Professional bathroom designers are expert at combining purpose and aesthetics to craft astonishing designs. In this four-part collection of articles, "Bathroom Design Explained," I rely on my know-how gleaned from collaborating with London's Finest Bathroom Designers to explore this dynamic profession. This article discusses design for retirees.
Are the years finally starting to take a toll? Are you encountering difficulties in getting around your home? I have worked extensively with seniors and with the disabled in London, and it is always so rewarding for me to be able to transform homeowners' familiar spaces into wheelchair-accessible dream bathroom designs. I love to eliminate clutter, refresh the layout and install stairlifts. Every time, I am so excited to see the looks of amazement on the residents' faces when they meet their new bathroom designs. And even if your budget isn't big, the payoff absolutely will be when you re-design your London bathroom from drab to fab - the wheelchair way! A splendid, accessible new bathroom design can be essential to creating a contemporary, disability-safe home environment that Social Services will instantly approve.
Even a worldly, hip, student-filled city like London has plenty of residents who are retirees or who suffer from limited mobility. England's population is growing older all the time, and as a consequence bathroom designers are seeing many requests to envision fabulous bathrooms for older or less mobile individuals. The ideal solution will be 100% compatible with Social Services' accessibility guidelines while also guaranteeing a dash of stylish extravagance. Many older residents love to luxuriate soon after getting up by taking advantage of a peaceful bath hour, enjoying a fragrance-filled pot of tea, and watching the morning television chat shows at their leisure. Accordingly, the perfect bathroom design for an elderly couple or widow may feature glittering porcelain toilets, smooth and well-lit surfaces to use when applying beauty treatments, and easy-open cupboards that can hold a kettle, coffee maker and home audiovisual equipment equipped with an induction loop for the hard of hearing.
Retirees complain of arthritic joints and painful tendons all too often. Bathroom designers may recommend high-end baths that incorporate massage whirlpools, together with height-limited bathtubs that promote ease of entry. In more spacious London houses, we may recommend a deck adjacent to the bath. This great solution allows a retiree to sit down before slowly levering themselves into the bubbly warm water.
Individuals who are constrained to wheelchair-only mobility will often benefit from the addition of a sizeable roll-in showering area. Bathroom designers will recommend an easy-grip detachable shower head in addition to a wall-mounted in-shower bench. This combination guarantees a luxurious morning wash that can normally be performed unaided - rivalling the most extravagant London spas and salons.
Well, that brings to an end this collection of articles on "Bathroom Design Explained." Thank you so much for reading!
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Showing posts with label London Bathroom Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Bathroom Design. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2011
Interior Design London - Bathroom Design Explained - Kid-Approved Design
Professional bathroom designers are expert at combining purpose and aesthetics to craft astonishing designs. In this four-part collection of articles, "Bathroom Design Explained," I rely on my know-how gleaned from collaborating with London's finest bathroom designers to explore this dynamic profession. This article explores how to design for households with children.
Being a tiny child is quite a unique experience! Do you recall how it felt? It can be seriously difficult to create bathroom designs that are 100% kid-approved. But with London's constantly increasing population, my clients are now requesting kid-approved design alternatives more than ever. The first question that I always ask myself is: how to envision a bathroom design that can grow as the kids get older? I'm sure you can appreciate how a design that is perfect for a 6-year-old at a London pre-prep may well seem inappropriate when the child turns 8 and enters prep school.
Children from every culture and on every continent are fascinated by the world of colours. However, London's finest bathroom designers realise that sometimes we have to put the brakes on! One fabulous approach is to preserve a neutral envelope by selecting ecru, snowflake or ivory for the walls and floortiles. Hints of colour should be included by choosing appropriate bathmats, taps and stylish extras. Certain well-known London Bathroom Designers will routinely choose cucumber, daffodil or ultramarine for a child's washtub ... critically, these hues are not as overwhelming as (say) raspberry or ebony.
In terms of kid-approved bathroom design specifics, smaller children must always have enough room to explore and move. This is non-trivial in the case of some of the more space-constrained London flats. I have seen some designers incorporate a step-up/step-down pedestal support that allows younger children to reach the lavatory. Importantly, this can easily be pushed out of the way when its use is no longer required. "Electronic eye" tap systems minimise the extent to which little arms have to reach forward for handwashing, and bathroom design experts can even lock the temperature control in advance to make sure kids will never get scalded.
