Building Your Bathroom

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Building Your Bathroom</font></h2><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">When you want to remodel your bathroom, you may feel tempted to fill it with lots of exciting, new accessories, from heated towel rails to marble toilet roll holders and pretty little candles. But if you are not careful, you could end up overstuffing this small room, losing the point of what it is really used for.</span></p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Remember that a bathroom is the place where you attend to your personal hygiene. It is also a place for relaxing while you take a long bath or put on your makeup. By overfilling it, you will lose that feeling of relaxation. Therefore, to design an elegant, tasteful bathroom, you are probably better off keeping it simple. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Let’s take a look at the basic fittings and furnishings that are necessary for every bathroom:</p><ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Bathtub</div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Shower unit/cubicle</div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Sink</div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Bathroom cabinets</div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Lighting</div></li></ul>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Sometimes a nice kind of bathtub and fancy shower unit will be enough to make your bathroom look suitably elegant. There is a wide variety of bathtubs and shower cubicles on the market. A classic, porcelain bathtub will give any bathroom an impressive look, and if it is in a neutral color it will blend in with any kind of paint on the walls. The right shower curtain will also be the key to the overall look of your bathroom. For example, a white or cream bathtub with pale blue or magnolia walls, painted with waterproof, bathroom paint, will offset a royal blue shower curtain very well.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, if you want your bathroom to look somewhat more modern, a stainless steel or transparent Perspex shower cubicle may well do the trick. Add to this some clean, stainless steel fittings, such as taps and shower heads, and this will complete the look.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">To hide the plumbing under the sink, a vanity base used as a lavatory cabinet is ideal as it combines elegance with storage. In addition, put up some medicine cabinets on the walls, appropriately enough with mirrors on the doors. This will provide storage space for bathroom accessories, such as soaps, shampoos, and flannels. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Lighting for your bathroom should be fairly bright. Fluorescent bulbs are particularly useful as they last longer than regular light bulbs. For safety reasons, it is a good idea to keep the light switch outside the room as moisture and electricity are a dangerous combination. </p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/3c.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/3c.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Last but not least, what about <a href="http://www.flooringandcarpets.com/floor-tile.html" target="_blank">tile flooring</a>? Tiles add color and good taste to any bathroom. These days, you can find a range of tiles made from various materials. The most important qualities to look for, apart from elegance and color, are durability and a non-porous nature so that they can withstand constant exposure to water. Tiles can be somewhat cold so if you have the budget consider <a href="http://www.flooringandcarpets.com/under-floor-heating.html" target="_blank">underfloor heating</a>, you won’t regret it.</p>  <p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">Of course, some accessories can be added to brighten up the bathroom so that it does not look too Spartan. For example, a tasteful area rug can be added to make sure that your feet are greeted by something soft as you step out of the shower. You could probably put up one picture at most, with an elegant mirror. Much more than this is really not necessary for a relaxing, tasteful bathroom.</span></p></span>