2021

There will always be a need for practical bathroom accessories such as toilet- roll holders, soap dishes, and towel hooks and, with a little imagination, they can be just the extras a bathroom needs to make it special. Miscellaneous antique fittings collected over time can look as pleasing as the latest coordinated range made in […]

Etched or frosted-glass window panes in bathrooms are designed primarily for privacy but special patterns can be custom-made to make a feature of the window: glass bricks have a hi- tech minimalist look while decorative patterned glass complements traditional styles. Bear in mind that at night, rooms lit from within are clearly visible – even […]

Carefully chosen lighting will add to the style and ambience of your bathroom. Downlights are unobtrusive and cast a soft, general light. Task lighting is useful for illuminating specific areas where good visibility is essential. Diffused lighting will reduce glare from reflective mirrors and tiled surfaces. General lighting A central pendant for the bathroom storage […]

The planning process must, however, start with a look at the five main items of equipment that we may want to install or replace in the bathroom suite, beginning with basins. The various types of basin available are discussed in full elsewhere on the site and in parts of our reference section. Broadly speaking, there […]

The second major item of bathroom suite equipment is, of course, the bath. Baths are now available in a range of materials and many different shapes, sizes and colours. Shorter baths are less satisfactory in use than long ones and should only be used where there is insufficient space for an average 1700mm long bath. […]

Wherever the bath is sited, care must be given to the arrangement of the plumbing. Supply and waste pipes can be concealed in ducts or under the floor (with provision for access) but it is worth keeping the run of the waste pipe as short as possible to avoid blockages. The walls near the bath […]

Showers of adjustable height can be used by both adults and children, but if one fixed position for the shower is acceptable the plumbing can be concealed in the wall with controls set at a convenient height. Combined bath/shower mixer tap units from Roca bathrooms generally have a flexible shower hose that can be fitted […]

Shires bathrooms used to be one of the major players in the bathroom industry until they were withdrawn from the UK market in 2007. Shower controls have already been mentioned briefly. The advantages of thermostatic controls over manual ones are well worth considering; they give consistent temperatures irrespective of whether somebody else in the house […]

The final item of equipment is the WC and, of all the sanitary fittings, this can be the most critical in planning terms because it must be sited close to a soil pipe. Where a new bathroom is being built, or where radical alterations are being made, one is more able to site the soil […]

A luxury bathroom in our climate nowadays usually means having a fitted carpet, but carpets are of course affected by water. lf a bathroom that gets heavy family use with splashing is to be carpeted, care must be taken in the choice of carpet material. Synthetic fibres – such as nylon or acrylic – do […]