Last but by no means least, one fabulous approach involves giving the bathroom design a sense of character by gathering the resident kids' paintings or crayon sketches and tacking them onto cupboards or mouldings. I have personally visited London residences where the kids have themselves coloured one tile in the bottom corner of the shower cubicle as a fun project. Alternatively, the bathroom designer can give them permission to add glitter and varnish to a mirror frame. This definitely makes the kids feel like the bathroom is all their own ... and who knows, it may inspire some to become bathroom designers themselves in the future!
The next and final article in this collection called "Bathroom Design Explained" turns to specialist designs for retirees and for people of limited movement and dexterity.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Being a tiny child is quite a unique experience! Do you recall how it felt? It can be seriously difficult to create bathroom designs that are 100% kid-approved. But with London's constantly increasing population, my clients are now requesting kid-approved design alternatives more than ever. The first question that I always ask myself is: how to envision a bathroom design that can grow as the kids get older? I'm sure you can appreciate how a design that is perfect for a 6-year-old at a London pre-prep may well seem inappropriate when the child turns 8 and enters prep school.
Children from every culture and on every continent are fascinated by the world of colours. However, London's finest bathroom designers realise that sometimes we have to put the brakes on! One fabulous approach is to preserve a neutral envelope by selecting ecru, snowflake or ivory for the walls and floortiles. Hints of colour should be included by choosing appropriate bathmats, taps and stylish extras. Certain well-known London Bathroom Designers will routinely choose cucumber, daffodil or ultramarine for a child's washtub ... critically, these hues are not as overwhelming as (say) raspberry or ebony.
In terms of kid-approved bathroom design specifics, smaller children must always have enough room to explore and move. This is non-trivial in the case of some of the more space-constrained London flats. I have seen some designers incorporate a step-up/step-down pedestal support that allows younger children to reach the lavatory. Importantly, this can easily be pushed out of the way when its use is no longer required. "Electronic eye" tap systems minimise the extent to which little arms have to reach forward for handwashing, and bathroom design experts can even lock the temperature control in advance to make sure kids will never get scalded.
Last but by no means least, one fabulous approach involves giving the bathroom design a sense of character by gathering the resident kids' paintings or crayon sketches and tacking them onto cupboards or mouldings. I have personally visited London residences where the kids have themselves coloured one tile in the bottom corner of the shower cubicle as a fun project. Alternatively, the bathroom designer can give them permission to add glitter and varnish to a mirror frame. This definitely makes the kids feel like the bathroom is all their own ... and who knows, it may inspire some to become bathroom designers themselves in the future!
The next and final article in this collection called "Bathroom Design Explained" turns to specialist designs for retirees and for people of limited movement and dexterity.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Interior Design London - Bathroom Design Explained - Hues
Professional bathroom designers are expert at combining purpose and aesthetics to craft astonishing designs. In this four-part collection of articles, "Bathroom Design Explained," I rely on my know-how gleaned from collaborating with London's finest bathroom designers to explore this dynamic profession. This second article dives into the use of hue and tint in bathroom design.
When thinking up fresh hue and tint combinations, most London Bathroom Design professionals begin by reaching for their colour wheel. This can be critical in selecting melodic integrations of different colours - the wheel is an important tool, whether the concept is hushed and calm or theatrical and engaging. For instance, certain more spacious London bathrooms are well-suited to an el evated-contrast complimentary scheme. This approach incorporates two hues from opposite parts of the wheel, perhaps drawing on a lemon background together with a midnight accent for a real wow factor. By contrast, cramped London cloakrooms may simply not be suitable for this bathroom design approach because the results may be too overpowering for the residents. Given this fact, a monochromatic scheme that utilises a single tint but with multiple different hues to add charm could be just the ticket. Think of the exact same bathroom design I mentioned above, but let's substitute robin's egg blue instead of the lemon ... keep identical layout and accessories, but the mood will feel totally different. Such a scheme could be ideal for an East London banker's apartment or a basement bachelor pad in Central London.
Well-heeled Londoners will sometimes feel a real yearning for the spa/retreat combo that has become such a hit in recent years. Bathroom designers can recreate this feel by relying on fresh, calming hues, perhaps with a focus on aquamarine and jade. Consider matching these up with the ivory-and-nickel taps and trims that are often a feature in high-end London spas and beauty parlours.
Since at least the 1500s, London's upper class ladies have relied on cosmetics to accentuate their finest features while rendering invisible even the most miniscule blemishes. In the same way, tints and hues can elevate a bathroom design to stratospheric heights - maybe by highlighting historic wall mouldings, unique dado rails, or other structures.
