Boutique-style bathroom from a spare room

Read article : Boutique-style bathroom from a spare room

Add a false wall

Create a unique, contemporary space by using decorative panelling (Above) to make zones for all your bathroom elements, from the bath and shower, to the basin and WC. The Nuance range by Bushboard features polyurethane trim-free panels bonded with high-pressure laminate that can be installed without any fixings being visible for a sleek result. Plus, shower fixings or sanitaryware can also be attached. With a high-definition printed design, the Dolce Vita True Scale has the look of real stone, but only costs from £70 per m².

Opt for all-over colour

Choose your favourite shade and go for a design that uses it all over the bathroom. To complement the bold blue mosaic tiles and accessories, the bespoke Silestone by Cosentino worksurface in Limited Edition Acqua Fraccaroli was created to suit this scheme. As the material has the ability to be moulded to create thick widths, long lengths and even be shaped along walls and upstands, it’s a great way to create a unique look. Silestone by Cosentino costs £400 per m².

Indulge in a spa-like shower

There’s nothing more luxurious than a relaxing shower, and with the Gessi Minimali chrome-finish recessed showerhead, you can re-create a spa feel at home. With aerators to minimise water consumption, while maintaining a power-shower sensation, the head fits into the ceiling seamlessly for a streamlined finish. Dia.35cm, it costs £950 at CP Hart.

Be creative with vinyl

The ideal choice for bathroom flooring, luxury vinyl now comes in an array of colours, patterns and textures emulating real wood and stone. Amtico’s latest Signature collection features a range of stylish motifs to create an eye-catching focal point in your space. This Myron Motif, Dia.91.5cm, £120, shown here paired with Sedimentary Grey Stone vinyl flooring, £70 per m², provides a modern contrast.

Pick a bright colour

Whether you’re decorating a small or large bathroom, adding a statement shade to the walls is a great way to refresh the space. Use a modern, trend-led shade such as Valspar’s Simply Brilliant all over the room, on a feature wall, or simply to update a stool or storage unit; £27.98 for 2.5 litres of Kitchen and Bathroom

Be bold with your bathroom basin

A far cry from the dated avocado suites of the past, coloured and patterned sinks are enjoying a revival. Update your master bathroom, en suite or cloakroom with the stunning Adriana porcelain basin, H15.5xDia.41cm, £690 from The London Basin Company

Co-ordinate finishes

Made to suit a humid environment, these blue café-style shutters in Crown Dance Hall from Shutterly Fabulous are made to measure from poplar wood. Also available in full-height, solid pane and tier-on-tier designs, the shutters can be painted in a colour to suit your scheme, for example, to match a statement bath and accessories. From £320 per m2 for a custom finish.

Apply lots of pattern

Why not create a real statement by using a print you love on both your walls and floors? The Baked Tile Company’s Elle porcelain tiles, W44.2xL44.2cm, £33 per m², are suitable for both surfaces, plus they’re hardwearing and easy to clean. Team with neutral fixtures and fittings, or add further wow factor with pops of bright colour.

Create a wet room

If you dream of a wet room but don’t want to tank your entire suite, opt for a recessed shower tray. At only 2.5cm thick, Roca’s In Floor steel shower tray is fitted at floor level, creating a walk-in shower with a streamlined drainage outlet built in. Designed with an anti-slip coating, in six sizes up to L140cm, the base costs from £744 for W90xL90cm. Combine with a slim, frameless glass shower screen for a minimal, contemporary look.

Use the latest materials

A must-have for kitchens, concrete details are now making their way into the bathroom, too. Introduce the look with Fired Earth’s large-format W60xL60cm waxed porcelain Berlin tiles in Reichstag. Inspired by the ‘utilitarian cool’ of East Berlin, they have a realistic, textured finish and offer a neutral backdrop to colour and pattern. The tiles can be used on walls (as shown) and floors, £49.97 per m².

6 clever ways to make space in a small bathroom

Read article : 6 clever ways to make space in a small bathroom

Most Popular

Similar bathroom, from £12,000, Ripples

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"????>AuthorCreated with Sketch.

By Caroline Rodrigues

28 December 2015

Use these design, layout and storage ideas to make the most of a small bathroom.

