BathroomTalks!

Having a bathroom that is both sophisticated and high-style, as well as sustainable is much easier than you may think. Many modern designs are created with sustainability as their main component. Follow these simple steps and enjoy the bathroom where contemporary style and comfort leaves only a light environmental footprint. Pick a low-flow showerhead Low-flow fixtures use high pressure to deliver less water with more effect. Once you try low-flow, you’ll never want to return to your previous showering methods. These showerheads provide a pleasant showering experience with plenty of water pressure and enough water to remove the soap from your body and the shampoo from your hair, while still saving the excess water. Using these alone, an average family can save close to 11,000 litres of water per year. Try a steam shower Stretching 8 litres of water over more than twenty minutes, a steam shower makes for a luxurious and relaxing experience that can be a great alternative for long hot baths. Steam showers use relatively little water because any water that enters the unit is converted into steam. The unit heats water to steam, so it uses much less electricity than a water heater that supplies a jetted shower. These showers don't require a water heater upgrade as they easily retrofit to older showers. On the downside, for them to take effect, they need a fully enclosed shower unit and cannot be used with porous materials. Say goodbye to the tub Sad but true, the bathtub is a huge water waster. A full bath uses up to 250 litres of water while a five-minute shower takes from 35 to 95 litres, so try to replace the unsustainable tub for a water-saving shower. If your nightly pampering routine includes a leisurely candle-lit bath, try alternating the days that you sit and soak, or even leaving the bath for the weekends. Unblock the drains Natural materials and ingenious fixtures aside, a part of your bathroom sustainability and convenience lies in a less glamorous department, which is rarely given though before a problem appears. Many older homes in Australia were fitted with clay drain pipes, which, over the years, become encased in tree roots that not only reduce their effectiveness but may cause an environmental disaster if sewage is allowed to spill out. This is why it’s a good idea to contact a professional who will help you deal with any issues you may have, or examine your plumbing for potential future problems. This plumber in North Shore, for example, uses non-invasive methods for unblocking drains, which include CCTV cameras, root cutters, and high-pressure water jets. Use natural materials Natural materials in the bathroom are a popular choice because apart from being sustainable, they create a warm atmosphere that is at the same time noble and elegant. Among the eco-friendly choices, metal, porcelain, and glass can give you a sleek, modern-chic appearance, while natural stone accentuates the earthly nature of things. If you're considering stones, try to leave them loose. It's both a dynamic way to punch up the feel and create a textural effect. If you can't replicate the spa-like loose stone flooring, at least throw loose stones in a chic glass bowl and score a part of the feel. Introduce creative lighting With e few creative fixtures and taking advantage of natural light, you’ll be able to create the best possible appearance in your bathroom. Use talk lighting to specifically illuminate areas like vanity tops and mirrors, and decorative lighting to highlight specific areas like a niched nook or a green corner. A backlit mirror and under-cabinet lighting can also add to your bathroom’s light without diminishing practicality and eco-friendliness. These simple yet effective upgrades are a proof that even on a budget you can recreate a spa-like feeling in your bathroom, whether you’re building anew or renovating an old home.