Back in the day, bathroom design lecturers at London's top schools used to tell their students that washing a small bathroom with a dark tint is undesirable because it can create a claustrophobic mood. By contrast, today's best bathroom designers have learnt otherwise. By incorporating a multitude of shades of a deep colour, designers can actually make a smaller bathroom feel much larger. By including interesting textures and patterns within paint or on wallpaper, we can create extra dimensions and add bathroom designer style.
In the next article in this collection "Bathroom Design Explained," I'll discuss what to do when you have a child in the house! Up next: kid-approved design.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
When thinking up fresh hue and tint combinations, most London Bathroom Design professionals begin by reaching for their colour wheel. This can be critical in selecting melodic integrations of different colours - the wheel is an important tool, whether the concept is hushed and calm or theatrical and engaging. For instance, certain more spacious London bathrooms are well-suited to an el evated-contrast complimentary scheme. This approach incorporates two hues from opposite parts of the wheel, perhaps drawing on a lemon background together with a midnight accent for a real wow factor. By contrast, cramped London cloakrooms may simply not be suitable for this bathroom design approach because the results may be too overpowering for the residents. Given this fact, a monochromatic scheme that utilises a single tint but with multiple different hues to add charm could be just the ticket. Think of the exact same bathroom design I mentioned above, but let's substitute robin's egg blue instead of the lemon ... keep identical layout and accessories, but the mood will feel totally different. Such a scheme could be ideal for an East London banker's apartment or a basement bachelor pad in Central London.
Well-heeled Londoners will sometimes feel a real yearning for the spa/retreat combo that has become such a hit in recent years. Bathroom designers can recreate this feel by relying on fresh, calming hues, perhaps with a focus on aquamarine and jade. Consider matching these up with the ivory-and-nickel taps and trims that are often a feature in high-end London spas and beauty parlours.
Since at least the 1500s, London's upper class ladies have relied on cosmetics to accentuate their finest features while rendering invisible even the most miniscule blemishes. In the same way, tints and hues can elevate a bathroom design to stratospheric heights - maybe by highlighting historic wall mouldings, unique dado rails, or other structures.
Back in the day, bathroom design lecturers at London's top schools used to tell their students that washing a small bathroom with a dark tint is undesirable because it can create a claustrophobic mood. By contrast, today's best bathroom designers have learnt otherwise. By incorporating a multitude of shades of a deep colour, designers can actually make a smaller bathroom feel much larger. By including interesting textures and patterns within paint or on wallpaper, we can create extra dimensions and add bathroom designer style.
In the next article in this collection "Bathroom Design Explained," I'll discuss what to do when you have a child in the house! Up next: kid-approved design.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Interior Design London - Bathroom Design Explained - Creativity
Professional bathroom designers are expert at combining purpose and aesthetics to craft astonishing designs. In this four-part collection of articles, "Bathroom Design Explained," I rely on my years of know-how gleaned from collaborating with London's finest bathroom designers to explore this dynamic profession. This article discusses how to envision magical and fresh new creations.
Decades ago, bathrooms were not flash and fancy. Often the most fabulous part of a London bathroom was a good read, some rudimentary illumination and a washbasin full of bubbly warm water. Then professional bathroom designers arrived, and that scenario was swiftly transformed. Now in 2010, with Londoners finding themselves so busy and increasingly overwhelmed, the bathroom has started to transform into a retreat space. Homeowners are engaging bathroom designers because they crave singular, luxury specials that bring a hint of extravagance to the mundane.
The professional bathroom designer begins with heaps of creativity. Modern designs are different from anything seen before - in London, the beauty bathroom, the hideaway/sanctuary bathroom, and the home entertainment bathroom (replete with LCD TVs and whole-room speaker systems!) are just a few of the most sought-after designs. Every one demands its own bathroom design accessories, from spa-style hot tubs to in-tile thermals to slide-out heated storage for washcloths and linens. Even the washbasins and toilets have become surprisingly creative and elegant. Imagine bathroom designs that feature silent-flush toilets, touch-sensitive bath jet controls and theatrical mood lighting. Imagine as well resort-themed bathroom designs. Some quarters of the interior design field are seeking to completely abandon ordinary factory-built cabinets and standard towel rails. London Bathroom Design today is starting to focus on contemporary vessel washbasins and textile-ensconced seating options. Resort-type coffee makers and minibar-style refrigerators are being requested by clients for installation literally within bathroom walls or cupboards!
