S.O.S. Bathroom Renovations
Tips and ideas for renovating your bathroom... simply and stylishly!
The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the home and without a doubt the most difficult to design, or worse still, to renovate: the available space is quite often tight and poorly lit, getting a raw deal in order to leave more room for other settings such as the living room or the bedroom.
In these cases, the key word is optimisation... but also skill! Turning to a professional is indispensable to obtain operational tips and understand what the best solutions are to suit your specific requirements. However, to avoid being totally unprepared, here is a series of tips to turn your bathroom into the most beautiful room in your home!
Who / What / When
The first thing to consider is WHO will actually be using the bathroom, to understand their needs and everyday habits and adopt specific solutions.
If for instance you only have one bathroom in your home, the renovation will have to accommodate various needs, both in terms of style and functionality: the master bathroom will have to be aesthetically appealing to all possible guests, of all ages, and perhaps devised to accommodate several people simultaneously, considering that commitments and schedules often overlap!
In this case, planning for twin washbasins is a must, and if the square footage allows it, a genuine internal partition: dividing the room into several areas is a simple trick to allow it to be used concurrently by several people, without (totally) foregoing privacy.
If on the other hand you want to renovate a second bathroom dedicated to children, you will need to include a bathtub or a large and comfortable shower, and add spacious and hard-wearing cabinets.
As regards the surfaces, on the other hand, it is vital that you select floor tiles and wall tiles that are practical to clean yet have a fresh and fun style, to capture the attention (and the cooperation) of young guests.
So feel free to use floor tiles and wall tiles with bright colours or original textures, or why not even in 3D, such as those in the Bold collection. In bathrooms used by toddlers and young children, it is also advisable to fit a lock on the temperature of hot water taps, to avoid unfortunate domestic incidents!
Start… from the basics
The choice of wall tiles is of primary importance in renovations, especially in the bathroom. Usually, pale and bright colours are preferred for the bathroom, but if you have plenty of space at hand, dark colours could be an original, highly sophisticated choice.
The most popular material used in bathrooms is without a doubt ceramic, which is extremely hard-wearing, practical to clean and very attractive, considering that porcelain and white body tiles are capable of perfectly mimicking more delicate materials, such as wood, hand-crafted majolica or even marble.
If you have a small bathroom, do not despair: there are still plenty of ways to enhance the value of your space! If you want maximum light and elegance, choose large sized bathroom wall tiles with a bright finish, such as the marble effect Foyer series; if you yearn for a modern and refined bathroom, why not opt for three-dimensional structures, such as the geometrical-floral patterns of the 4D series; to create a splash of style, you could instead let your imagination run riot with cementine tiles and allow yourselves to be won over by the retro patterns and colours of Paprica or Storie d’Italia.
If you think that the “box” effect, with all over decorations, is a bit too much, you could always opt for a more placid solution, for instance by laying Cementine tiles only on the floor and painting the walls white or with tone on tone hues. The choice of sanitary fixtures, lights and textiles will obviously also depend on your chosen wall tiles.
Whatever your desired bathroom style, remember that the key word remains consistency: the bathroom must always be in keeping with the style of the other rooms in your home, to lend a sense of harmony and continuity to all rooms.
Shower, bathtub... and thereabouts
We have now come to one of the key decisions in bathroom renovations: a shower or a bathtub? If your home doesn’t have a second bathroom and there isn’t room for both in your master bathroom, the best choice is generally a practical shower stall. However, if you simply can’t live without an hour’s relaxation among scented salts, even the shower can be transformed into a miniature spa, a genuine sensory experience, by installing hot and cold water jets, a whirlpool, chromotherapy and a sound system.
Choosing wall-mounted sanitary fixtures with rounded silhouettes, instead of the classic floor-standing squared versions, could free up the floor space, making the room appear more spacious.
The bathroom should also be bright and well aired, so having at least one window is a must, and avoid including heavy furniture or curtains, which would shield the natural light. For windowless bathrooms, on the other hand, you will need to plan for a suitable mechanical ventilation system, which is vital to avoid mould and mildew forming, along with unpleasant smells, to suction excess steam and generally keep the room healthy in time.
Furniture and accessories
The general rule for the bathroom is to exploit the height in full, including storage cabinets and vertical shelves to store all your beauty routine essentials conveniently!
A large mirror lends a final stylish touch to the bathroom interiors and enhances the perception of the available space: you can choose one with an understated silhouette, or a classic, coloured or vintage style one, depending on the style you want for your most intimate room.
In any case, avoid weighing down the room with picture frames and ornaments, which would occupy useful space and make cleaning the room more difficult.
Still having doubts? The choice of ceramic wall tiles, sanitary fixtures and furniture is practically endless, with plenty of modern, elegant, practical and cost-effective solutions: it’s impossible not to find a solution capable of mirroring your personality and that of your entire home!
