Understanding Bathroom Design - Environmentally Friendly Design

Professional bathroom designers are masterful at merging both function and form to create breathtaking results. In this eight-part series which I call "Understanding Bathroom Design," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top bathroom designers to explain this exciting field. This fifth article focuses on eco-design.


I often say that the hottest colour in London bathroom design today is "green" – and by that I mean enviro-friendly design! Excitingly, it is also a great way to save money, perfect for today's challenging economic situation. Did you know that an environmentally-friendly bathroom design reduce water, heating and consumables costs?


Many top bathroom designers will recommend the use of special low-flow showers, taps or lavatories in order to save water. London bath emporiums will often stock new designs that perfectly combine efficiency with style. A recent hotel-inspired trend is to include urinals in bathroom designs - a perfect way to use less flushing water.


Floor coverings are a critical part of environmentally-compatible bathroom design choices. I try to buy local London-made floor coverings whenever possible. Natural linoleum is often fabricated using oils, cork and limestone, with eco-friendly waterproofing thanks to a plant-derived wax surface coating. For bathroom designs that require wooden flooring, I recommend bamboo, because this fast-growing woody grass quickly regenerates in the wild and therefore has a small eco-footprint.


Although the London cabinetry centres of old have long since moved outside the city, bathroom designers can still source local-made cupboards from not far outside London. But to reduce air pollution, I recommend eliminating any products that contain formaldehyde from the list of options.


In the next article in my series "Understanding Bathroom Design," I'll focus on a true designer's highlight that has recently become a huge hit in London bathroom designs – the standalone vessel-style washbasin.



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