When it comes to choosing a bathroom suite your main components are (of course) the bath, basin and toilet. You may add in a shower, either as a replacement for the bath or an addition to it, but this is generally the configuration that is available to you. Of these components the most time is spent on deciding on the bath and shower and the toilet and basin are usually chosen to be sympathetic to the larger pieces in the suite. This isn’t necessarily a bad of choosing the suite but it does sometimes overlook the options available to you.

When it comes to choosing a bathroom suite, whatever you decide to do in terms of bath and/or shower consider getting a vanity unit in place of the basin, especially if you are going to buy a modern suite or use fitted bathroom furniture.

A vanity unit is basically a basin sat atop a cabinet. It takes up a very similar footprint to a pedestal basin as it is the width of the basin all the way down to the floor. They tend to look more angular than a pedestal, which may be in keeping with the look that you are going for if you want a more minimalist or modern bathroom. The big advantage that they have, however, is that they allow you to add a great deal of storage to the bathroom as a whole, and the basin area in particular, without necessarily impacting on the floor space available to you or making the room feel more crowded.

Because the vanity unit takes the place of the basin it is an ideal place to store extra towels that you can swap out when drying your hands, and extra toiletries and bits and pieces that you find yourself needing around the sink like tooth paste, toothbrushes, soap and mouth wash. It means that you don’t have to run around or go searching should you need a clean towel or to replace toothpaste and it keeps things out of sight and stops them cluttering up your bathroom and ruining your eye-line.

If you are adding fitted furniture to the bathroom anyway then the vanity unit is a particularly good choice as it can match with the rest of the furniture and even slot in-between standard cabinets so that the only visible difference is the basin on top. If space allows you could even consider using multiple vanity units as a great way of increasing storage space as well as allowing more than one person to brush their teeth or wash their hands at once. This is particularly desirable in busy households.

For many people the image of freestanding baths is forever entwined with an old fashioned enamelled bath on feet on a wooden floor in a room full of old fashioned furnishings and decoration. Although a great many freestanding baths are traditionally designed, and beautiful with it, it is also possible to find much more modern designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a minimalist or post-modern home.

Traditional freestanding baths incorporate feet to raise the bottom of the bath from the floor and, when choosing one, pick feet that tie to the other fittings in the room. Typically this may include things like towel rails, toilet flushes and door handles. The baths themselves may be of a double ended, roll top or slipper design and you should pick one with lines and curves that marry to the rest of the fittings in the bathroom. Bear in mind that a lot of traditional basins and toilets tend to be more ornate than their modern equivalents, but a bath with that level of ornate detailing will look odd and overly fussy. Usually all taps and wastes are external fittings so the bath will have pipes running alongside it which will impact on where you can place it and the layout of the room overall.

Modern freestanding baths tend not to incorporate feet or are on feet that are more plainly designed. They may sit on the floor directly and will not always have an exposed bottom. They usually have sleeker lines and a more minimalist line. They are available in angular designs or more curvilinear shapes, depending on whether you want to evoke a bubble or block in your overall design. They can have internal wastes and taps so there is nothing to detract from the line of the bath and to simplify plumbing.

When placing freestanding baths please be aware that they usually need space around them, both for things like plumbing and access and generally to make sure that they don’t look odd within the room. For this reason they tend to be used in larger rooms, although there are now some innovative designs that are smaller and clever decoration will enable you to put them in a more confined space.

Freestanding baths have benefited from the advances in technology in manufacturing, whatever their design. Many are now made from an innovative dual layer process whereby two layer of thick acrylic make the internal and external sides of the bath, with an insulation layer between them. The acrylic is further reinforced with fibreglass and the bottom contains a bonded resin encapsulated base that is both very strong and thermally excellent. Typically these baths remain warm to the touch and retain their heat incredibly well.

Whatever design you choose, you can be sure that you will benefit from the latest designs, incredible quality and great prices.

Baltimore County, in Maryland, USA is currently passing legislation to protect the rights of transgender people and prevent them being discriminated against. However, as often happens with complex legislation and public opinion when it comes to legislation that they don’t have the time to analyse, small details of the bill have become a source of contention for much of the population. The bill has become known as “the bathroom bill” because of the effect It would have on public toilets. In the face of the controversy local council members have made public toilet facilities and locker rooms exempt from the measures.

