One of the things that adds the most value to a home, both in terms of money and adding options and functionality to the people who live there, is an additional bathroom or washroom facilities. This may be in the form of an en suite, converting a box or storage room into a bathroom or even adding a cloakroom under the stairs. By adding an additional toilet and basin in another room you free up the bathroom for use just for the bath and shower and also means you can direct visitors to a room they don’t have to traipse through the entire home to get to.
When it comes to adding this additional washroom, you may find that you have to look to more innovative products in order to maximise the space available and actually get the functionality you need into a smaller area. Just because you can’t fit in a conventional bathroom suite it doesn’t mean that you have to give up all hope of adding an extra washroom and making your home more attractive and more useful.

When it comes to choosing the basin for the room, consider vanity units which may have a smaller basin as well as adding some much needed storage into a smaller space. If this isn’t an option or is not to your personal taste then there is also wall mounted basins which have a range of different shapes and sizes and means that you don’t need to have the room on the floor for the basin, just a space on the wall. This allows you to hang a basin on a wall where the floor may be partially obstructed. Some of these basins also come in a corner design, where they can fit within the corner of the room if there is no other space available.

Toilets, too, are products where innovations allow you to place them in a smaller or more awkwardly arranged area than you might think. There are toilets that can have hidden or wall recessed cisterns. This means that your toilet cistern can go in a piece of furniture with a useful storage area on the top, in a combined piece of furniture that sits alongside a vanity unit to provide storage, a basin and useful counter space or even hidden within a wall to make the fullest use of the room. Toilets also come in designs that allow them to fit within the corners of the room or even be wall mounted if there is something on the floor or lower part of the wall preventing them from reaching all the way down.
Typically, a cloakroom suite contains some variation of basin and toilet. It could contain a vanity unit and toilet with hidden cistern, be one of the combined vanity unit and toilet pieces of furniture or be made of two hanging wall units. Buying both of them together like this saves money and ensures that the pieces match together in terms of design and colour.

One of the most important items in your bathroom is the bathroom mirror. Sadly, it is often overlooked and sometimes solely confined to the front of an awkwardly placed medicine cabinet. However, placed correctly, a mirror can transform a bathroom as well as adding functionality in a host of ways. Some of which are obvious and some of which are not.

A mirror is an essential part of any grooming routine. It enables you to see when you have lint from a towel caught on your face, work out how best to style your hair, if you have a trace of toothpaste left around your mouth or apply make up or shave. For this reason, you need one that it is large, clear and sensibly placed. Usually they are hung over a basin, as many of the tasks that you may need a mirror for you also need a basin for.

Mirrors should also be well lit. If you don’t have enough light then they will reflect back a shadowy figure, which won’t actually help you work out how you look. The second thing about them being well lit is that they reflect the light. This makes the mirror an effective secondary light source and can create illumination where there may otherwise not be any and lighten the room as a whole.

This illumination, reflected back into the room, makes the room as a whole appear larger and brighter. It makes the room more attractive and welcoming, You can buy mirrors with their own illumination, either built into the back of the mirror itself or as part of the surround. This is especially useful when concentrating on a task where shadows can cause problems, for instance when you apply make up and a shadow may be mistake for a blemish or poor lighting means that you don’t know what tone you are looking for. Ideally you need bright, all round light to give you the best effects.

Illumination is not the only reason that a mirror makes a bathroom look bigger, however.  By reflecting back the entire of the bathroom within the mirror’s pane, the bathroom looks far more spacious. This gives the bathroom a false depth that it doesn’t really have and is another good reason to make sure that the mirror is placed somewhere where it is often seen and that the mirror is as large and as good quality as possible.

Many different styles of mirrors are available, ranging from those which are sympathetic to a traditional bathroom to those which fit perfectly in a modern home. As a single addition, they can transform a room like no other, and they are inexpensive yet vital part of any bathroom.

Creating a contemporary bathroom is a great way to provide your home with a stunning focal point and will be a place where you can look forward to coming home to after a long day. Contemporary bathrooms are all about sleek, streamlined styling and feature the latest in bathroom product design, which will really add that wow factor to any type of home. A contemporary style can be created in any shape or size of bathroom if planned and designed well and will provide you with a place where you can truly unwind and relax.

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Discover the best bathroom decorating ideas with our favorite looks.

WALL TRENDS

Decorative splashbacks for a basin or bath, completely splashproof stylish wallpaper stripes with antibacterial finishes, modern textured surfaces, rich tile tones and bold shades of paint all represent the latest wall coverings. Individually they can update your space and create depth through contrasting finishes and countours to bring life to a minimalist white suite.

STATEMENT BATHROOM FURNITURE

If you’re looking to create the wow-factor with a contemporary shaped furniture unit, take a look at the conical shapes. Choose from either high gloss Black or White PVC & MDF. For added versaility team it with a mirrored option.

FREESTANDING FEATURE

Freestanding baths make a real style statement and work particularly well in a contemporary scheme.

STATEMENT PIECE

Perfect for a period-style bathroom, the elegant double ended slipper bath  with chrome feat and is an ideal choice if you wish to add a touch of Victorian charm to your bathroom.