1. MAKE A PLAN

Start by making a floorplan sketch of the room, noting the length of each wall, the position of the door, which side it opens on and any windows. Then make a scale plan on squared paper, cutting out paper shapes to represent the fittings. There are also online 3D planners you can use; try Ideal Standard. Rerouting the hot and cold water supplies to where they are needed shouldn't be problematic, but the waste pipe from the WC needs a short, straight run to an outside wall to join the soil stack. If that's not possible, fitting a macerator and pump allows a small bore pipe to be used, so you have more flexibility in positioning the WC. Don't forget to allow enough clearance around bathroom fittings so you can move around easily. As a rough guide, you need 70cm in front of a WC and basin and 100cm in front of a bath.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

2. CONSIDER DESIGN SOLUTIONS

There's no reason a small space can't be big on design. Be inspired by the latest wall-hung fittings, introduce luxe finishes for walls and floors, and add sparkle with chrome and glass. Choosing a statement piece of furniture or a bold basin will help create a focal point. When refitting an existing bathroom, there isn't always room to move fittings, but space-saving compact versions can make all the difference. Also consider underfloor heating instead of a radiator to free up more space. If your ideas aren't working, think outside the box and investigate whether moving a wall or window or simply changing the way a door hangs could free up space.

Most Popular

3. SELECT A SPACE-SAVING BATH

If you love a good soak, don't be denied this pleasure because your room is too small for a bath – there are several models at a compact 1,500mm x 700mm, while the Gem from Bathroom Heaven comes in lengths of just 1,200mm or 1,300mm. Squeezing in a roll-top bath might even be possible – some are designed with squared-off sides to fit neatly into a corner. Or consider a slipper bath; they tend to be deep but short. Rather than having a separate shower, a shower bath, which gets wider at one end to accommodate room to shower, is a good option. These L- or P-shaped baths come with bespoke screens to keep the water in and some are just 1,500mm long.

4. OPT FOR A SHOWER

Made-to-measure screens, £1,900 including fitting; HSK Renodeco shower panel in Limestone, from £295 for a 900mm x 2,550mm panel; all Frontline Bathrooms

Particularly in an extra bathroom such as a loft room or ensuite, a bath is not so necessary and a shower room will make better use of limited space. Enclosures with bi-fold, pivot or sliding doors are space solvers, as are pentangle or quadrant enclosures that nestle into a corner. Or consider a wet-room design without an enclosure, but with a fixed panel to prevent the whole room getting splashed.

5. PICK A PETITE BASIN AND LOO

Many basins and WCs are wall hung – a huge advantage in a tiny room since they don't eat into the floor space so the room appears larger. 'Short projection' basins and WCs and those designed to fit into a corner are other good solutions for space-starved rooms. Cloakroom basins and some 'quadrant' or corner basins can be tiny – good for rinsing your hands, but not ideal for washing your face without splashing. Opting for a single monobloc tap simplifies the basin design, more so if you select a handleless one that turns on and off via a sensor.

6. FIND FURNITURE TO FIT

High cabinet with two doors, £95; mirror cabinet, £50; washbasin cabinet, £115; storage bench, £40; all Silveran collection, Ikea

Fitted, modular or freestanding furniture? It's down to personal taste, though the current trend is to get everything off the floor, including cabinetry. Fitted solutions are tailored to the room for maximum space efficiency. Look out for reduced 21cm depth furniture designed for smaller rooms. Modular storage is a good halfway house, consisting of units in set sizes that you can combine for a personal look. Taking a leaf from kitchen manufacturers, bathroom designers have come up with clever drawers that fit around a basin, and deep drawers with shallower ones nestling inside. Streamline the look with push-close doors instead of handles.

Keep up-to-date with our inspiring ideas, latest looks, real-life homes and expert advice by signing up for our FREE newsletter…

Make a splash with a new bathroom

Read article : Make a splash with a new bathroom

Things are getting personal in the bathroom... Gabrielle Fagan reveals three key looks to make a style splash

THERE'S a new wave of styles washing over bathrooms. The tide's turning against the predictable, and embracing a more go-with-the-flow approach means you can mix-and-match furniture and fittings to conjure a space that perfectly suits your taste, as well as your practical needs, whether it's a spa-like haven, a functional family room, or a contemporary wet room.

As designers become more adventurous, sophistication, glamour and individuality rule. And it's easy to achieve a 'wow' factor, thanks to state-of-the-art technology - think TVs, sound systems and light and water shows in the shower - sculptural sanitary ware, and even stunning waterproof wallpaper now vying with tiles for attention.

"The traditional bathroom suite has become outdated and there's a desire for the space to become customised, with people seeing it as a room where they can display individual pieces, as they would art," says Leanne Martin, head of product at Sottini.

"A strong industrial trend is coming through, with steel-effect wall-hung cabinets complemented by sleek brassware and fresh white walls for an efficient, sleek look. Bathroom units raised off the floor, increasing visible floor space, to create an illusion of a larger room, are starring, and a particularly striking 'floating' effect can be achieved, with wall-hung, chunky, unsupported slabs in gloss or wood grain, and slim, curved vessel basins on top."

