We all have a vision of our beautiful dream bathroom; the perfect place where we get to relax, pamper ourselves as we let the pressures of the day drift away. Building your dream bathroom should be a fun process, making the room just the way you want it, expressing your creativity through your choice of tiles, counter tops, bathroom fixtures and colour schemes and more. We understand that getting things just right can be fairly challenging with each decision shaping your future bathroom experience. So sit back and relax with our easy points on just how to make this space into your dream bathroom experience:

1. Preparation Phase

Designing your dream bathroom needs careful planning so that the space reflects your personality and your needs.

Establish a realistic bathroom remodeling budget

When establishing your budget, keep in mind your design ideas and assess the cost of the fixtures and finishes needed. Try to utilize current plumbing fixtures such as toilets or basins and incorporate as much of your present bathroom layout into the new design as this will help reduce costs.

Additionally plumbing fixtures can be used to contribute to the overall bathroom design. They are metallic and can add a dramatic effect to any space with several finishes and styles available from brass to bronze and all the metals in between.

Whatever fixtures you may choose, keep your style and maintenance requirements in mind, using these aspects as the parameters in which to work.

Mood Board

Create a moodboard with your ideas found from your favourite lifestyle magazine or home decor show. Attach all your photos, materials and design elements relating to the style you want to achieve with your project. If you have a set of architectural plans this can assist your designer in visualizing the finished project, but all additional design clues can be helpful.

Brainstorming ideas for a dream list also helps to kick start your plan. From here you can determine costs and the space available for those items.

Balancing Act

Your bathroom needs to be a welcoming space of luxury and beauty, but it also needs to be functional. This influences the decisions in terms of your room space and storage areas required for broom toiletries and extra towels. Making it functional also impacts on your choice of basin, bathtub, shower, toilet and any other fixtures you wish to include. For example if your bathroom needs to accommodate more than one person when getting ready for the day, you might want to consider twin basins and additional counter space or even including an additional bathroom vanity if space allows it, providing ample room for two people while also serving as additional storage for bathroom toiletries and extra towels.

The best way to establish your needs is to run through your bathroom routine, thinking of your requirements and the best ways to streamline tasks such as accessing toiletries. Consider your arms’ length and also space needed if another person is going to use the space at the same time. Are you going to want to quickly grab an object or are you happy accessing it behind the vanity doors? Organise the bathware and bathroom fixtures to facilitate ease of flow, both with your bathroom routine and bathroom traffic.

Make A Plan

If you are developing a new home or remodeling your bathroom, it is advisable to measure and graph out your area so you’re able to experiment with ideas and the space available.

The Bella Bathrooms & Tiles Room Planner is an excellent way to make a diagrammatic representation of your ideas and plan, giving you a taste of things to come with your new bathroom layout and fixtures while allowing you to work out the finer points in terms of the exact space available to meet your needs and logistics. Please visit http://www.articad.net/myroomplan//help/instructions.htm The planner provides a user friendly 5 step process as follows:

Step 1: Choose your room shape Step 2: Insert wall sizes Step 3: Add doors and windows by clicking on the Features Tab. Click on the item you want to add and then drag onto the plan. Step 4: Add any specific room features to the plan such as plugs, basins ...even pillars. Step 5: Click the finish button to send your plan to us so that we can help you bring your dream bathroom to life.

Make it relaxing

Bathrooms can be more than just functional, providing a relaxing escape or a spa-like space where you can unwind and wash away the cares of the day. Added luxuries such as a shower seat or a bath caddy which includes a reading stand. For even further pampering, add a cable outlet so you can lie back and watch your favorite programmes while soaking.

2. Deciding Stage

Selecting your a bathroom style

Style provides a useful guideline in terms of your choice of fixtures and accessories. From there you can add your own creative stamp to the room.

How do you want to feel when you’re in your bathroom? Do you prefer a more formal, classical style, an uncluttered minimalist modern effect or the more natural feel of the Zen bathroom?

Whichever style appeals to you, make sure that it is a look which you find relaxing. Incorporate popular bathroom trends into your style such as a walk-in shower or a standalone bathtub. If space is an issue you may want to consider a bathtub which can also serve as a shower. Consider lighting, including the trending light in the shower area.

Swap a handheld shower nozzle for a luxurious rainshower head to spoil yourself with a touch of resort-style luxury. Although these always look high-end, they’re not necessarily expensive, and there are many affordable options available these days. Check your shower tiling first to ensure your shower can accommodate a rainshower head without having to patch up any existing holes in the tile.

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Treat each area in isolation

Consider one aspect of the bathroom at a time, giving separate attention to the various bathroom features such as the bath area, tiling, taps and basins, storage and accessories.

As you renovate, keep two things in mind: your family and future buyers. Although each family may have different needs, the general rule of thumb is what is practical for your family will work for possible future buyers as well, so go with your preferences first. However, if your personal preference is showering, make sure you have a bathtub either in that room or another bathroom in the house to provide an alternative for anyone preferring to bath.

3. Organising Stage

Declutter & Clean

Renovating your bathroom provides the ideal opportunity to declutter the space. Start by grouping different items into corresponding containers and then take these outside the bathroom. The thinking here is that once your space is free from clutter, you will be more inclined only to return the items needed in order to maintain the ordered look and feel. This will also help give your bathroom an instant face lift.

Storage

A vanity is one of your key bathroom fixtures, providing a workspace surface and generally an area for storage. When choosing your vanity, take your family’s needs into consideration in terms of storage and surface space requirements. This is also an ideal time to consider your basin requirements and bathroom accessories relating to the vanity such as your hair dryer holder, soap dish and placement of your toweling rails for easy access when you need to dry your hands.

Use dead space between different fixtures to install a wall mounted shelf. This also breaks up the space and creates further points of interest in the bathroom. Corner shelves can make a useful and attractive place for bathroom toiletries and give you an added storage option.

4. The Icing on the Cake

Add Accessories Bathroom accessories add further interest to the space and contribute to bringing your dream bathroom to life, creating a spa like feel for you to enjoy.

Add a touch of luxury with heated towel rails, bathrobe hooks and soap dispenser.

Additional accessories such as plants, bathroom mats, vases and artwork can take your bathroom to the next level. Approach these accessories with a minimalist mindset to avoid overcrowding.

To create a spa-like experience, include items like candles, bath salts, soaps, lotions and beauty products. If space allows it, use open cabinets to display luxury lotions to add to the spa effect.

Mirrors add to the chosen style and can also be positioned strategically to create the illusion of depth and more bathroom space.

Finishing Touches

Surfaces play a big role in enhancing a bathroom, contributing to the overall bathroom experience while helping to delineate your chosen style. Bella Bathrooms & Tiles specialises in cut tiles according to the required specifications. Tiling adds to the bathroom’s aesthetic appeal and also helps in protecting walls, floors and fixtures from water and moisture.

Cabinet handles, shower heads and taps come in a variety of finishes which give your bathroom a distinctive look. Choose matching taps and handles so that a sense of continuity is created throughout the room.

Interesting materials are key in helping your bathroom stand out. Tiling is available in a wide variety of colours and styles, which makes it a popular flooring choice, while mosaic tiles are common in showers and as cladding around the bath. Be aware of the grout between mosaic tiles which may be challenging to clean, making stone or granite possibly easier shower alternatives.

Take on your bathroom remodelling as a fun exercise. Sure there may be moments of frustration as in any worthwhile project but the end result will add enjoyment to your bathroom time, making your home more beautiful and even serving as as an investment by adding value to the home. For more tips on turning your dream bathroom into a reality, contact our head designer, Zerona Gerber on info@bellabathrooms.co.za.