A 5* Bathroom for less!
GET THE LOOK FOR LESS: Glean design ideas from books, glossy homes magazines and interiors websites. We recommend: Terence Conran's new book Bathrooms (published by Conran Octopus); Living Etc magazine and My Deco .
Go for a contemporary look every time, even if you are renovating a period property. This is what buyers and tenants want.
Hang wall-mounted
sinks in small spaces. Splash out on contemporary taps. Specialist bathroom
suppliers and plumbers' merchants have the cheapest. If you can
afford it, go for under-floor heating or install a heated towel ladder that
will double as a radiator. Check out that wall art from Wall Glamour!
Use a super-sized mirror over the sink. It reflects light and makes the room seem bigger.
Coloured LED lights add wow factor and they aren't expensive if used sparingly. Put four in the ceiling at one end of the room. Find them at good lighting wholesalers such as Chantelle.
Shop around for sanitary ware at local bathroom suppliers for seconds and one-off bargains. It can work out cheaper to buy separates rather than a suite. The following have discounted lines: Bathstore, Boundary Bathrooms and Victorian Bathrooms in Wakefield (don't be put off by the name they do contemporary too).
IMPRESS WITH TILES: Tile the
floor and the walls around the bath from floor to ceiling. Go for larger tiles,
which make for a speedier job and can make a small room look bigger. Stone
tiles are always a winner, but there are some great ceramic tiles which look like stone
for a fraction of the price (we have both at bargain prices)
Keep the colour scheme simple. Black or grey tiles and white walls and sanitary ware work well, as do soft sandy colours with white or soft cream walls.
Add texture with Bumpy White Wall Tiles or aim for a high gloss finish with Stunning Glass Tiles
CHEAP TRICKS:
Add
a colourful light stream to water with a clever device from Drink Stuff. It's
ideal for children as the colour changes from blue to red the hotter the water
gets. It costs £14.99 from www.drinkstuff.com
If your budget won't allow a new suite, keep the old one and re-tile. Change the taps for contemporary new ones.
If
you can't afford a whole new lighting system, buy a mirror with built-in
lighting.
HOT TRENDS: Rectangular Brick Tiles around baths and basins
offer the sleek, linear look of boutique hotels.
Graphics. Laufen's new Living City collection sees white sanitary ware updated with graphic prints.
Wet rooms are still big news, especially for en-suites.
To get the look for less try recessing your shower tray into the floor.
Natural Slate adds wow factor to any wet room.
Try
a Black Tumbled Marble Mosaic
or Tumbled Stone Fragment Mosaic for a designer look.
Don't
forget your adhesive, grout and tile
treatment products.
HOW IT ALL ADDS UP:
Bathroom suite: Concept toilet, £90; Happy basin, £25; and Wash acrylic double-ended bath, £129, all Bathstore special offers and panel, £10, Wickes special offer section. Total: £254
Taps £130 Boundary Bathrooms
Heated chrome towel ladder/radiator B&Q, £99
Tiles: black stone effect at £5.97 per sq m from Builder Superstore, £200
LED lighting from Chantelle Lighting, £180
Molger mirrored cabinet, £34.90; shelving unit, £29.90; and storage stool, £19.99, from Ikea
Paint by Leyland, £65
TOTAL: £1012.79
