Bathroom

Whirlpools and Air Tubs

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:14:00 +0000

How about a spa retreat in your own home? Sounds awesome, right? When you consider how hard you're working, it's not much to ask to soak in a therapeutic bath. It's a great way to end your day, relieving stress and muscle ache; forgetting all your worries you float into relaxation.

Whirlpools and air tubs come in a kaleidoscope of shapes, sizes, and styles, suitable for every budget. What is the difference between these two products, you ask?

A whirlpool circulates water, with a little air mixed in, via jets and hoses to create your hydro-thermal massage. You can adjust the air and water flow at the individual jets and control the force of the flow at the pump. Both the number of jets and the power of the pump determine the quality of the massage.

An air tub forces air through tiny holes to generate an all-over bubbling massage. There's no water in the system. The hole placement determines the massage action. It's easier to clean than the whirlpool because there is an automatic purge feature which kicks in after the water has drained from the tub. This clears the holes and dries the air chamber and the tub, making the air tub more hygienic than the whirlpool.

A whirlpool cannot withstand the use of bath oils and bubbles!. Many air tubs can, but do check the product you're considering. Both carry a noise factor of about 70 - 80 decibels.

Think about "making waves" in your bath to give yourself some relaxing down-time. The athletes might prefer the agressive massage of the whirlpool. But there is something to be said for the softer approach of the air tub.

And while you're at it, when designing your dream bathroom, consider adding a STEAM room unit to your spa retreat! This will definitely enhance your healthier, happier lifestyle.

Accessorize Wise

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Putting the final touches on your bathroom is like accessorizing a chic dress. "Less is more", is the rule of thumb. Choose several well-made, co-ordinated pieces to make a strong style statement and fill your basic needs for bathroom efficiency.

Bathroom accessories include such items as a soap dish, soap dispenser, toilet roll holder, toilet brush, waste basket, towel rails and rings, and robe hook, to name a few!

Try to match the accessories with the faucets, door knobs, and lighting hardware so that they enhance the room without chopping it up too much. If you have silver faucets and doorknobs, for example, go with silver shower and towel rods. Putting gold and silver together is not the best idea because they both lose their vibrance when in competition with each other.

Keep in mind the fact that the bathroom, although serving functional roles for your comfort, hygiene, and grooming, should also be inviting and relaxing. If you have more than one bathroom to accessorize, try to keep the styles you choose in harmony with each other.

An accessory that is very popular in Europe and which is starting to catch on here is the toilet roll caddy. A waterproof bath alarm is a great idea for those who love to soak in the tub and maybe fall asleep! Shower seats are showing up more and more because they offer stability to those not as steady on their feet, and safety when shaving or exfoliating in the shower. Consider a shower mirror for watching not to nick your skin when shaving!

While you're checking out the tumbler and toothbrush holder keep in mind the choice of a high performance toothbrush, made from recycled yogurt cups, with packaging that doubles as a carrying case. Preserve your health. Preserve the earth. In all aspects of accessorizing your bathroom, be wise. You can make a difference.

Tub and Shower Valves and Equipment

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:46:00 +0000

When it comes to creating the bathroom of your dreams, enter the arena of exciting product ideas to compliment your style. Fulfill you inner desire for comfort and adventure as you aim for a luxurious bathroom in your home. To offer up one such exciting product idea, there is the thermostatic mixer. Once you can set your own bath temperature, you'll never go back to a standard filler.

Besides thermostatic control of your tub and shower valves, you can have volume control, remote pressure balance, diversion, and any combination of the above paradigms in plumbing!

Just to take a look at once piece of the tub and shower equipment, for example, check out what is available in a shower head: it can be adjustable, multifunctional, lighted, concealed, handheld and available in an array of styles from Victorian to Hip!

Imagine a Victorian style shower unit with Victorian Rose concealed shower head and Edwardian handset in antique gold with pordelain accents, then slide the right side of your brain over to a Hip, très sleek wall-mounted shower panel with body sprays while you're under the shower head! Yes, lather up in a little aesthetic pleasure. With the trims and finishes available you'll have some serious pampering going on!

Indulge yourself in your research as you check out handles from curvy and well-rounded to classically slender. And while you're creating this personal retreat in your bathroom..don't forget the wall-mounted towel warmer!

Bidet Faucet

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:46:00 +0000

A bidet is considered a measure of luxury in todays' bathroom. The bidet, from the French word pony, as one bestrides a bidet, is like a wash basin, mounted low, with a plumbing fixture designed for washing the genitalia. It was the invention of a French furniture maker for the French Royal Family in the late 17th Century. By 1900 the bidet moved from the French bedroom to the bathroom, where it is commonly found today, especially in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Japan, and South Korea.

You can outfit your bathroom or the ensuite to your bedroom with an elegant bidet from $400 and up. The spray feature can be wall-mounted, horizontal, vertical, or over the rim. And of course, with the options available in color, style, and trim, you can discreetly coordinate it with your existing bathroom features.

In North America the bidet is making its debut. It is known to be a refreshing and hygienically positive experience. It is also superb for those who have less mobility and therefore trouble getting in and out of the bathtub.

Said the woman who imagined winning the lottery, "That'll be the day when I have a bidet!"

Bathroom Furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 22:30:00 +0000

The bathroom can be your retreat where you get away from it all, especially if you have everything you need for a nice relaxing bath or a refreshing shower right there at your fingertips.

Place some well-designed, space-saving furniture in your bathroom and watch it get steamy in there! Stylize your bathroom! An attractive antique piece can double as a linen cabinet, for example, to store those extra towels and delicious soaps in.

A hamper cabinet will take care of the clothes you're peeling off before you climb in to the tub or shower. A bench can be helpful for resting the clean clothes that you're going to climb into after you've freshened up! Or sit on it to give your feet a really good towelling!