Apparently, in public consultation about the legislation, the fear of women being attacked by men in public toilets was cited as a reason for opposition to the legislation. Proponents of the legislation say that this is scaremongering by those trying to prevent it passing and say that similar laws have not seen any rise in such incidents being reported. They say that the law would add gender identity to existing discrimination laws that cover housing, workplaces and public spaces.

The amendment already has support from the majority of the council members, who want to make toilets, bath houses, dressing rooms, locker rooms and changing rooms exempt from the law. Other amendments on the table include making places of worship exempt from the law and one which allows employers to ensure that their employees dress appropriately for work within the constraints of the gender that they identify with.

More than 60 people attended the council meeting to make their voices heard; such was the depth of feeling on the issue. Supporters of the bill told of people who were fired from their jobs or even physically assaulted because they are transgender. In some cases parents spoke of their own experiences of having children who informed them that they were transgender.

One advocate of the bill showed graphic footage of a transgender woman being attacked when she tried to use a toilet at a local fast food restaurant. Mara Drummond said “I want this image to be in your head when you give people the power to police what bathrooms other people use.”

Opposition to the bill came from those who said that it was against their religion, who believed that it would lead to sexual assault of women in public toilets and that it would unleash a torrent of lawsuits against local business for perceived transgressions of the bill.

Obviously, with the privacy and intimacy of visits to the toilet, this is an issue that people will have an emotive and instinctive reaction to. It may not always be reasoned but it is something that is a closely held belief and inspires a lot of passion. It’s something that will affect every business in Baltimore County when they come to choose cloakroom suites to fit in their new bathrooms, working out if they are going to comply with legislation and making sure they don’t offend any of their patrons.

In the current economic climate it’s often hard to make ends meet. This is true all of us, but also large bodies and even educational establishments. As student numbers dry up, governments cut budgets everywhere they can and donors are less likely to dig in their pockets. Faced with these challenges many colleges and universities are looking for new revenue streams. One that many universities and colleges in the USA have decided to try is naming rights for toilet stalls. Or, as our American cousins call them, bathrooms.

Rather than writing rude messages, puerile humour or vindictive messages about their exes on the toilet walls and doors, donors can pay to have their names immortalised on the smallest room. No doubt this is where some profound thoughts are formed amongst some great minds, but it does seem unconventional to immortalise your name on a toilet rather than on a statue or even a bench.

In the American state of Utah, a donation of $2,000 to the Dixie State College you can have your name emblazoned on a toilet stall. Initially this was for the toilets in a new building intended for a musical theatre troupe. Unfortunately uptake was unexpectedly slow and the building was not completed and the troupe is unfortunately out of business.

However, this isn’t an isolated effort. The prestigious Harvard Law School has opened the the Falik Men’s Room. The prestigious Boston, Massachusetts based Ivy League establishment is nothing like as reasonable as its Utah competition and William Falik donated some $100,000 to his old school in an effort to heighten public awareness of a fellowship named after his father. For a donation that size Steven Oliveira, Harvard Law’s dean for development and alumni relations, said that the organisation was happy to go along with the donor’s wishes. “We thought it was kind of tongue in-cheek and we were willing to do it,” said Oliveira.

Not all universities are quite so willing to accept donations for this kind of naming. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was apparently approached by an ex student of their’s called Brad Feld about a decade ago looking to name some toilets in exchange for a donation. They refused.

Feld was not deterred, however, and managed to get a toilet named after him at the University of Colorado in their Boulder science building. John Bennett, Director of the university’s Alliance for Technology, Learning & Society, John Bennett, approached Feld and offered him the chance to sponsor a campus toilet for $25,000 after hearing that he had been rejected by MIT. Feld lives in Boulder and agreed immediately. Obviously he wasn’t deterred by the perceived status of the toilet when it comes to having his name on the building and the college could get a lot of cloakroom suites with that money.

Not a day goes by, seemingly, without hearing about metal thieves inconveniencing others or even risking lives when they take metal that doesn’t belong to them. The London Olympics apparently could see spectators delayed based on the fact that the local rail network sees thefts every day. Electricity networks and even gas supplies are regularly disrupted by people stealing piping and cables. The government has noticed the problem exists and is considering legislation to combat it. Of course, the problem is driven by the relatively high price of scrap metal and people feeling the need to make quick money.

