying to create that spa atmosphere is very big.”
Happily, fitting out your bathroom to have a luxurious feel needn’t leave your wallet depressingly bare either. “It can be easily created, you don’t have to spend a huge amount of money,” she says. The focal point of any bathroom is without a doubt the bath suite, with prices falling shopping around will bring its fair share of bargains.
On the fixtures front Hudson Reed produce a range of hidden showers and taps. Try the concealed wall or ceiling mounted Tec Pura, or the Clio concealed shower systems, which are available to order online or from your local plumbers merchants. As an extra design tip, since these systems are thermostatic it makes sense to fit the shower controls at a sensible distance away from the shower head to prevent that cold spray across your arms when turning the shower on.
Before you part with your money, Fiona Wilson has some invaluable advice for when choosing a shower. “Checking out the water pressure is very important. The whole function of how a rain-head works is it fills up and then drops of rain come out, so if it takes ages to fill up you’ll be standing there ages trying to wash your hair,” says the Desperate Houses presenter. It is also important to consider what floor your bathroom is on, she says. “If you have your bathroom on the third floor, that’s an extra floor for the pressure to build up”. She also has a word of warning for those looking to install a walk-in shower. “The whole point of a walk-in shower is that you have to have a slope for the water to drain down. If you don’t create that slope you are going to be standing in a puddle of water which will start leaking outside your bathroom,” she says.
If your looking to add the luxury of a walk in shower clear glass is a must. Due to the popularity of simple glass design sourcing the components is now easier than ever. For bespoke and off the shelf glass shower enclosures try from Majestic Showers (http://www.majesticshowers.com), who manufacture a range of clear, framed and semi framed shower enclosures with minimalist chrome fittings.
In terms of sheer relaxation, a bath suite completes any bathroom. Two to consider may be the Elizibeth freestanding bath from Irish Bathrooms Online or Laufen's Allesi Dot available from http://www.reuter-bathrooms.com. Both will give a cubed angular feel to your bathroom and most manufacturers now give dimensions for planning as well as fitting instructions for plumbers online.
One inexpensive way of adding a touch of luxury to your bathroom is by installing heated towel rails so you will always have a toasty warm towel to hand after stepping out of the shower, try http://www.bathroomstuff.co.uk, with heated towel rails starting from £100. To calculate the size of radiator needed for your bathroom ( measured in BTU's ) go to http://www.diy.com (the website of B&Q) who have a handy piece of software online. On the subject of cutting corners and saving money in these recessionary times, Fiona had this sound advice: “If you going to cut corners, cut corners that aren’t going to have anything to do with the structure. It is one area you really never want to cut corners”.
Click on launch gallery to see the items we sourced.
Sourcebook
For walk in showers and glass http://www.majesticshowers.com
Minimalist suites (Ireland) http://www.surface.ie
Bathroom suites ( Ireland ) http://www.irishbathroomsonline.ie/
For heated towel rails http://www.bathroomstuff.co.uk
BTU calculator http://www.diy.com
Minimalist bathrooms (UK) http://www.reuter-bathrooms.com
For Showers taps and accessories http://www.hudsonreed.com/
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