Modern entertainment engineering plays a role in many of London's high-end designer bathrooms. Entertainment concepts that incorporate slimline televisions and multidirectional speaker systems are now seen as the norm. Certain bathroom designers will inconspicuously sneak a Blu-Ray system and high-def TV into cabinetry above the towel rail. Splendid for busy London professionals who crave the latest updates on oil trading prices from Sky News as you start your day!
In the next article in this collection which I call "Bathroom Design Explained," I will talk about the importance of tints and hues in the London bathroom design landscape.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Decades ago, bathrooms were not flash and fancy. Often the most fabulous part of a London bathroom was a good read, some rudimentary illumination and a washbasin full of bubbly warm water. Then professional bathroom designers arrived, and that scenario was swiftly transformed. Now in 2010, with Londoners finding themselves so busy and increasingly overwhelmed, the bathroom has started to transform into a retreat space. Homeowners are engaging bathroom designers because they crave singular, luxury specials that bring a hint of extravagance to the mundane.
The professional bathroom designer begins with heaps of creativity. Modern designs are different from anything seen before - in London, the beauty bathroom, the hideaway/sanctuary bathroom, and the home entertainment bathroom (replete with LCD TVs and whole-room speaker systems!) are just a few of the most sought-after designs. Every one demands its own bathroom design accessories, from spa-style hot tubs to in-tile thermals to slide-out heated storage for washcloths and linens. Even the washbasins and toilets have become surprisingly creative and elegant. Imagine bathroom designs that feature silent-flush toilets, touch-sensitive bath jet controls and theatrical mood lighting. Imagine as well resort-themed bathroom designs. Some quarters of the interior design field are seeking to completely abandon ordinary factory-built cabinets and standard towel rails. London Bathroom Design today is starting to focus on contemporary vessel washbasins and textile-ensconced seating options. Resort-type coffee makers and minibar-style refrigerators are being requested by clients for installation literally within bathroom walls or cupboards!
Modern entertainment engineering plays a role in many of London's high-end designer bathrooms. Entertainment concepts that incorporate slimline televisions and multidirectional speaker systems are now seen as the norm. Certain bathroom designers will inconspicuously sneak a Blu-Ray system and high-def TV into cabinetry above the towel rail. Splendid for busy London professionals who crave the latest updates on oil trading prices from Sky News as you start your day!
In the next article in this collection which I call "Bathroom Design Explained," I will talk about the importance of tints and hues in the London bathroom design landscape.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - Controlling Water Temperature
Strategies and Secrets from the Notebook of a London Bathroom Design Professional - Controlling Water Temperature
Some people consider it a disadvantage that many London bathroom designs do not include mixer taps. In the olden days, the hot and cold taps were often positioned on different sides of the washbasin, so that the hot water could cause minor burns and the cold tap could then be used to reduce the resulting inflammation and swelling! In order to address this problem and create a more comfortable solution, London bathroom design professionals in the 1900s started to recommend detachable double-ended rubber hoses that would connect the two taps and create a single stream of water at a blended temperature. In the 1980s, with increasing foreign travel, some London hotels and resorts implemented new bathroom designs, with fittings that are similar to mixer taps, mainly to better accommodate their international guests. However, they failed to include the essential internal mixing tumbler in their bathroom design specifications! As a consequence, if you go to any London hotel today you will often find that the water coming out of the seemingly standard single-stream basin tap is scaldingly hot on one side of the stream and close to 0˚C on the other!
Some people consider it a disadvantage that many London bathroom designs do not include mixer taps. In the olden days, the hot and cold taps were often positioned on different sides of the washbasin, so that the hot water could cause minor burns and the cold tap could then be used to reduce the resulting inflammation and swelling! In order to address this problem and create a more comfortable solution, London bathroom design professionals in the 1900s started to recommend detachable double-ended rubber hoses that would connect the two taps and create a single stream of water at a blended temperature. In the 1980s, with increasing foreign travel, some London hotels and resorts implemented new bathroom designs, with fittings that are similar to mixer taps, mainly to better accommodate their international guests. However, they failed to include the essential internal mixing tumbler in their bathroom design specifications! As a consequence, if you go to any London hotel today you will often find that the water coming out of the seemingly standard single-stream basin tap is scaldingly hot on one side of the stream and close to 0˚C on the other!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Learning Bathroom Design from the Experts in London
Automagical Bathroom Lighting
My good friend and fellow London bathroom designer Donna is a true "early adopter" in home automation technologies. Recently I had a chance to chat with her about how she finds the "touch-of-a-button" home automation scheme she is currently testing out. She reported to me that it can be extremely convenient, but it's not completely flawless quite yet. As a bathroom designer herself, she loves to be able to select different mood lighting schemes for the bathrooms in her London residence. We discovered that our respective bathroom design teams will both preferentially recommend Crestron systems because they are so flexible and offer many budget options. The Crestron lineup even comes with a special media plug-in that allows our clients to store music and video on the Internet and automagically pipe it into the audiovisual system that is part of their bathroom design!
