Bathroom | devo digest

Blue Towels for a Spa Like Bathroom

On 05.01.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

Gone are the days of frilly bathrooms full of knickknacks and extra fluff. Today’s designer bathrooms are sleek and clean, creating a zen like relaxing retreat. Dominant colors are often neutrals or earth colors, and either way, blue towels can be a very nice accent piece in the bathroom.

For the relaxing feel, colors like light browns, chocolate and coffee colors are often used. One of the best colors to work with these browns is blue. It offers a nice contrast and adds to that spa like feel in the bathroom. Because the walls are usually done in the neutral or brown colors, blues are used as the accent. This is where the towels or the bath mat can shine.

Different blues can be used for the towels, depending on the look wanting to be achieved. One important factor is to have a contrast with the hue of the towel to the hue of the wall. In other words, if a deep, rich chocolate color is on the walls, go with more of a robin’s egg blue or sky blue for the color of the towels. On the other hand, if the walls are a lighter, straw beige, a deeper blue would be best, maybe a navy or even a turquoise or peacock feather blue.

A great thing about towels is though they are decorative accents, they are also often switched around. This makes them a fun piece to work with. Sometimes a solid towel in blue could be used, and while these are being washed, patterned towels of blues and browns or blues and whites could take their place. They also come in sets so the color can be splashed around the bathroom with the different hand towels, bath towels and wash cloths.

A set of bath sheet towels in blue can really add to the cool, relaxing feeling of a spa like bathroom. Not only are towels functional pieces to work with, but there are also fun designer ones.

Updating the Tub Surround – Retiling versus Solid Panels

On 04.29.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

As the years go by, the area surrounding your tub will start to experience the toll of time. The tile will start to appear old, drab, and damaged. The tub itself, however, will often age well, and thus needs no replacing. This means that you can modernize a significant part of your bathroom, simply by updating the bathroom tub surrounds and then giving the tub a good scrubbing.

A good question then arises. What is the best way to update the item?

Replacing the Tile

One option for updating the tub surround consists of tearing down the old tile and putting up brand new. This is a solution that makes sense, if you appreciate the current look of the area around the tub, except for its damaged appearance. What are the downsides? First of all, it needs to be mentioned, that installing the tile surrounding the tub is difficult and requires skill. For most consumers, you will need the assistance of professionals, which makes it a costly affair. Another downside to retiling is the fact that it is a relatively slow process, meaning you might not be able to fully use your bathroom for several days.

Installing Panels on Top of the Tile

An alternative to retiling is to install solid panels on top of the tile. This is a solution offering several benefits. You can achieve a modern look this way and there is a plethora of colors, styles, and designs available. You can choose to alter the shape of your bathtub area and install new features, such as a built-in soap dish. When it comes to the price, it will greatly depend on whether you choose to install the tub surround panels yourself or if you hire the help of professionals. Doing it yourself is a relatively affordable option, while a professional solid surface panel installation is a luxurious and expensive solution. If you choose to utilize do it yourself tub surrounds, you can further lower the price, by choosing acrylic tub surrounds, a cheaper option compared to fiberglass surrounds.

Updating your tub surround is a great way to modernize your bathroom. The best way to do it depends on factors such as your budget, handyman skills, patience, and sense of style.

Tagged with: acrylic tub surrounds • bathroom tub surrounds • tub surrounds

Wet Rooms – Why Would You Want One?

On 04.18.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

Here are some of the advantages of wet rooms:

It is easy to achieve a modern style with this bathroom design.
If it is not the primary restroom in the home your home’s value will increase with its addition.
They have amazing space efficiency because of their open floor plan, making them perfect for bathrooms with limited space.
While some people like to have walk in showers in their wet room by adding a walk in shower enclosure, but if you don’t then cleaning is much easier than a traditional bathroom.
Due to the needed waterproofing, the bathroom floor will be more fortified from water damage.