While a bathroom renovation mostly depends on your goals and the team that you hire to perform the works, there’s so much that you, as a homeowner, can do in order to make this easier. By easier, we mean saving time and costs of the project as a whole. Moreover, we’re talking about a plethora of small, simple tasks that you do in order to minimize the damage, help out the team performing the works and get a lot quicker to the point at which you can start properly using your bathroom. Overall, here are four tips that will get you there the fastest. Come up with a plan The first and by far the most important thing that you need to do is come up with a plan. This plan depends on three things. The first one is your aspirations for the bathroom. The second one is your remodeling budget and the third one is the current state of your bathroom. You see, sometimes a bathroom remodel merely includes replacing tiles and a couple of fixtures. In other scenarios, you need to replace all your plumbing and this might require you to demolish certain parts of your bathroom. It also drastically adds to the cost of the project as a whole. It will also prolong the duration of the works, which may further inconvenience you. Start making some calls Once you have this figured out, you need to start organizing things and start looking for someone to do the actual work. Aside from the works themselves, you also need to make necessary orders (tiles, fixtures, etc.). The works themselves are just the tip of the iceberg. You also need to think about tasks like rubbish removal in the aftermath. This too is something that you could, in theory, figure out on your own, nonetheless, it’s simpler and quicker to just outsource this task, as well. Devise temporary solutions The next thing you need to take into consideration is the fact that your bathroom is essential for your day-to-day routine. This means that while it’s inactive, you’ll have to come up with a contingency plan. For instance, if you have a second bathroom, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem but more of a little inconvenience. It just might get a tad more crowded, which will temporarily make the situation in the house a tad harder to bear. On the other hand, if this is your own bathroom, you will have to take showers at work, at the gym or at your neighbors’ place. You can always brush your teeth in the kitchen sink and, provided that you have a mirror anywhere in the house, you can just take a container of water and rinse your razor in it. You can rent out a portable outdoor toilet, for the time being, thus resolving another major point of concern. Remove everything mobile Another thing you should do is clear everything out before you start with the actual works. This includes removing all mobile objects like soaps, shampoos, razors, washcloths, etc. Other than this, you can also safely remove the toilet seat, bathmats, trash cans, scales and anything that is placed on the floor. When it comes to your walls, you can try to remove the medicine cabinet but even if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, you could at least empty it out. This way, once the professionals finally arrive at your place, they’ll be able to start working right away. For reasons that we’ve discussed in the previous section, this gives you a huge time-saving advantage. Conclusion Of course, this is not all that you can do, seeing as how those who feel more comfortable with this sort of works can also remove the tiles, turn the water off and remove the shower doors/curtains. On their own, each of these tasks may feel small and insignificant but the difference that they make together will more than make the difference. All in all, your bathroom renovation should be on its way in no time.

A bathroom could be a mundane room in your home or it could be a place of indulgence and comfort. It’s up to you use small design and aesthetic changes to turn it into the latter. The key is to know how the bathroom will be used and to design around it. This doesn’t need to be an expensive investment but it needs to be one that you plan out with great care. That way, each item and each aesthetic choice will have its place in the bathroom. Organic accents Bathrooms could often feel a bit small and even claustrophobic. One of the ways of dealing with this is to add organic accents and make the bathroom feel more natural and thus more open and with enough room to breathe. This also gives you a variety of options in terms of design and aesthetic. This is mostly about adding wood and stone elements to your bathroom. What they will be is up to you and it depends on how much room and funds you have available. It’s these items that will make the bathroom appear warmer and more personal. Luxury furniture There used to be a time when bathroom lounges were the norm for the most luxurious bathrooms but then they fell out of favor. As is often the case, these retro features find ways to get back into fashion and this is the case with comfortable sofas and bathroom benches as well. The lounge areas only make sense if you have a large enough bathroom to accommodate them and if it’s lit well enough so that you can use it to its full potential. It’s also important to choose the furniture that can be used in a bathroom having in mind the moisture and the amount of fresh air you have. The tub The tub is the centerpiece of bathroom design and it should be chosen with both style and purpose in mind. If you’re planning to do a larger remodeling project, it might be best to install a freestanding tub since it’s a stunning feature but it requires you to remove tiles from the floor in order to install it. The tub could be used as a statement piece especially if you choose a large tub and if you’re ready to experiment with its shape and overall look. Black and white The color and décor are the last things to decide on but it’s still something you should have in mind during the whole remodeling since it’s the color scheme that will bind the whole bathroom together. Lately many decide to go with a minimalistic look for their bathrooms since it’s both clean and soothing. Black and white design will do the job. It’s a classic combination and it keeps the look neat and organized while not getting boring and mundane. With this color scheme, small details such as brass accents and faucets pop up even more and become more important. Chalkboard In the end, it’s the small and quirky details that will turn the bathroom into a place of your own. Items such as chalkboards or walls made to resemble chalkboards allow you to add a personal touch to the bathroom and to make it more versatile and changeable. This is especially true for family bathrooms that are used by a few people in the household. Each of the family members could add their own part to the wall or board and express their creativity. The bathroom design should be something you put some thought into since that’s a room that should be private, comfortable and indulgent. Don’t hesitate to go a bit outside of the box but with this goal in mind.