Many companies supply bathroom furniture sets in everything from rich espresso finishes to light and airy wicker sets! You can order a wall cabinet, floor cabinet, linen tower, wall mirror, and more interesting furnishings online and have them delivered right to your door, assembled or not!

Or, journey from garage sale to flea market, find something uniquely yours, and sand it down or paint it up. Voila! Bathroom furniture!

Remember: when you're enjoying your user-friendly bathroom, conserve water... shower with a friend!

Beautiful Bathroom Interior Shutters

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:22:00 +0000

When you next get the urge to redecorate your bathroom, consider the beauty of interior shutters! An innovative windox covering, interior shutters provide both privacy and light, to varying degrees, depending on your mood; they also enhance the room with a visual texture adding depth and interest during your pamper times in the tub!

The use of shutters creates the perfect place for plants to assemble and thrive as well; with the steamy moisture of the bath and the sunlight sliding through the slats, some very beautiful flowering or lush green plants would say "Thank-you" for this great spot in your home!

Even if you don't have windows in your bathroom you can install shutters against the wall to create the effect of having windows! "Faux" shutters can stretch from the tub to nearly the ceiling giving you the feeling that you're having a bath in a warm Mediterranean place, even when there's snow outside.

There are quite a few reputable companies which supply and install interior shutters for you. This is known as one-stop shopping. But, don't stop at the bathroom! Shutters are stunning in the living room, den, dining room; well just let your imagination go wild with this one!

There are also very efficient sunshades which offer a light-filtering window treatment for any room in your home, office, even restaurant! Sunshades offer a unique opacity which controls heat, glare, and ambiant light while you enjoy the outside view. They help prolong the color in your carpet, draperies, and furniture. The motorized versions are very cool! Solong sunfading!

A little tip: if you wish to discourage mosquitoes from entering by the open window, paint your shutters blue! They hate blue!

Home Staging - Bathroom Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 15 May 2007 18:14:00 +0000

It seems that the latest publicity on bathrooms is that they are the germiest rooms in the house! We've even been advised to keep our toothbrushes in the bedroom! Although this might sound extreme, any advice when tempered, for a clean and healthy living environment, can't be all that bad!

When staging your home for the market place put special effort into creating a bathroom that is clean to all the senses: it looks, smells, feels, and even sounds squeaky clean! Environmentally-safe cleaning products are much easier to find now and so you can keep up the appearance of your bathroom throughout the period of showing your home without wreaking havoc on your own health! And killing the viewers with chemicals! Simply, vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle will do your mirrors and glass shower doors. Baby wipes are great for a quick clean-up of the toilet and tub exteriors.

You can update the look of your bathroom(s) by changing the paint tones; create the illusion of more space by choosing tones which harmonize with your counter tops, flooring, and bath tiles. Consider painting the cupboard doors in a similar hue and change the hardware on them as well! If you need professional direction in making your color choices, there are pre-mixed, pre-matched paint "kits" to get you on the right track!

Home staging means presenting your home to an audience, an audience of potential buyers. Most people are turned off by a bathroom which smells moldy (especially on the West Coast) so keep that fan working during showers and after. Let fresh air in if possible. Consider lighting a discreetly scented candle to refresh the air in this popular room.

Try to tuck your essentials under the counter, inside the cupboards, or in nice baskets which are pleasing to the eye. The less "stuff" exposed, the better your home shows, and that includes the bathroom as well!

Bathroom Sinks

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Mon, 07 May 2007 19:14:00 +0000

Many people enjoy buying older homes and updating them either to flip and make a profit or simply to live in and enjoy the pride of ownership and making their home their own! There's no shortage of home reno programs on the television to encourage this latest fad!

One of the most popular updates to catch the trend-wave is the installation of a pedestal sink in the bathroom. It clearly has beautiful lines and pleasing aesthetics. As well, without the burdensome cabinetry supporting it, there is more open floor space around it, which can make your bathroom appear larger than it is.

It also can be fun to try a uniquely shaped vessel sink, such as square, round, or oval. Try something different! Live a little!

Bathroom sinks are available in a plethoria of colors. And you can enhance this popular room by varying not only the style or the color, but the material from which the sink is made. Sinks come in granite, onyx, glass, marble, ceramic, copper, stainless steel, and even wood! There are companies which specialize in custom made sinks and for a truly creative touch, hand-painted sinks!

So stay out of hot water! Haul out that old sink and bring in the new. Check online for famous manufacturers who offer warranites on their versatile products.

While you're at it, how 'bout installing environmentally responsible faucets!

Bathroom Upgrades

noreply@blogger.com (Home Design Essentials) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:17:00 +0000

Bathrooms are the most private rooms in the house - you can do so many things to the bathroom depending on its size. The latest trends for the master en-suite is to make the bathroom into a spa like paradise where you can have privacy and relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Technology is making its way into the bathroom in more cases than ever. Perhaps due to the flat screen monitors and other technology that makes it less intrusive in a room. Phones, TVs and even computers are finding there way into the bathroom setting. Many suppliers have them inset in cabinets or have them rising up from the side of the bathtub.

A European bathroom fixture that is making its way into many North American homes is the bidet. This European influence can be coordinated with you bath, toilet or sink fixtures.

Separate stand alone storage cabinet in the bathroom that fit into the décor form an excellent add on for a bathroom and gives the benefits of extra storage for towels and other toiletries.

Into the shower area where companies have designed break away showerheads that can be used as a shower or a sprayer.

There are so many ideas and features coming onto the market that are making bathrooms into a livable part of the home. Candles and all the accessories is an area that the bathroom, like other rooms are always in need of. Canvas Home Basics have created a line of innovative accessories that can make any room in the house more personal and stylish.