In Ohio, USA, the problem has even spread to public toilets and the cloakroom suites in restaurants and bars: thieves are stealing plumbing and fixtures to weigh it in and causing damage that far exceeds what they could possibly hope to get from the scrap metal merchant. Police in the state, specifically the Upper Arlington police division, are investigating a string of thefts in the central part of Ohio in a number of different businesses.

Heather Galli, a community relations/crime prevention officer with the Ohio police says that the thefts have happened in a number of cities and has urged citizens to be alert and report any suspicious behaviour. One of the thefts took place on the 21st of January, where a thief actually managed to steal a copper urinal fixture from a restaurant. It’s hard to understand how someone could successfully manage to remove one of them and carry it out of the building without anyone noticing, but it is a sign of the scale of the problem that someone has managed to do so and then get away with it.

Of course, it isn’t just the fact that people are getting away with such thefts, or the damage that they cause (one assumes that it is causing flooding in the affected businesses), or even the cost of replacement or inconvenience to the other patrons that these crimes cause that is most striking: it is the health risk and sheer unpleasantness of the act of stealing a urinal. Who actually disconnects a urinal and then carries it out, with it dripping on them?

Hopefully, this will be a trend that doesn’t make its way across to Britain, but with the high price that scrap metal is currently commanding and people’s willingness to steal scrap, regardless of risk, inconvenience and morality, it is something that could be happening here. However, this seems to be something that is specific to unoccupied properties or high foot traffic areas, rather than private residences. You don’t have to go chaining up your bathroom just yet.

If you’ve ever received a call while in the bathroom and wondered whether to take it, or decided to check your text messages while on the toilet, you’re not alone: A recent survey of 1,000 smartphone users (conducted in America, but the findings are probably relevant the world over) by a company called 11mark has revealed that many smartphone users do use their devices in and on the toilet, although how often varies by type of device:

- A whole 7/8 of Android users (87%) admit to having used their phone on the toilet. Whether this is related to Android users being more likely to be male is unconfirmed.
- Fewer Blackberry users (84%) use their toilets in the smallest room, but they still represent a large percentage of the total userbase.
- Bringing up the rear, just over 3/4 of IPhone users (77%) actually use their phones on the toilet. Again, this could be because IPhones are more likely to be owned by women.

Apparently phones are used for pretty much everything. The study, entitled “IT in the Toilet” finds that people use their phones to text, make calls, email one another and even surf the web while on the toilet. Apparently this is indicative of how dependent on instant communication and connectivity we have all become, but could also be a sign of multi tasking in our hectic lifestyles. This measure of connectivity and mobile use is known as the “bathroom benchmark.”

It isn’t just the type of device that is a factor in mobile usage in the bathroom: the age of the user also makes a difference. 65% (About 2/3) of those aged 48-65 user their devices while in the bathroom but this figure rises to 91% (over 9/10) in the 18-30 year old segment.

Apparently men are more likely to use their phones for work related reasons when using their cloakroom suites whereas women use it more for recreation and social uses.

According to Nicole Burdette, a spokesperson for 11mark, “The writing is on the stall.” She goes on to say that “this study confirms what we all know; that the last private place is no longer private.” Regardless of the bad puns and toilet humour, it does seem clear that we’re becoming ever more connected and finding ways to infuse our visits to the bathroom with electronic entertainment, efficient working practices and social networking. Nicole, once more, states that “The ‘mobile-everywhere’ phenomenon is flushing out a host of new opportunities for savvy communicators.”

Of course, please be aware that any phone usage in the bathroom brings its own risks: phones are particularly susceptible to water damage so don’t go resting it on vanity units and then knocking it into a basin of water and being surprised when your phone stops working.

It is quite common for homeowners to choose to redesign their bathroom after they have lived there for a couple of years. After all, this is usually the time that they discover that the storage solutions for their bathroom are not what they had hoped. This is why many people turn to bathroom furniture as a way to save space in the bathroom. After all, nobody wants to come into their bathroom only to discover that there is shampoo and conditioner as well as hairspray bottles lying all over the place. Instead, they want to make sure that all of these items are securely put away so that they do not have to look at them. This is why many people turn to vanity units as a way to put items out of sight. Of course, you want to make sure that you have enough space in your bathroom for this item before you go ahead and make the purchase.

