Bathroom
Showcase a chandelier If you have the space and height in your bathroom, you could consider ditching the usual downlights and going for a statement pendant instead. A Victorian-style chandelier adds a touch of luxury, but it’s important to take precautions. Bathroom lights need to have a specific IP rating, depending on which area of the room they’re located in, so make sure you choose a chandelier that’s made especially for a bathroom. Hire a professional to help you with the installation and to ensure it’s fitted safely.
Categories and containers My key organisational advice for bathroom cupboards is to use storage baskets inside the cupboards or drawers, so that you both contain categories and are able to access items quickly and easily. The following categories are common to almost every bathroom I’ve ever helped declutter and organise: ◦make-up ◦hair products ◦sunscreen ◦tanning sprays and lotions ◦moisturiser ◦basic first aid ◦sanitary products ◦shaving ◦nail polish ◦eye care ◦medications ◦perfumes
Flexible drawer organisers Adjustable or modular drawer organisers made from a wipeable material are ideal for keeping bathroom drawers neat and tidy. To get the r ight fit, snap a photo of what you have in your drawers (and measure) before buying organisers. Good for: Any toiletries and supplies you use regularly.
Wall space Employ the space within the wall cavity There is plenty of room for storage in a bathroom, if you know where to look. This includes the spaces in the wall cavity behind mirror cabinets, as well as other small niches. This way, you can avoid placing items on the floor and ensure the space feels as large as possible. In this bathroom, a mirrored cabinet provides shelving storage to avoid visual clutter.
Try tone on tone Not a fan of stark white? You can still get a very big and breezy effect with a tone-on-tone palette in warm beige, soft greys or even faint hues such as powder blue. Choose a sumptuous tile, and find a paint colour for the remaining walls that picks up on one of the hues within it. The overall effect is still serene and spa-like, without the jarring visual breaks to shrink your perception of the space.
Use every scrap of space A fitted bathroom often contains little pockets of underused space. Think about exploiting them by building in neat little drawers. As many bathroom products are small-scale, even a tiny sliver of additional storage can be really useful.
Make it fit A niche has been created in this bathroom not by stealing space from the wall cavity but by building out from the wall. Doing so allows the toilet cistern to be hidden away and provides a neat home for basin and shower plumbing. A bank of mirrored cabinets ups the storage considerably, and a bulkhead from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling makes for a streamlined finish. Building out from the wall has also made space for a niche in the shower big enough to cope with shampoos and other shower essentials.
Add height There’s no reason a bathroom niche has to be teeny. Make use of vertical space and install some shelving (made from glass) – for decoration, storage or both. Baskets are an easy way to group products together (by type or household member), and keep the space looking neat.
In small bathrooms, every bit of space counts. The niche in the shower/bath achieves two goals – ample storage with easy access and a dash of style. A plain white niche would accomplish only one of these.
Wall niches do more than just provide a spot in which to put things, of course. They can enhance a stately bathroom’s elegance, particularly with the addition of in-niche downlights and a luxurious pendant or chandelier.
Building a pull-out cupboard below the bath will provide valuable storage for unsightly items like toilet rolls, cleaning products, and even children’s bath toys – almost anything can be squirrelled away in here.
A statement pendant Call it a pendant; call it a mini chandelier: a hanging light fixture in a commanding (but not overbearing) size makes a bathroom feel incredibly grand. The scale of such a light always feels so much greater in a relatively small space, such as a bathroom, than in an open-concept dining or living room. This factor makes a statement pendant one of the best ideas to steal on this list, as you can get a lot of impact for just a little splurge. For a light that feels like a mini chandelier rather than a more modest pedant, go for a diameter of 45 centimetres or more. For a sizeable bathroom, 3 x 3 metres and beyond, start at 60 or even 90 centimetres to suit the scale.
Take action: Once your bathroom is clean and clutter-free, pick and choose from the list below to enhance your morning and evening routines:◦In the morning, keep a glass of water with fresh lemon slices beside you at the sink to sip as you get ready ◦Add essential oils to your shower or tub – try peppermint or basil in the morning and lavender or bergamot in the evening ◦Keep a small vase of fresh flowers beside the sink ◦Use a tray or stool to hold a cup of herbal tea (such as chamomile) to sip as you soak in the tub ◦Dim the overhead lights and enjoy a bath by candlelight
Toilet ledge A nice separation of the toilet area from the vanity adds privacy here, and the trimmed-out top ledge creates a spot for towels and other details.
Reverse it into the wall Just as shower niches and mirrors can be inset into wall cavities, sometimes so can vanities. Talk to a bathroom designer to see what’s possible at your house – it could free up the space you need to make your bathing space more useable.
Bathe in beauty Many coastal homes have no neighbours and are not overlooked, which means a lazy soak in the tub surrounded by ocean views is a wonderful possibility. Any kind of window treatment is totally wasted here, so keep it simple and embrace the naked look!
An outdoor bathroom lies behind the storage shed, servicing the sleeper/studio and backyard entertaining. The couple plans to add an outdoor shower and privacy screen.
In the bathroom, located next to Fred’s room, the wood cabinet is from Maggie’s Bazaar in Footscray while the Indonesian river stone sink is a find from a Brunswick shop. It reminds Maas of family holidays overseas.
Dedicate a larger percentage of the room to the bathing area by positioning the pocket door off-centre. A laundry doesn’t need as much floor area and you can maximise the use of space by adding a drying rack on the ceiling.
Disappearing door A pocket or cavity sliding door is a clever solution for separating the two zones in one room without forfeiting space that would normally be lost by the door’s swing.