Here are some of the disadvantages to having a wet room:

If your linens are not secured away from the reach of the water you could find your towels and other toiletries get too wet to use.
This isn’t a do it yourself project. To keep your home from suffering water damage an experienced installer is necessary to correctly waterproof the room.
They can cost a good size financial investment initially. Part of this is due to the tile which covers every part of the room, and because some kinds of the tile may also require occasional resealing.
If you don’t already have a main bathroom, or do not have a bathtub in your wet room, it can potentially reduce the value of your home to a prospective buyer.

As you can tell from reading the advantages and disadvantages to owning a wet room, there are some important points to consider before you make a decision on whether or not you want to have one in your home. They are a luxurious showering experience, however. Something that you will never get from a review online or information that you read from home improvement publications is what it is really like to experience a wet room shower. Before you pass on getting one or decide to install one you should see if you can find an upscale hotel or spa which will allow you to use their facilities. This way you can connect to the shower experience from a more personal level and not just a list of information compiled and put together for your reading or buying experience.

Tagged with: walk in shower • walk in shower enclosure • walk in shower enclosures • wet room • wet rooms

Make Your House Feel Warm with Walk in Shower

On 04.10.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

Most new apartments offer a “cookie-cutter” design for the whole house, including the bathroom. Basic fixtures give your bath a cold and generic feeling that sometimes results to the whole house feeling bland, cold and generic. Designing your bath to personalize it is a lot cheaper than remodeling your whole house. Personalizing your bathroom can really make your house feel like home.

Here are some ideas on how to personalize your bathroom on a budget.

First lesson, budget is important but it is not everything. When working with a small budget, you can concentrate on adding color to your bath and putting in accent by changing some of the fixture. A lot of people don’t even try because they think redesigning or personalizing the bathroom will cost a lot of money.

Second, you need to be clear on what you really want. If you are still unclear on the specifics of the shower design, you should do research. You can go online and look for some ideas. Try looking for color combinations that you like. Ideally, the color used in the bathroom should be relaxing.

Don not be overwhelmed by the options available to you. Writing things down and making a checklist of the things you want to do should help. After completing your checklist, compare it to the budget available. You can prioritize items on your checklist according to your available budget. By sticking with your checklist, you will avoid going overboard, going over budget and being overwhelmed.

I mentioned earlier about colors. Having a color motif for your design will help in tying together the whole space and not make the bathroom looked cluttered. Think of your bathroom as our living room. Usually, the color of your sofa will dictate the color of the rest of the things in the room. So one thing you can do is put in a prefabricated walk in shower.

There are a lot more options available nowadays for someone looking at pre fabricated walk in shower enclosure. They come in a lot colors and finishes. Then from there, just like in the case of your living room, you can start matching the towels, soap dish and other bathroom fixtures to match with your walk in shower design. If you already have an existing walk in shower, you could just replace the dials and faucets to highlight what ever color motif you have chosen.

The bottom line here is that this is your own bathroom. Whatever you decide on should please your taste.

Tagged with: shower • shower design • shower enclosure • walk in shower • walk in shower enclosure

Heated Toilet Seats – Early Morning Comfort

On 03.21.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

Looking for a little warm comfort on those cold or even cool mornings? Of course you are. I know this sounds a little ridiculous, but don’t you hate having to sit on a cold toilet seat in the morning (or middle of the night for that matter)? It’s just not right. But there is a way to end that uncomfortable feeling. You can now shop and find heated toilet seats.

Yes they do make them and they have become very popular over the last few years.

We all hate that cold hard seat in the morning. It’s uncomfortable and does give ya a bit of a jolt. This is a very simple solution this problem.

How does a heated toilet seat work?

They come with a regular plug that you simply plug into any bathroom socket. Your bathroom is probably already equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter. In my area all bathrooms must have this for safety purposes. Anyway you just plug in the seat and warming is just a few minutes away.

These seats will generally warm up to 90-95 degrees. It will feel comfortable to you since it’s almost your body temperature. Although some models also come equipped with various temperature settings, some can go all the way up to 104 degrees.

You can find heated seats in the larger home improvement stores from household names such as Kohler and Toto who make quality products. If you shop online you should be able to find heated toilet seats starting at about $35.

UL laboratories rate heated toilet seats so they meet safety standards. They do not use much power at all so you don’t have to worry about a rising electric bill. One website says that their seat only uses about as much energy as 2 night-lights, so that’s very little power.