Multi-function Bathrooms
Our most cutting-edge London bathroom design clients are always seeking out the latest and greatest innovations. In our opinion, the one thing that no bathroom design should be without is "attitude" - and that often means a multi-function approach! Bathroom designs are no longer simply about showering, makeup, shaving and luxuriating - our clients crave interesting wall treatments or paintwork, clever but practical storage zones, audiovisual services, and underfloor heating for long sessions in front of the makeup mirror. Some of our latest "green bathroom" design schemes in London even include built-in wastebaskets that are divided into different compartments for easy recycling! Otherwise it can be all too easy to forget to recycle the huge number of discarded containers that often comes from a busy family bathroom.
Bathroom Countertops
Just recently I read an article online about the best countertops for bathroom designs, and I thought I should write a quick blog post here to offer my perspective on this critical question. Personally, I adore Corian or CeasarStone bathroom countertops. These options are supremely workable, sophisticated and available in a wide range of colours. We have even suggested bathroom designs with these countertops in high-gloss white and they have looked stunning. For more adventurous clients, our London bathroom design team has been known to recommend stainless steel, natural stone, or plastic with metal edgework for a "retro" look. But as with so many bathroom design questions, it often comes down to beautiful versus workable. Natural stone requires so much care to avoid scratches and maintain the desired look that we often point our London bathroom design clients in the direction of synthetic alternatives.
Fabric in the Bathroom
In the earliest days of bathroom design, built-in fabrics in bathrooms used to be a huge "no-no." But in recent years that has changed with the emergence of shower curtains, window fabrics and comfort bathmats. But the bathroom design teams at our London-based firm always remind our clients that there are a few "caveats" to using fabrics in bathrooms. First and foremost, the fabric must be lined and interlined to protect it from fading and disintegration caused by repeated water or steam exposure. If we are covering a sunny window, silk is probably the very worst material to use, but even that can work if we specify a robust lining/interlining treatment in the bathroom design master plan. Similarly, textured fabric sunshades can look very classy beneath the primary curtain or Venetian blinds. My London bathroom design team reminded me just the other day of one last top tip: treating the window with an ultraviolet or one-way coating can further help protect bathroom fabrics from fading, while also enhancing homeowner privacy.
My good friend and fellow London bathroom designer Donna is a true "early adopter" in home automation technologies. Recently I had a chance to chat with her about how she finds the "touch-of-a-button" home automation scheme she is currently testing out. She reported to me that it can be extremely convenient, but it's not completely flawless quite yet. As a bathroom designer herself, she loves to be able to select different mood lighting schemes for the bathrooms in her London residence. We discovered that our respective bathroom design teams will both preferentially recommend Crestron systems because they are so flexible and offer many budget options. The Crestron lineup even comes with a special media plug-in that allows our clients to store music and video on the Internet and automagically pipe it into the audiovisual system that is part of their bathroom design!
Multi-function Bathrooms
Our most cutting-edge London bathroom design clients are always seeking out the latest and greatest innovations. In our opinion, the one thing that no bathroom design should be without is "attitude" - and that often means a multi-function approach! Bathroom designs are no longer simply about showering, makeup, shaving and luxuriating - our clients crave interesting wall treatments or paintwork, clever but practical storage zones, audiovisual services, and underfloor heating for long sessions in front of the makeup mirror. Some of our latest "green bathroom" design schemes in London even include built-in wastebaskets that are divided into different compartments for easy recycling! Otherwise it can be all too easy to forget to recycle the huge number of discarded containers that often comes from a busy family bathroom.
Bathroom Countertops
Just recently I read an article online about the best countertops for bathroom designs, and I thought I should write a quick blog post here to offer my perspective on this critical question. Personally, I adore Corian or CeasarStone bathroom countertops. These options are supremely workable, sophisticated and available in a wide range of colours. We have even suggested bathroom designs with these countertops in high-gloss white and they have looked stunning. For more adventurous clients, our London bathroom design team has been known to recommend stainless steel, natural stone, or plastic with metal edgework for a "retro" look. But as with so many bathroom design questions, it often comes down to beautiful versus workable. Natural stone requires so much care to avoid scratches and maintain the desired look that we often point our London bathroom design clients in the direction of synthetic alternatives.
