As the weather begins to warm and daylight lingers a little longer each day we are fast approcahing the Summer months in South Africa. As a company with decades of collective bathroom design experience, we ask ourselves, "What are the latest trends in bathroom design?" "Which styles are timeless?" "Which styles are Fads?" "What do we recomend to our clients?"
In any design, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What we recomend isn't a standard to be followed, but rather a guide for those looking for inspiration, or ideas into what we believe will be timeless bathroom design for years to come.
We'll start with the different bathroom componenets, and explain what to look for when choosing your products.
You've got the bathtub, shower, toilet, basin, taps, and bathroom accesories (towel rail, toilet roll holder, robe hook, etc)
If you're doing a full remodel, or building from scratch, you've also got the flooring, walls, celining, & lighting.
The Bathtub is the centerpiece of your bathroom, and can make a statement! Even if you're not the bathing type, a beautiful freestanding bathtub will be impressive to potential buyers, and make your bathroom standout against the others. (Kitchens are the first things on buyers checklists, followed closely by bathrooms) If you've got the space, a freestanding bath will be a timeless centerpiece in your bathroom. New colours this season allow you to customize your bathtub in almost any imaginable colour. Colours for this season are: Rose Gold, Bronze, Matt Black, & Pewter.
The inside of the bath will always remain white, and its the exterior where you can add your colour. Custom colours are also an option, but are more expensive, and are diffciult to replicate in the future, should the need arise.
Showers have traditionally been tucked in the corner, wherever there was dead space or funky angles. They would be tiled from floor to ceiling, and have a chrome shower head with a concealed diverter below. Today's shower trends have changed, and give endless design opportunites. Floor to Wall tiles are no longer needed, as there are really great waterproofing products that can be plastered. There is also a slight cost savings when using the waterproof plaster, as you don't need tiles. If you've got spave, a simple shower panel provides a simple elegance, and is very cost effective. The traditional shower waste has been replaced with a shower channel. This increases the flow rate to the drain slightly. and allows a more subtle drop in elevation of the shower floor. A long shower arm, placed higher than the traditional spouts, with a rainfall head add a unique bathing experience. The shower diverters are still concealed, but don't have to be placed directly below the shower head. Sometimes moving this away from the shower head, will allow someone to turn the shower on without having to get their hands wet. Be strategic with the concealed shower mixer placement.
Toilets are often overlooked, but play an important aspect in bathroom design. If you're looking for style, than you have to get a toilet with a concealed cistern. There is no coparison in bathroom style between the tradtional closed coupled toilet suite, and a modern concealed cistern toilet. With a concealed cistern, there is the option of wall mounted or floor mounted. We prefer wall mounted, as its asthetically pleasing, and more hygenic, as you can easy clean beneath the toilet. The big change in concealed cisterns for this Summer are the vast amount of available push buttons. The South African market now has access to all different varieties of push buttons, from a rose gold to faux wood. The choice really depends on the rest of the bathroom componenets & colours. If you've got the budget to spend a little, we recomend a rimless toilet pan. These pans are more hygenic as there's no hidden cavity beneath the seat, and have good flushing capabilities.
Basins have been the most resistant to change through the years. You can make almost any basin design stylish with goof design. Free standing basins tend to be the most appealing, but drop in basins definately outperfrom free standing in functionality. A free standing basin will add an elevation change to the counter top, which can be very appealing. If you've got two basins on the counter, than its universally recomended to have them semitrical in distance between eachother and the edge of the counter top. If you've only got one basin, than symetrical or asymetrical will both work, it just depends on what look you're going for. As baths now come in a variety of colours, so do basins. If you want some colour, we recomend going with either the bath or the basin, but not both. Having both the bath and basins in a matching colour diminishes the Wow factor and in a small space, like a bathroom, can be a bit much.
Most tap styles are timeless, and you really can't go too wrong. A single lever mixer is classic and will last a very long time with minimal maintenance. Chrome is timeless, but if you've got a freestadning basin, and a wall behind, then a great look is a wall mounted black spout with mixer. When going for a bath filler, make sure to know how many litres your bath is, and the flow rate of the filler. Many times a great looking bath filler has too low of a flow rate to properly fill your bath. When flow rates are low, the hot water cools before the required amount of water is in, and you tend to have to pull the bath plug to release the warm water, and refill again with hot water.
In the end, a bathroom is personal, and there are an infinite amount of variations and ways to renovate it. Looking online for ideas is a great way to start, as well as going to a sanitary ware showroom. If you're fortuanete to be in the Gauteng area, then we invite you to come into one of our showrooms, and discuss your needs with a design consultant. Mention this blog post to them, and receive 10% off your entire order!
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