The bathroom isn’t just for showering

Although the bathroom is one of the most frequented rooms in the home, decorating the bathroom can be a daunting task.

Usually smaller compared to other rooms, usually with a very small window that lets in very little natural light, the thought of decorating your bathroom can be intimidating considering the plumbing work to work around, and tiles and electrical cabling that may need to be ripped out.

There is also the risk of unreliable workmanship that can complicate the situation and forever bind you to calling the plumbers for repairs every so often.

With all this, you may decide to leave the bathroom as it is citing the old adage “If it’s working, don’t fix it”.

But having a wonderful bathroom is a real treat; this is where you start your day every morning and it should energise, refresh and reinvigorate you, ready for the day ahead.

It should also relax you and soothe away your problems in the evenings. It should not just be a place where you take your ten-minutes slot every day — make it a place where you can hang out, relax, and open up to all your senses as you see the light and colours, smell aromatherapy oils and perfumes, touch the rough and smooth surfaces, and even listen to the water and music.

With changes in lifestyle, builders now pay more attention to the layout of bathrooms, adopting master ensuite concepts, providing a second shower or bathroom where possible and creating better access to the bathrooms from other bedroom.

It is important to define what your needs for a bathroom are. You don’t have to stick to a bidet you never use when you could use the space for storage cabinets.

There is also no law that dictates that each bathroom must have a full sized bath, a separate shower cubical, basin, lavatory and bidet.

This is a dream layout in a hotel where the bathroom is the average size of a living room, but may not be necessary for your home if you never get to use some of these.

You may also be the type that prefers showering to bathing. If this is you, then you will be much better off fitting a full strength power shower in a luxury cubicle and do away with the bath tab and bidet to create space for this as well as for extra storage space.

While decorating your bathroom, keep in mind that unlike a bedroom or living room where furniture is free standing and easy to move, you will not have the luxury to rearrange the layout any time you feel like it, so you will have to depend on accessories to update your bathroom’s look.

It is therefore important to get the layout right at your first attempt. Here are a few other things that you should consider:

Colours

When it comes to bathroom fittings, white rules, as unbelievable as it may sound. It is clean, classic and feels like the most natural choice.

While choosing your colours for accessories and walls, be careful not to break up surfaces with too many patterns or changes of texture and colour.

Choose one colour or similar tones for the walls and ceilings and keep your tiles and floor designs minimally fussy. In small bathrooms, a palette of pale light shades is a good idea.

Avoid a very bright white as it may appear clinical against the white sanitary ware. Deeper contemporary neutrals such us taupe will add calm to the bathroom, blues and greens will reflect the room’s watery associations, while soft pinks will add warmth and give you a chance to create a more luxurious look. In a large bathroom, bright colours can be used.