Utility bench If you have the space for a long run of units and benchtop down one wall, the appliances will tuck in neatly below for a smart, considered look. To visually zone the room, add wall-hung cupboards above the laundry spot to define the clothes cleaning area, while a mirror above the basin will mark the pamper-and-preen position.
Wet room layouts More popular in European countries, these rooms maximise a small bathroom footprint. If you’ve ever had a sleeper car on a train, you know how this works. A separate shower stall is not required and everything in the room can stand up to the water. But based on past Houzz comments regarding shower spray getting all over toilet seats, I don’t think most this side of the world is ready for a wet room quite yet.
Butcher’s block Once used to butcher meat on, the butcher’s block is a durable wooden table that has become a sought-after domestic addition. While it’s most often seen in kitchens, here it has been transformed into a bathroom vanity, fitting neatly into a narrow and compact space. The sink is installed on top of the table, and the plumbing is visible below. While there are no drawers or cupboards, there is still enough space for bathroom essentials.
Antique gold Like most trends, these bright metals don’t suit everyone, so if the sheen of rose and pink gold is too reminiscent of nouveau-riche powder rooms, antique gold will slow down the pace and bring a calm, vintage feel to your relaxing retreat. Don’t be fooled, however, as antique gold can still be lifted to contemporary heights by marrying it with sleek, urban materials, such as concrete.
Natural materials Bathrooms usually feature a lot of crisp materials that, while waterproof, are sometimes a little visually cold. Natural materials reintroduce some warmth and a sense of human touch, so look for places to add wood, organically shaped stone or woven baskets.
Vessel sink Notice how many spaces in this article have an eye-catching vessel sink to make the space feel more enticing. Switching away from the typical porcelain makes an evocative statement. Consider natural materials and imperfect shapes, like a carved wood, stone or blown-glass sink.
Bathroom It’s often challenging to figure out how to squeeze an extra bathroom into your space. With some smart planning, the space under the stairs can work perfectly.
Reinforced Towel and toilet holder. With a little forward planning you should also add fixing blocks or rails into the wall frame where you plan to locate the towel rails (if I had my time again I would also do the same for the toilet roll holders). These are hidden by the wall sheeting and tiling, but serve as strong anchor points for the towel rails to be fixed into.
Reinforced Towel Rails. You should be thinking about the type of towel rails you install and how they are fixed to the wall. Ideally your towel rails will have more than one fixing point at each end, as this will make the rail much more stable on the wall.
Freshen up the atmosphere When the weather allows, throw open your windows and doors to ventilate the house. Fresh, dry winter air is a great way to reduce mould and mildew, especially in the bathroom.
In trayless showers, be sure to pick flooring that is non-slip or has a slight texture for grip, such as ceramic tiles. But if you do opt for a shower tray, go for a slimline design that can be fitted flush with the floor, so there is a minimal step and less of a trip hazard.
Colour it quiet Grey might make for gloomy weather, but when it’s used indoors, it acts like a mute button, cocooning us from the outside world. While this quietening shade can have a draining effect if we’re exposed to it for too long, in small doses it promotes relaxation and calm – making it the perfect colour for a bathroom. For depth and dimension, use tonal variations throughout the bathroom, as seen here on the panelling, curtains and tiling.
Farmhouse elements Conversely, try using brass for just your plumbing fixtures, and go for a surprisingly traditional style with farmhouse or cottage inspirations (like this decidedly low-tech shower set with exposed piping). The quirky look is perfect for contemporary spaces that aren’t shy about mixing periods, and makes even the starkest shower look welcoming.
As brass is still a growing trend, items with a lacquer finish are usually made to order rather than stocked, so this option will typically add to the price and the turnaround time (often by four to eight weeks). So keep this in mind when shopping for brass, because you’ll want to have ordered your fixtures well before any serious construction begins. Also note that a lacquer finish does not make any material magic; fingerprints can still show on a shiny surface, so if you’re fussy about that, a matt finish may bring more peace of mind.
Will brass show water spots? One of the main concerns homeowners often have about introducing brass into the bathroom is how this material will hold up in a wet space. To avoid water spots, some manufacturers suggest gently patting brass fixtures dry after every use. However, it should be noted that many manufacturers actually suggest this for almost all metal finishes, including the more common nickel and chrome, so take it with a grain of salt. Maintaining a day-to-day spotless finish on your fixtures takes some work, but brass is not generally tough to take care of – although the look-at-me finish may command a little more scrutiny.
For comparison, bronze is a mixture of copper with various other metals, like tin or aluminium. It’s a duller gold hue that feels less glam and more earthy. Bronze is often ‘blackened’, either by mixing in specific materials or by adding a coating for an almost burnt-coal appearance, but un-blackened it can be very close to brass in its metallic brown warmth. Ultimately the usage of these alloys is similar, with bronze tending to appeal to more traditional tastes and brass reading as more contemporary.
Inside hanging storage space on the inside of cupboard doors - pull our hampers and slide out open drawers.
A hide-away bathroom towel hamper that looks like an ordinary drawer or cupboard is another neat idea that will enhance the look and functionality of your bathroom, as it will free up floor space and hide your dirty laundry from sight.
Pull-out storage system has been used instead to maximise space and ensure that the cabinet’s contents are always visible and easy to access.
An adjustable built-in magnifying mirror that slides up or down for users of different heights.
Divide and conquer clutter with drawer organisers Bring order to messy drawers with inserts that divide the storage space into separate, easy-to-manage (and navigate) sections for different bath-time and grooming essentials, like razors, brushes and combs, and skincare. This clever, clutter-free set-up shows how it’s done. A deep, roomy drawer conceals two smaller drawers, each of which boast removable organisers that can be taken out when in use and reconfigured when the need arises.
Bathroom Taps
Q