Fabric in the Bathroom
In the earliest days of bathroom design, built-in fabrics in bathrooms used to be a huge "no-no." But in recent years that has changed with the emergence of shower curtains, window fabrics and comfort bathmats. But the bathroom design teams at our London-based firm always remind our clients that there are a few "caveats" to using fabrics in bathrooms. First and foremost, the fabric must be lined and interlined to protect it from fading and disintegration caused by repeated water or steam exposure. If we are covering a sunny window, silk is probably the very worst material to use, but even that can work if we specify a robust lining/interlining treatment in the bathroom design master plan. Similarly, textured fabric sunshades can look very classy beneath the primary curtain or Venetian blinds. My London bathroom design team reminded me just the other day of one last top tip: treating the window with an ultraviolet or one-way coating can further help protect bathroom fabrics from fading, while also enhancing homeowner privacy.
Learning Bathroom Design from the Experts
Bathroom Colour Schemes
Often our London firm will field questions from clients about bathroom design colour schemes. Sometimes clients have heard that certain colours tend to work best for larger rooms, while others tend to be preferable for smaller rooms. And certainly in some of London's more compact flats the bathroom can sometimes be a little space-constrained! I always respond that the most important question is what colours will make the client happy. For bathroom designs, we will often recommend a set of darker shades in order to emphasise the personal and sanctuary-like feel of the space.
Colours to Avoid
The other question that often comes up in bathroom design - although of course it applies to any room in the home - is whether there are any paint colours that should definitely be avoided. Personally, I have fallen in love with black bathroom designs, lilac bathroom designs and even steel blue bathroom designs - so really I tend to believe that no colour is strictly off-limits! But I often remind my London-based clients that context is critical. For example, don't choose a bathroom design colour for your main residence in London that is also going to be used in your Florida winter condo, where the sun's rays are completely different!
Gadgets and Gizmos
The other day our London-based interior design firm received an email from a regular client asking about the latest electronic appliances that our bathroom design teams are currently seeing on the market. Today, we are increasingly proposing bathroom designs that include some sort of home entertainment features. The latest Sony and Samsung ultra-bright TVs can be coupled with high-end audio systems, DVD players and cable hook-ups to allow our clients to luxuriate in the bathroom while catching up with the morning's business news on Bloomberg or CNN. In larger London residences we have recently been installing a lot of the Miele built-in espresso machines as part of our higher-end bathroom designs. These appliances are elegant, sophisticated and very stylish. They quickly become a hit with the whole household - it's like having a personal Costa Coffee branch built right into your London bathroom design!
Bathroom Automation Systems
The other day I was talking with one of my colleagues about the latest full-automation and touch-of-a-button home wizardry systems, and specifically their compatibility with our bathroom designs. The concept is that multiple services are grouped together so that homeowners can remotely activate lights, electronics, alarms, appliances, and - in bathroom designs - elements like towel rails and mood lighting. We are increasingly recommending these options to our most discerning London clients, and the effect can be amazing if the client is technology-interested. But our bathroom design team always makes sure to emphasise user simplicity. There's nothing worse than our client not knowing how to activate the underfloor heating in their luxury London bathroom design just because they can't figure out which remote control to use!
Often our London firm will field questions from clients about bathroom design colour schemes. Sometimes clients have heard that certain colours tend to work best for larger rooms, while others tend to be preferable for smaller rooms. And certainly in some of London's more compact flats the bathroom can sometimes be a little space-constrained! I always respond that the most important question is what colours will make the client happy. For bathroom designs, we will often recommend a set of darker shades in order to emphasise the personal and sanctuary-like feel of the space.
Colours to Avoid
The other question that often comes up in bathroom design - although of course it applies to any room in the home - is whether there are any paint colours that should definitely be avoided. Personally, I have fallen in love with black bathroom designs, lilac bathroom designs and even steel blue bathroom designs - so really I tend to believe that no colour is strictly off-limits! But I often remind my London-based clients that context is critical. For example, don't choose a bathroom design colour for your main residence in London that is also going to be used in your Florida winter condo, where the sun's rays are completely different!
