Would you put a bath in your bedroom?

Many of the cool new home interior trends stem from the plush decor and ideas experienced in posh hotels.
There was an interesting article in the Sunday Times yesterday looking at the issue of putting a bath in your bedroom. Not an en suite, which is separated from your bedroom by a door, but an actual bath.
The bath in a bedroom trend is something that has definitely stemmed from luxurious hotels with big rooms, where the bath is situated only a few footsteps away from the bed. A nice idea if you’re away on a relaxing weekend, but it’s a bit different thinking of having a bath in your bedroom at home.

The article did look at one person who has popped a freestanding bath in their bedroom. It seems to work, as the room is large enough to house it, and it does’t entirely out of place to have the bath situated there.

The general consensus, however, was that space is essential and it’s a trend that can only really work at the high end of the market, in a house where the bedroom is roomy enough to have a bath in, and where there are other conventional bathrooms in the house too.

For anyone with a standard semi, it probably won’t add value or excite future buyers if a bath was squashed into a normal sized bedroom.

Thankfully, the classic freestanding bath works very effectively in conventional bathrooms too, with none of the problems of accidentally splashing water on the carpet or bedding.

The slipper style bath pictured is made from double skinned acrylic and comes with beautiful ball and claw, or large claw feet, in a polished chrome. It’s available from True Shopping for only £298.97, so you can have the luxury of a freestanding bath, without too much of a hefty cost.

Italian Bathroom Design

Bathroom of Madame Caroline by Luigi Vanvitelli

Luxury Bathroom Design

The bathroom of the Ballroom Suite in the Emerson & Green Hotel. The hotel is a beautifully restored palace, once the home of one of the richest men in the Swahili Empire. The restored building recreates the grandeur of the past, with 10 guest rooms that exude a Sultan's extravagance.

Online Bathroom Design

Bathroom online design can help you create the bathroom that is just right for you. Online bathroom design means learning as much as you can about what designing the most functional and attractive bathroom really requires.

The bathroom can be more than a room for personal hygiene or grooming. For example, if you have the space, you can add home exercise equipment and a music system or TV in your bathroom. As you proceed with your bathroom online design, begin keeping a notebook with your ideas and magazine clippings of what you want your bathroom to be like.

Here are 5 bathroom online design tips that may apply to the bathroom that you're creating:

1. Bathroom Lighting - your bathroom lighting can be natural or artificial. Lighting is used to illuminate and brighten the space and lighting can affect how you feel inside your bathroom. Use a window, a wall skylight or roof skylight to bring in natural light or a nice outside view. And a skylight that opens is good because the moisture created by bathing or showering can be reduced. Artificial lighting can be an overhead general light, a light over the vanity mirror or wall sconces on each side of the mirror to provide sufficient light for grooming.

2. Bathroom Ventilation - bathroom online design should analyze bathroom moisture. Since a bathroom generates humidity and moisture, this airborne water can cause problems with the bathroom finishes. A properly-sized power ventilator can be installed that will pull moist air out of the bathroom to the outdoors. Ventilating fans sizes are indicated by how many cubic feet of air they can move each minute (cfm). Use a ventilating fan that will remove air from the bathroom to the outdoors about seven or eight times per hour. For example, a 6'x8'x8' bathroom equals 384 cubic feet, divide by 8 times per hour equals 48cfm size fan.

3. Bathroom Tile - if you are using bathroom tile and will have solid-color ceramic floor tile, use a different color tile to create a border around the bathroom floor. If you will use the same color tile for the floors and walls, select a different tile size for the walls or lay the wall tiles diagonally to create visual contrast. Use a different color grout between the tiles to make a more interesting look.

4. Bathroom Wall Decor - if your bathroom walls are soft or neutral colors, use colorful bath linens and bath mats to create a nice contrast. Good bathroom online design means the accessories such as towel rings and soap dishes should complement the materials, fixtures and colors used on the walls and floors. For example, do not use modern-looking chrome towel holders with antique brass faucets.

5. Bathroom Storage - plan how you'll use the bathroom wall space. Having shelves or cabinets over the toilet, using corner shelves and placing towel bars above one another increase your available storage space. A medicine cabinet with mirror can hold grooming supplies, medicine and toiletries. An attractive combination sink and vanity and a shower caddy in your shower can provide additional bathroom storage.

Doing bathroom online design means reading as much as possible, thinking and planning what you want and need in this important room. From materials used to the bathroom layout to the finished colors, having a successful bathroom project is about knowing what options you have, then choosing the best ones for your project. Learn as much as you can about online bathroom design before building begins so you can have the best bathroom possible.