There are plenty of different sizes and styles available. It is all going to depend on what you are looking for. Whether you are looking for something that is wood, chrome, or even plastic. Any one of these is going to look absolutely amazing. It all depends on the taste that you have for your home. Make sure the furniture you pick matches with your existing bathroom suite and fittings whether you have one of our many shower bath suites, separates or even a bathroom built around one of our freestanding baths.

The next thing that you want to keep in mind is the fixtures on your washbasin as well as your towel holders that are hanging on the wall. If you are careful with your choosing, you can tie everything perfectly together. Of course, this may take some time because you will have to shop around and make sure that you are making the best possible choices.

After you have found everything that you would like to use, you are going to want to complete the look with tiny fixtures such as door handles and light switches. This is something else that comes in a wide variety. The most important thing that you can do for yourself is to shop around and make the best choice the first time.

Last but not least, you need to keep in mind the amount of cash that you have in your budget. Of course, we all have a budget that we need to stick to. Because of this, there are plenty of light fixtures as well as other bathroom accessories that come in many shapes and sizes. It is comforting to know that we can easily create a beautiful bathroom if we are willing to get creative.

By choosing to install a shower in your home, you are not only going to be living a more convenient lifestyle, but you will also be improving your property value. Because of this, there are a number of things that you need to be aware of before you begin shopping for showers and accessories.

Consider the fact of whether or not there has been a shower in this room in the past. If there has already been a shower in this room, things are going to be much easier for the contractor. Adding a shower to an existing bathroom will be easier than a room which has no water supply at all, but a room that has had a shower in previously will be easiest.

The next thing that you want to keep in mind is where the main water supply is for the home. It needs to be easily accessible so that you can tap in to the main pipe. Otherwise, you are not going to have a lot of water pressure and your shower will not be very enjoyable.

You want to make sure that you have plenty of extra space so that you can have moving room in your bathroom as well as a way to open and close the doors on your shower. Nothing would be worse than to find out that you spent all this time and money only to discover that the doors would not open. Often people get around this type of problem by fitting a cubicle with sliding shower doors rather than those which swing open.

Consider checking with a contractor to find out what type of shower is going to work best for your home. After all, there are a number of different possibilities that you may or may not be aware of. You want to find out the different options that are available before you get started with the remodeling process.

These are only the basic things that you need to know. A good contractor will be able to answer any questions that you may have at this time. There are three different types of showers that you are going to be able to choose from. They are a mixer, a power shower, and an electric shower.

A mixer shower is going to allow you to turn on both the hot and cold water at the same time. By doing this, you will be able to determine your own temperature without any problems.

An electric shower is perfect for a home that does not have a large hot water tank. After all, the water will be heated in the pipes and come out of your shower head. Because of this, there is a good chance that you are not going to run out of hot water anytime soon.

A power shower is a great way to use electricity to increase the amount of water pressure that you have coming out of your faucet. It is best to contact a local professional and find out what type of shower is going to work best for your situation. Make sure that you get a shower fixture that is not only going to be convenient for your lifestyle, but also energy efficient.

While the toilet might seem like an irrelevant bathroom design element, it is likely one of the most vital pieces in the bathroom’s interior. Thus, it is exceedingly important to choose a toilet and toilet seat that coordinates with your bathroom and sufficiently accommodates the needs of all those who will be using it. People can currently purchase a toilet seat in a number of different shapes, finishes and sizes. Whether looking for a bold black toilet suite or a wall hung toilet, there is something out there to fit your needs.

There is a broad range of traditional and modern looking toilets that are available for purchase. The look that you want in your bathroom will ultimately determine the type of toilet that you choose. Modern toilets tend to be rounder and minimalist and usually have a finish that is bright white. These help to add a contemporary appeal to the bathrooms that they are installed in. When it comes to finding a suitable toilet seat, the basic white seat is a good option, but there is a broad range of novelty seats that you can choose from as well including seats with wooden finishes. If you are seeking a toilet seat that is more traditional in appearance, this is a great way to bring elements from the Victorian era into your home. A black or wooden toilet seat may be the ideal option for a traditional bathroom suite and both will maintain their style beautifully.