Gadgets and Gizmos
The other day our London-based interior design firm received an email from a regular client asking about the latest electronic appliances that our bathroom design teams are currently seeing on the market. Today, we are increasingly proposing bathroom designs that include some sort of home entertainment features. The latest Sony and Samsung ultra-bright TVs can be coupled with high-end audio systems, DVD players and cable hook-ups to allow our clients to luxuriate in the bathroom while catching up with the morning's business news on Bloomberg or CNN. In larger London residences we have recently been installing a lot of the Miele built-in espresso machines as part of our higher-end bathroom designs. These appliances are elegant, sophisticated and very stylish. They quickly become a hit with the whole household - it's like having a personal Costa Coffee branch built right into your London bathroom design!
Bathroom Automation Systems
The other day I was talking with one of my colleagues about the latest full-automation and touch-of-a-button home wizardry systems, and specifically their compatibility with our bathroom designs. The concept is that multiple services are grouped together so that homeowners can remotely activate lights, electronics, alarms, appliances, and - in bathroom designs - elements like towel rails and mood lighting. We are increasingly recommending these options to our most discerning London clients, and the effect can be amazing if the client is technology-interested. But our bathroom design team always makes sure to emphasise user simplicity. There's nothing worse than our client not knowing how to activate the underfloor heating in their luxury London bathroom design just because they can't figure out which remote control to use!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios
Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios - Part I
Today's rising stars of London's executive jetset desire the highest quality in design that allows them to luxuriate and recharge following an intense day in the boardroom. On many occasions, our in-house bathroom design team has had to go for gold to meet the latest demands for spa-style extravagance and high-tech luxury. One of the most often-requested features is an outdoor swimming pool, which our high-end London clients will request for either a garden or a stunning cityview roof terrace, or even for the upper deck of a prized houseboat. Join me in this series of blogs as I explain how we achieve amazing results!Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios - Part II
When invited to create an outdoor swimming pool, our bathroom design team will normally rely on ocean-inspired colours and textures that evoke the core mindset of fresh aqua harmony. Often, this means plenty of deep navy or indigo illumination, perhaps with underwater fibre optics that throw a burst of light onto the surface and create a stunning glow in the fresh London nighttime air. Our team of clever bathroom designers will use all their indoor-inspired talent for this outdoor scenario, incorporating easy-clean tiling, luxurious side-decks, and a bespoke blend of lighting fixtures that is both eye-catching and safety-aware.
Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios - Part III
Some outdoor pools in London are only intended for seasonal usage, thanks to our occasionally inclement weather in autumn and winter. For this purpose, our London bathroom designteam may encourage clients to select lighting hardware that slides seamlessly into the tilework, creating a flush surface that can be more easily drained and that is more robust to frost during the off-season. We love to use cross-throw illumination patterns that artfully link high-intensity and more shadowy areas to build the sense of mystique and majesty.
Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios - Part IV
High-efficiency halogen illuminators are readily available from London lighting wholesalers, and these - together with fibre optic lights - are normally sold in slimline packages that can be embedded into pool walls or floors. As a professional London bathroom designer, I will routinely encourage clients to explore more dynamic colour ecosystems. For example, I love the concept of a wireless colour pad that can be installed next to the illuminator junction. Clients can use a remote control device to choose the desired colour any time, and our bathroom design team can also incorporate an "auto-cycle" option, which dynamically shifts through the entire spectrum of hues over the course of an evening.Splashing About: Swimming Pool Design in London - from Global Interior Design, the No-Fuss Bathroom Design Studios - Part V
This is the final blog posting in my series on outdoor swimming pool design, from the perspective of our London-based bathroom design consultancy. Pools can be great places to enjoy a fabulous summer garden party or enchanting soiree. It is important to include ample privacy-aware changing facilities for guests, together with dry zones and wet zones to avoid slip hazards and ensure compliance with all relevant safety regulations. Our bathroom designers will also try to make the pool accessible to the elderly or those who are less mobile, perhaps by incorporating an easy-lower deck option and a shallower zone with warm bubble jets where older guests can relax in comfort and gaze out over the London skyline.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional
"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional
Multi-Surface Wall Creativity
Why cover a wall with just one type of tile when a bathroom design project can be so much more? For this particular London residence, I decided that I really needed to minimise the number of walltiles - accordingly, I instructed my team to only tile the splash-protector zone surrounding the shower. The result was a more dynamic London bathroom design that could showcase more designer flair. One more thing - prior to tilework, my crew of creative London-based plumbers got to work to majorly redesign all of the underfloor piping. Thanks to their efforts, the bathroom design now features a much-enhanced drain-out profile. The water flows away just like a whirlpool spa!
