Posts Tagged ‘Closets’

Small Bathroom Ideas – 5 Ideas for a Small Bathroom

December 27th, 2009

Small bathroom ideas for a small bathroom remodeling or building project can help make the best use of the bathroom space. Small bathroom ideas deal with the special challenges that small spaces present. Fortunately, there are creative ways to use ideas for a small bathroom space that you may not have considered.
Are you looking to redesign and remodel an existing bathroom? Or are you building a new bathroom where the space will be limited? Even with a smaller bathroom, good design provides you a grooming room for the mornings or before going out and a space to relax in after a long day. This room is usually one of the smallest spaces in the home and one of the more expensive ones as well.
Here are five small bathroom ideas to consider as you are planning the room:
1. Location – if you are planning to add a small bathroom to your home and want to avoid major plumbing expenses, try to locate the new bathroom close to an existing room that already has plumbing installed like the kitchen or laundry. If your home has different floors, stack the bathrooms one over the other. This way, you can use the same plumbing lines for both the existing room and the new room which will save considerably.
2. Door Swing Direction – be sure that the door swings out and away from the bathroom, not into it. If the door swings into the room, the space that it needs to open will reduce the usable space. You do not want the door to be hitting the toilet, other fixture or person in the room. Consider using a sliding door as this kind of door will not require any floor space to open.
3. Storage – good small bathroom ideas will include a design that is free of clutter. Take advantage of nooks and corners to place storage baskets, shelves, cabinets, over the toilet storage, vanity and closets to help you organize the needed bathroom items. Towels, shampoos, soaps, magazines, hair dryers, medications, cleaning supplies, toilet paper and personal grooming accessories all need their own resting place. Good ideas for a small bathroom will use wall space and corner shelves wisely.
4. Corner Fixtures – using a space-saving corner pedestal sink can be one of the creative small bathroom ideas with limited space. There are attractive corner fixtures available that will provide similar functions as larger size units. Using a pedestal sink requires very little floor space or perhaps installing a wall hung sink or a corner bathroom vanity cabinet will be your best choice of fixtures. Corner toilet and corner shower units are also available that can perform well.
5. Humidity – moisture generated in small bathrooms can penetrate the ceiling, walls, floor and countertops. This lingering moisture could become a problem if you do not invest in a properly-sized ventilating fan to get rid of odors and moisture. Ventilating fans are sized by the number of cubic feet of air they move each minute (cfm). A good ventilation system that can move the air from the bathroom to the outdoors about eight times per hour means that the bathroom will have the moist air removed in 7 or 8 minutes time.
Be sure your bathroom exhaust fan is quiet and that it vents to the outside and not into the attic. Fans are rated in ‘sones’ based on how much noise they produce when operating. A rating of ’1 sone’ means that the fan is the quietest while higher sone-rated numbers indicate a noisier fan.
Enjoy the planning process, learn all you can and let your imagination go as you collect and implement your small bathroom ideas. Having an attractive and functional bathroom reflecting your personal style means you will have a special place to enjoy for many years to come.
Copyright 2007 InfoSearch Publishing

How to Choose Bathroom Theme Accessories

December 22nd, 2009

If you feel like countless other folks who consider their bathroom to be nothing more than a shiny glare of fixtures and tile, try re-thinking how your bathroom can be. It is not that difficult to do, since all you need is your imagination to figure how you want it to look and feel. Here are a few design tips on bathroom theme accessories that will warm up the bathroom in no time.
Bathrooms, like every other room in a house, should be themed because it gives the space a mood and adds your personality to your little corner of the world. It is where you can say, by design, what is most important to you. There are hundreds of design themes to pick from, including country, dolls, sea life or even villas on the Mediterranean. The choice is yours, so choose the theme that you want. It is a good idea to pick a theme that matches, or at least correlates with other design styles in your home. That way, it will not be too busy, or out of tune with other areas of the house.
If you have a bathroom that small, you are not out of sync with others since bathrooms in older homes were literally carved out of small closets. Even if you are one of the unfortunate ones that do have a tiny bathroom, you can still decorate for color. Remember though, that with small bathrooms, less is often better. Your color scheme can be paint or wallpaper, but if the space is small, a neutral paint or paper color can be used on either one wall, or as an accent on a chair rail. You can choose to paint a traditional white, and accent with color using various decorating accessories such as framed prints, shells, baskets, rug throws, and window treatments to name but a few. .
Warm rust tone of paint or paper work very well with plants in the bathroom, but choose plants that like steamy warm conditions, and that can tolerate the different chemicals. Some plants just cannot take the mousse, hairspray, and perfumes that are regularly used in a bathroom. It will gum up the plants on the leaves and they will end up in your trashcan. If your bathroom is large enough, you can hang plants from the ceiling, or put them on the back of the toilet. Large garden style tubs have ample space on the rim of the tub to place tiny planets, and with bath soaps and baskets, they look lovely.
Towels and rugs are important when decorating your bathroom. Deep plush or hand woven rugs add a touch of elegance. However, be careful when placing rugs on slippery linoleum or tile because a nasty fall can be the result. Look for rugs that have a lined backing of rubber to prevent falls. You can coordinate the rugs with the bathroom mat in alternating or matching colors as well. Using different textures that match your theme will give the bathroom a little extra touch of warmth. Do not think you are limited on textures because when they are combined with a neutral backdrop, they make a bathroom homey and inviting to be in.
Lighting is important in a bathroom as well. The first consideration is for safety of course, but when the room is not being used, nightlights can be left on and your cabinet tops could be used for a small lamp. Lamps can match your theme and so can your nightlights. You can decorate them, or buy them already fixed up with your theme. Of course, this all depends on if you have enough counter space, but it is a great decorating idea for a theme.
Towel racks are another way to pizzazz up your bathroom. Decorative racks with colorful towels make a bathroom stand out. You can find towel racks in different shades of wood, bronze, silver or gold. Many folks paint their own wooden racks, and match their baskets and picture frames with them.
Finally, take time and read a few decorating books on bathrooms. Look at their designs and see the many different ways to theme your bathroom. Use their designs for inspiration so your own creative juices will get flowing. It is okay to be uniquely you when decorating your bathroom, so go for it! You will never know what other themes take your fancy until you check them out when trying to decorate your bathroom at home.