New Kitchens and Bathrooms

Posted on: 27 October 2017

Remodelling your bathroom is a great way to give it a fresh, modern and attractive new look. As well as ensuring the design looks fantastic, it's also important to ensure that your new bathroom works well in a practical sense. This is an aspect of remodelling a bathroom that is often overlooked which can result in a bathroom that you're not entirely happy with. Here are three practical things to consider when planning your new bathroom.

1. Bench and tap heights

Unless you specify otherwise, your remodelling contractor will most likely install your bathroom benches and tap fittings at the standard height. This might seem like a minor issue, but when you consider how frequently you use a bathroom, making sure that the installation heights are optimal for you can make the experience much easier and more enjoyable.

It's important to make these decisions before your taps and benches are fitted. Relocating taps and removing and reinstalling benches is a time-consuming, costly and difficult process that will involve repairing plasterwork and tiling and may result in your budget being blown.

2. Future cleaning

It's easy to get caught up in creating a gorgeous, high-specification look for your new bathroom without thinking about the amount of cleaning that it will require on an ongoing basis. It's a common mistake for people to choose beautiful finishes for their fittings and fixtures that end up being a full-time job to keep looking clean and attractive.

Many natural stone products, such as sandstone and marble, are highly porous and easily stained. Materials with a super high gloss finish, such as many ceramic tile varieties, look incredible when pristine but will show every speck of dust, splash of water and piece of stray hair. These are factors well worth considering, especially if you have children or a large household.

3. Changing tastes and trends

Like the fashion industry, interior design has trends that come and then go fairly rapidly. While it's understandable to want a new bathroom that has a contemporary look, it's important to make sure that it will last you for many years without becoming dated and passe. You can future-proof your bathroom by sticking to classic fixtures that are expensive to replace, such as bath-tubs and tiling.

This doesn't mean you need to turn your back on design trends entirely. Using paint colours, accessories and easily replaced fixtures such as taps to add the latest design style can give you the best of both worlds and a bathroom that looks modern but will also adapt easily to changes in style.