Learn more bathroom decor ideas plus bathroom layout, lighting, storage, bathroom vanities, small bathrooms, childrens bathrooms and more online bathroom design.

Small Bathroom Design

Tips for a Small Bathroom Design

You could use a small bathroom design. You may have little choice if you actually have a small bathroom. It doesn't mean though that you automatically have very limited options with your small space. There are still a lot of tasteful designs you could consider. Here are some tips at designing small bathrooms.

Put Only What You Need

Ask yourself if you really want a bathroom that doubles as a living room. Chances are you will only really be spending a limited time in your bathroom. You are also not likely to be doing a lot of things in it. If you use your bathroom as it is meant to be used, then you don't need a lot of things in it. Get rid of extra fixtures and storage units. Keep only those that you can actually use for a little relaxation and for the essential functions of a bathroom.

Choose Small Items

If you live with average sized people, you really do not need big fixtures. Big toilets, tubs, faucets, showers and sinks would look terrible in a small bathroom. They will also eat much more space. The fixtures should be appropriate to your size but nothing more. You should choose the smallest size of all fixtures that will fit you and your needs. The visual impact and the actual effect would be a small bathroom that is roomy and unobstructed.

Move Up

You can be more creative with your use of space in a small bathroom design. Just remember that the floor is not the only area that your bathroom holds. You also probably have a lot of overhead space. Instead of letting that area go to waste, consider putting it to good use. Move your storage compartments up. Tastefully designed mini cabinets and tubular racks would look perfect there. Aside from overhead space, you could also get rid of such floor space consuming features as a pedestal for your sink. You can simply use a hanging sink.

Get Rid of Somber Colors

Aside from space restrictions, other features make your bathroom look even smaller. One of these would be your general color scheme. If you are oriented towards dark colors, your small bathroom is not one of the places where you should apply them. Instead of dark, heavy colors go for pastel or light color shades. Lighter shades make your bathroom more inviting. They also have the capacity to play with visual perception, making small areas seem more open and spacious.

Decorate with Small Things

Space restriction is not your only problem. You would also most likely want your bathroom to be ideal for relaxation too. You would probably be more comfortable in a bathroom that looks and smells nice. How can you improve on the appeal and appearance of your bathroom without adding unnecessary features? You can actually use small accents for it. Choose small appliqu designs for your tiles. A couple of scented candles and soap around strategic places can also help improve the general impact of your bathroom.

These are only some small bathroom design ideas. If you consider exploring a little more, you might realize that there is actually so much more that you can do with a small bathroom.

New Style White Kitchen - Scandinavian, Of Course!

Just when you thought there could be no more true innovations in kitchen cabinetry, I mean, you open a door and you close it. You open a drawer and you close it. What more could there be to that concept?

How about this combination of little recessed spaces set amongst the cabinetry? I spotted this on the teriffic blog, Emmas Designblogg. Whether the recessed nooks are used for decorative or useful items, I think this is a fun idea. While you're at it, check out this link from Emmas blog too. Images are from Skona Hem. What do you think of this style?

Small NYC Kitchen/Big Style

Here's a picture of my small New York City apartment kitchen, well, one side of it. The other side has the refrigerator and the range. Not being ready to redo the kitchen at this point, I wanted to make it appear larger (of course!) The floor was a busy terracotta lineoleum, so that was the first to go. In its place is another vinyl floor, as we did not want to do something major right now, but wanted something special. Here's what we used: Chilewich Plynyl in the wheat color, not as "green" a product as I had hoped, but they say they are close. It adds function and a big dose of light and calm.

Oddly, rather than using a light paint, which was what was in the kitchen, an ivory (ick), I thought I'd experiment with medium to dark shades of paint. The paint chosen is very close to the (granite grained) formica countertop, so there is a flow there. The upper ceiling section was painted this dark color too, with just the lower ceiling section being a near white. This way, there is a flow in the upper section.

We are keeping the cabinets right now. They are light, which is helpful to the space with a minimal design. Add lots of lights, colorful accents, and it looks larger than it is.

Lesson: Don't always think that you need only light paint to expand a space. If you have other elements of light, in this case, a light floor, lots of lights, and light cabinetry, then a darker background can tie it all in and look just as expansive, and more interesting. Lights below the wall cabinets would be a great addition.

Do you have a small kitchen? I'd love to hear about it.