I was going to say the bathroom has come a long way from the uncomfortable cold space it often was. But in fact, Egyptian bathrooms, Roman bathrooms, ancient Greek bathrooms were immensely sumptuous affairs with good plumbing and a great deal of luxury and some even had bathroom cabinets. That there was a gap of so many centuries before we really began again to treat the bathroom as the healing, cleansing, refreshing place it should be is almost incomprehensible, but there it is.
Once again we are taking enormous interest in the room as a room to enjoy and not just a place to house those items, the bath, washbasin, shower, bathroom cabinets and WC. Bathrooms need some deep thought of course, especially if you have the opportunity of planning one from scratch. Young childless couples, elderly couples, families with babies or teenage children, those with spare, Spartan inclinations and those who love comfort and glamour all have their differing needs. But basically the problem of bathroom cabinets can always be cleaned and isolated by your answers to the following three questions:
How much money have you to spend?
How much space have you got to play with?
Do you want a luxurious bathroom or a practical, hygienic splashing place?
Practical bathrooms that come in from the cold lf you live in a modern house or block you will generally have efficient new plumbing even ifthe actual bathroom or rooms are given very little space and nondescript space at that. lf your bathroom is one of these and has a shower over the bath you might think of tiling it all over. Although it will be more expensive initially than painting or wall papering you won’t need any maintenance for years to come. Forget about tiles being cold and clinical; these days the is repertoire of beautiful colours, bathroom cabinets and patterns is enormous and you can always soften any hard lines with large fluffy towels in luxurious shades, with interesting window treatment and a stunning carpet.
lf you do want to save money by using mostly white or cream tiles you can insert a border of patterned tiles to run underneath the ceiling, down corners and around the bathroom cabinets. This will inject colour, relieve the monotony and take away any arctic feeling. If you live in an older house or block you might trade elderly fittings and antiquated bathroom cabinets for more space.
Although changing the plumbing around is a major expense if indeed it is possible at all, you can at least change the fixtures for contemporary versions which will work a whole lot better. For example, you might think of looking for water-saving WCs or showers which will conserve your hot water supply.
If changing the fixtures seems impossibly expensive (and don’t forget you can often find second-hand baths, basins and WCs in good condition for half the price because they have been thrown out in favour of later models or different colours) think of changing the taps and shower fittings: this comparatively minor change will instantly give a more stylish look.