Heated toilet seats come in many colors and styles so it should be easy for you to find one that goes with your bathroom décor. Installation is easy, just using a regular screwdriver and you can replace your old cold seat in about 10 minutes.

Give yourself a treat in the morning. Check out heated toilet seats online.

Tagged with: heated toilet seats • kohler heated toiled seats • Toto heated toilet seats

Shower Base Installation: The Basics

On 03.16.10, In Bathroom, By Stevie Wonder

When you are shopping for a shower base, you should definitely consider purchasing a tile ready model. Building your own base can wind up being very tedious, not to mention extremely time consuming. Building a shower pan from scratch is not ideal. When you purchase a pan or base that is already constructed, you have not only saved yourself some time, you have also saved yourself some expense.

Building a pan from scratch requires a certain degree of skill. Chances are you will not be able to do this yourself, and will have to hire the work out to a professional. This is an added expense that you do not need to incur. The traditional method of shower base construction consists of the building of several different layers of base, so that no water can get below your shower, and reach the floor construction underneath. Even a drop of water, can do extensive damage to the core structure of your home.

In order to understand why a tile ready shower base is so important, you must understand that water will get below the surface of a tiled shower. Preventing a small amount of water from going through is virtually impossible to do. Grout will always allow for some water to get through, so a waterproof layer must be installed in all shower bases. But this waterproof layer is quite tricky to install. It is truly impossible for an amateur to complete this task sufficiently. Getting the liner into place is something that only a professional can do.

The ideal positioning for the water proof layer is determined by the mortar shower base. When these two elements are fitted correctly, they are attached to the drain properly. But if you get a tile ready shower base, you will find that everything is fitted for you, and you might even be able to complete your own shower installation in very little time. This makes buying a tile ready shower base the most economical and time saving solution.

Tagged with: shower base • shower base installation • shower bases • shower installation • showers

Exciting Ideas For Walk In Showers

On 01.26.10, In Bathroom, By Sarah

If you are looking to add a distinctive flavor to your new bathroom then you might want to think about installing a walk in shower, or one without doors. If so then you will no doubt want a few ideas about what options are available to you. This article will take a look at three of my favorite designs that need cost the earth but will give your home a touch of class.

Retro Art Deco Geometric – ideas for showers without doors can be inspired by the past, by the clean lines or curves of retro 60’s architecture or by Art Deco glass and geometric shapes. Walk in showers designers have incorporated retro ideas even in small apartments by enclosing the shower area with a curved wall made entirely of glass blocks that let the light pass through. This creates a closed space yet required no formal doors that close since the curve itself as a protection. The showerhead will be placed behind of inside the area that is created by the one curved wall. Use colored glass blocks for a more art deco feel and stagger the blocks in geometric patterns to add a touch of personality.

Natural Stone Garden Waterfall – no you needn’t be a millionaire to use showers without doors that incorporate a waterfall over stone. Build the area entirely with stone or stone tile. Have the masons create a feature wall with more rustic stone. Build in a bench on the lower portion of the feature wall and have it covered with stone tile. Place adjustable dual or triple showerheads above it. It’s not really a waterfall, but you can sit on the built-in bench and point the showerheads toward your back or to cascade off the wall and flow around you. Do not close the space with any doors. The floor should be slanted toward the drain.

Turkish or Moorish Bathhouse – using the idea of ancient open bathhouses for a walk in tile showers style can incorporate the use of an arched area over the entry but with no doors, a mosaic tile floor and decorative wall tile in Moorish motifs that are subtle of bold. The ideas for walk in showers that work the best are those that make a room more than just a place to quickly stand and get the dirt off your body. The bathhouse concept should incorporate the relaxed nature of bathing by creating a mosaic tile seat or a lower area in the floor where the water may pool before swirling down the drain. The simplest idea is simply to use mosaic tile and incorporate and arch somewhere and it will have a bathhouse feel. And no mater what don’t add a door!

Tagged with: ideas for showers without doors • Ideas For Walk In Showers • Walk In Showers • walk in tile shhowers • wet room

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