Soak up inspiration from these latest bathroom looks...

DRAMA ZONE

"If you don't want to reach out and touch the walls, you're not doing it right for 2017. Bathrooms no longer mean matching tiles as far as the eye can see - as a nation, we've become experimental with wall finishes and shrugged off the constraints of the white bathroom tile," says Martin.

"Industrial concrete walls are being paired with textured wallpapers, while tile effects are being created using countless different sizes, shapes, prints and texture options. Even a retro wood finish has made a comeback for a Scandi-chic style statement, and for the really bold, vertical green, living walls, to give a lush 3D impact you can't beat!"

Water, she points out, is a feature in itself. "It's not enough that it drains down a plughole any more. It's all about the spectacle of how it falls in a waterfall-like sheet from a height and disappears out of sight into concealed drainage."

LOOK OUT FOR: Mirrors with sensor controlled lighting and de-misting, as well as inbuilt functions linked to music systems, TVs and phones.

TAP INTO STYLE: Wall&Deco's waterproof 'wall papers' include a gorgeous 'Inner Forest' and 'Converatory' (Pictured above) - which looks like a lush tropical landscape - design, from £156 per square metre, West One Bathrooms (www.westonebathrooms.com). Alternatively, make an impact with a monochrome Diver Wall Mural, from £10.63, Purlfrost (www.purlfrost.com).

Sottini's range has bang-on-trend pieces, including a free-standing Ombrone Totem Washbasin, £1,190.25 (pictured below); a Bonamico 70cm Square Vessel Washbasin, £341.55, or a bowl-shape Pioto Vessel Washbasin, £160.43. Achieve that 'floating' effect with a sleek Ippari Console, £546.48. (www.sottini.co.uk).

If you really want to splash the cash for celebrity style, Touched Interiors is the destination to visit: Brass And Gold Plated Black High Gloss Bubbles Bathtub, £29,310, and a Polished Brass And Mirrored Free-standing Washbasin, £14,770 (www.touchedinteriors.co.uk).

For period style, look no further than Heritage Bathrooms, which has a Madeira Cast Iron Double Ended Bath, from £3,750, and an Abingdon Basin & Washstand in Rose Gold, from £495 (www.heritagebathrooms.com).

SERENE SANCTUARY

"The bathroom isn't purely about functionality, or a clinical environment any more. It's a sanctuary that needs as much design consideration as a living room," says Daniel Cook, principal development designer at C.P. Hart.

"It's all about subtle elegance and a beautiful harmony of shades with less 'pops' of colour. Muted consistent tones, such as taupes and greys for furniture and sanitary ware, are increasingly popular colour choices. There's a move beyond white and glazed surfaces and a significant increase in pastel shades of pinks and blues."

LOOK OUT FOR: A refined industrial trend with brushed finish brassware, matt finishes for ceramics, as well as silk/satin glass finishes.

TAP INTO STYLE: Key into colour with Italian-designed items from the Cielo Ceramica I Catini range: Blue Washbasin (pictured below), from £1,580, C.P.Hart (www.cphart.co.uk).

Laufen's slim units in gold would impress: Gold Kartell All Saints Mirror, £504.62 and Rifly Pendant Lamp, £335.27; Boutique Dark Oak Vanity Unit, £1,522.50.

MAKE A SPLASH

"From cars to holidays, and clothing to furniture, customisation is one of the fastest growing consumer trends," says Jayne Barnes, managing director, AQATA.

"The discerning bathroom buyer now wants not only a highly engineered luxury shower enclosure or screen, handmade to fit their space, but also a completely individual customised design to bring their own character and personality into the bathroom. Home trends are being reflected in bathrooms with diverse colours, patterns and textures making their mark.

"Today's shower should incorporate these essential features: easy access (walk-in wet rooms are perfect for this), spacious enclosures and a steam function, as well as power showers and body jets to cater for comfort and wellbeing, and distinctive personal touches."

LOOK OUT FOR: Larger showers as they're being given more space in either a bathroom or bedroom, plus frameless enclosures featuring coloured or tinted glass.

TAP INTO STYLE: AQATA's frameless Spectra Enclosure SP448, from £1,561 (pictured below), and Linneal Shower LNP241, £1,300 (for stockists, visit www.aqata.co.uk). Alternatively, Merlyn Showering has a Twin Panelled Double Shower Enclosure, from £345 per panel (www.merlynshowering.com).