Innovative bathroom ideas

ARTICLE Joanna Mathers

For many of us the bathroom is our secret haven. Whether it's jumping into a relaxing shower after a stressful day at work, taking time out for a pamper session with some delectable facial products, or treating ourselves to a candlelit bath, the bathroom can provide us with much-needed mental and physical rejuvenation.

For many renovators, the bathroom is one of the most exciting (and challenging) parts of the project. There is a plethora of excellent bathroom products available; there's never been so much choice when it comes to showers, baths, basins, mirrors, storage solutions and other bathroom essentials.
Here is a rundown of some of the most exciting and innovative bathroom products on the market to help inform your renovating decisions.

Feeling flush

The loo, the bog, the throne - whatever you want to call them, toilets are a key component of any bathroom. And they've certainly come a long way since the temperamental chain-pull varieties of yesteryear. Toilets now come in a range of shapes and sizes - oval, square, squat, wall hung and more - and in styles to suit all bathrooms.
The Presqu'ile Wall Hung Oval Toilet by Kohler is an elegant option for contemporary bathrooms. It has an in-wall cistern, and a quiet close toilet seat, as well as a matching oval flush button panel.
If you have a dramatic streak, then a black toilet may appeal. The Dial range of toilets includes black toilets that certainly make a style statement. The Dial Black Wall Hung toilet is particularly striking - it has no tank and looks great against white walls.
Old-style toilets flush huge amounts of water (and money) down the drain. New high-efficiency toilets (or HETs) can save up to 50 per cent of water flush. When shopping for a new toilet, looks for WELs (Water Efficiency and Labeling Standards) stickers. The more blue stars that are featured on the label, the greater the water efficiency; a rating of four to six stars is the best.

Bathing beauties

The shower or bath is the heart of every bathroom, and can afford the renovator the opportunity to inject a little personal style into their project.

A popular and attractive contemporary shower style is the frameless glass variety. Crest Shower Systems have a range of these - rectangular, square and angled - or you can choose to create a shower 'room' with one of the alcove or walk in shower systems.
Crest also has a range of glass bath screens that can be used with showers installed over baths - a more elegan option than mould attracting shower curtains.
When it comes to making an impression in the bathroom, a great bath is always a showstopper. One of the most luxurious bath options is the Kohler Escale Freestanding Bath, which features a removable pillow - ideal for long, lazy soaking.
Kholer also has a range of BubbleMassage baths, which release thousands of tiny bubbles that massage the body, and Whirlpool baths with moveable jets. Also extremely luxurious is the Kohler Purist Effervescence Chromotherapy Whirlpool. This bath emits colours that help relax and refresh the bather - it also has jets to massage tired bodies.

Turn it on

Taps and other fittings are no longer just functional; they can also be elegant and stylish. Tap manufacturers have come to the party with attractive products that work well in every bathroom - be they traditional, contemporary or colourful.

Kohler have just released the Toobi range of Japanese inspired basin mixers, bath spouts and shower mixers. They have three colour options - white, green and balck - and would look perfect in a minimalist bathroom.

Methven's Tahi range is an elegant option for modern bathrooms. The Tahi Thermostatic Single Flow Mixer is ideal for those wanting to limit their energy consumption - it has an attractive metal faceplate that would work well in any contemporary bathroom.

Warm and dry

A well-ventilated bathroom is essential for the health of your home, and there are a large number of ventilation systems that can be utilised in this room.
Vented Sola Skylights from Solartech look a little like a teleportation device (very 'beam me up, Scotty'), and let in lots of natural light. As a bonus they can be fitted with a ventilation that will help prevent mould and keep the bathroom fresh.
Heating up water is an expensive business; in fact it accounts for up to 47 per cent of the electricity we use each year. So when renovating, it makes sense it invest in energy efficient alternatives to mains electricity. Solar water heating panels lead to reduced energy consumption, and will save you money in the long term. Installed on the roof, modern solar water panels can warm water even on cloudy days. Solar companies provides solar alternatives for electrical heating.
The new Bosch Compress 3000 heat pump water heater is up to 60 per cent more energy efficient than conventional electric storage systems. It uses energy from the air, which is then transferred to the water through a refrigeration circuit, to generate hot water.

Sound and vision

Television addicts rejoice - you can now watch TV while taking a shower or lying in the bath. Robertson stocks a range of 'mirror TVs' - bathroom mirrors that also feature built in high quality TVs.

The TVs also feature lights, AM/FM players and waterproof remotes. Robertson also sell a waterproof TV made for use in the shower.
A showerhead that doubles as a speaker may sound slightly unusual, but the innovative people at Kohler have developed just such a device. The first of its kind in the world, the Moxie showerhead features a wireless speaker that can be affixed to the showerhead, and connects to your device via Bluetooth.

This article featured on page 72 of Issue 010 of Renovate Magazine. Renovate Magazine is an easy to use resource providing fresh inspiration and motivation at every turn of the page.

 

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*All information is believed to be true at time of publishing and is subject to change.