A Classy Loo is Just the Ticket
"Drab to fab" is easier said than done! In bathroom design, sometimes one needs to just go for the high-end unit because only that will guarantee the authentic designer look that your client craves. For this particular high-end London bathroom project , we selected a luxury lavatory that slides right up to be fully flush with the back wall. This fine lav is a great option for a nice contemporary look, but it is critical to use a soft plastic flexi-pipe to suitably connect with the building's drainage system.Say No to Sewer Rats!
In many London bathroom design projects, rats can be highly problematic. Not everyone realises how crafty these critters can be -they can easily clabber up many storeys of piping and get to within centimetres of your residence .... London sewer to flat in less than a minute! Eeek. This is not normally a problem but it can be a major issue when we need to use flexible piping to accommodate a classy back-to-wall lavatory unit for a high-end bathroom design as I described in my previous blog posting. Those razor-like claws can pop a major hole in flexible piping within seconds. I don't normally make product recommendations on this blog, but in this case I cannot overstate the fabulousness of the McAlpine Anti-Crossflow Rodent Barrier. This high-quality durable plastic system is a swivel-type one-way flap valve that guarantees water will flow out when the lavatory is flushed, but ensures that no rats can get into the system from the exterior building drainage piping. And at less than £20, it is a major value that no London bathroom design should be without!A Delighted Client
This is the last blog posting in my series about a certain bathroom design project I worked on in Central London about a year ago. I hope you've enjoyed this deep-dive into the details on a few different "lessons learned" from the experience! All that remains is for me to reveal the ultimate output - great news, my client was completely thrilled when they saw their 100% redesigned London bathroom ! He would never have imagined how breathtaking the results could be - especially given the challenging original that we had to work with. I'm always delighted to share my design know-how with designers and enthusiasts alike, and I'm honoured when thought leaders in the industry ask me about my max-flair tips for bathroom design. Feel free to leave any thoughts/ideas in the comments! Thank you for reading. From Central London, this is Global Interior Design."Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design Professional
"Making a Splash!" Lessons from a London Bathroom Design
Professional.Identifying Bathroom Problems
Professional.Identifying Bathroom Problems
This blog posting is the first in a series of eight about a certain bathroom design project I worked on in Central London about a year ago. I've blogged about this remarkable London bathroom renovation before, but with this new series I will deep-dive into the details on a few different "lessons learned" from the experience! Thanks for joining me!
Shells, but not Seashells!
I tell my clients all the time about the importance of the "shell" for any major bathroom design project. By this I mean the walls, floors, doors, etc. - everything that is on the periphery and that forms the "foundation" for any real interior design work. This bathroom design project in London began with removal of 100% of the existing tiles from the room. Sometimes we had to dig many tiles deep - my skilled London-based renovations crew had to roll up their sleeves and get to work pronto! While this was happening, my designer flair kicked into high gear and I began to think of all sorts of ways to max out the potential of the rather cramped space and difficult nooks and corners for this London bathroom design. Read the next blog in this series to learn what happened!Beautifying the Envelope and Installing Lights
I asked my team to renew the plasterwork as a key first step in this London bathroom design project. We used pricey but fabulous angle beads for a close-cut, fresh appearance on the corners that really added dynamic flair to this slightly dated interior. I was delighted to be able to sink the ceiling down by a few centimetres in order to incorporate beautiful recessed illuminator units. We used LED-based options for this bathroom design to reduce the eco-footprint. I made sure to position the lights just perfectly in order to guarantee a subtle downward wash of illumination, sure to enhance the beauty of any Londoner that looks in this mirror! This fabulous approach guarantees that any lines and wrinkles fade completely. It's my philosophy that your bathroom design should always help you look your very best!Making Cramped Look Spacious
I required that my team work with high energy to address a pressing problem: an old-style radiator was impairing my London bathroom design antennae and could never have been compatible with the smooth, sophisticated, contemporary feel that my client craved. I insisted that it be removed and taken away for recycling pronto. But what to do about the consequent lack of warmth? Every bathroom design needs to have what I call a "coziness factor" - nothing worse than getting up during a London winter and feeling the chill of an underheated bathroom! The answer for this particular bathroom design was an underfloor thermal system. I used fabulous ultra-large 60cm square tiles to make the floor area seem expansive while also vastly reducing the groutwork linecount.
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