If you are simply seeking to replace your existing toilet seat, then you still have a vast range of options to choose from. Most of the latest designs remain compatible with older fittings. One of the most popular styles in modern toilet seats is the soft close toilet seat. These look perfect in modern bathrooms and the included soft close hinges help to protect the structure from breakage by preventing them from being slammed closed.

There are also family toilet seats which are constructed with a number of layered seats sitting atop one another. These are perfect for potty training toddles and will accommodate the adults in the home as well.

When attempting to give your bathroom a new, fresh look, replacing your toilet seat is one of the most affordable and effective ways for doing so. You can even update some of your smaller accessories such as your bath panels, soap dishes, toilet paper holders and others. This helps you to invigorate the style of the room without having to spend a tremendous amount of money. You can even replace some of the existing small-sized bathroom furniture with coordinated cloakroom suites as well. If you are purchasing a brand new toilet you will find that most of these come with basic white seats, however, you can replace yours with something that is better suited to your tastes and personal style, quite easily.

Murphy’s Law, while annoying and pessimistic, is usually true: “anything that can go wrong, will.” Bathroom design is no exception to the law. Luckily, knowing what to do and how, as well as taking the necessary precautionary steps, can still do quite a bit to prevent disaster. Here are seven mistakes most people make in bathroom design and (hopefully) how you can avoid them.

The biggest and most common mistake is improper installation of hardware and fixtures. Everything from the shower to the overhead light needs to be installed correctly, you could have some costly and possibly dangerous mistakes.

Miscalculating your budget is another very common mistake made in bathroom design. Sometimes this comes from not realizing the actual cost of the supplies, but more often than not it happens because of unforeseen events or mishaps. To prevent this, set your budget to what you believe it “should” be, and then add an extra 15 – 20% as a cushion against unforeseen expenses. Although you may have chosen one of our many cheap bathroom suites, you still have to pay to have it installed and deal with all those incidental costs that you didn’t originally bargain for. As you are designing or redesigning, you may come across mold, faulty electrical wiring, or old plumbing can crop up and cause you to spend more than you had planned – leaving you to cut back on those little luxuries you had wanted!

Insufficient ventilation – It can be very easy to get caught up in the artsy side of designing a bathroom and forget some of the basics of building a functional one. A bathroom needs to have adequate ventilation and lighting or can quickly become impractical or dangerous. Improper lighting can lead to falls once the shower steam builds up and it is hard to see, and improper ventilation means your bathroom is just begging for mold. Not to mention the need now and then for some fresh air to get in!

Improper space allocation – There is always a mix of science and art when it comes to using a space wisely, and bathroom design is no different. Small spaces can be made to feel artistic and comfortable with the right design, or cramped and claustrophobic with the wrong design. Planning covers everything from where to put things to what dimensions each element needs to have to what (and how much) to accessorize with. You need to take your time to get these elements right because it can be very costly to try and fix them later.

Not enough storage – Storage can sometimes be the furthest thing from your mind when designing a bathroom you’ll love, but living in it from day to day will quickly become frustrating without enough storage. You need areas like drawers, vanities, hooks and cabinets to hide away items when you are not using them and keep the bathroom looking open, inviting and clutter-free. These things are especially true if more than one person will be using the space.

Not thinking ahead – Following stylish fads or trends may be fun in the moment, but it can lead to failure and financial tragedy if you follow them blindly. Many styles today simply look great, but have little or no function to them – rendering your bathroom more frustrating than anything else. Unlike painting the walls or changing the sheets when you decide the current style isn’t working, changing a bathroom’s design is very labor intensive and costly. The more practical route is to choose designs and styles that are classic or timeless, and to choose elements in the bathroom that are not just cutting edge – but actually improve the use of the room.

Hurting the planet – These days, most items that use resources are designed to conserve those resources. Still, make sure you are getting water saving faucets and dual flush toilets at the very least. Not only is “going green” the hot new trend, many of these energy and water saving elements are predicted to become necessity in the future as the resources become more expensive to use. Other options to look for are energy saving light bulbs and flooring or carpet made of recycled or renewable materials.