I came accross the website http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/feature/bright-ideas-bathroom-furniture . Its a UK site with great bathroom furniture. Great Ideas and Great Pictures! Here is the article below..
BRIGHT IDEAS FOR BATHROOM FURNITURE
More than just providing functional storage, your bathroom cabinets can make a real statement. Claire Lloyd takes a look at the latest trends and reveals her top design tips
Be clever with your storage
Bathroom vanities and cabinets should not be secondary to choosing sanitaryware — they are an integral part of the design. After all, it is the storage they offer – both for hiding away clutter and for displaying expensive-looking bottles – which will make a new bathroom the haven that it is supposed to be. “There are also cost benefits,” comments Peter Elson of Ellis Furniture. “Using furniture can reduce the cost of other materials such as tiles. Time and money can be saved on labour for boxing in pipes, for example, which are also unsightly.”Utilising the space beneath the basin is a growing trend, with double vanity units or those designed to accommodate wide contemporary basins particularly popular. Choose vanity units with dividers and/or removable drawer organisers – which can be taken out and cleaned in the dish washer in the event of a leak – to help separate out the toilet rolls from the shampoo bottles.
Other clever ideas include units with space to hang clothes, dressing gowns and towels. A large vanity which doubles as a full-length mirror, or as a mirror above the basin, is another good solution.
Make a statement with wall-hung units
Following on from the trend for wall-hung sanitaryware, wall-hung bathroom furniture is the perfect solution for sleek, contemporary bathrooms. On a more practical note, wall-hung units provide clearance below — making them space enhancing, and the floor beneath easy to clean. This will, however, mean that renovators replacing old free-standing or built-in units (around which the existing flooring was cut to fit) with wall-hung ones, may have to replace the flooring too.
You will also need to consider the wall construction. Design consultant Alan Stanford, from the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (kbsa.org.uk), explains: “The one thing to remember about wall-hung products is that they are only as secure as the wall to which they are fitted. In other words, if the wall is a plasterboard partition with little strength, it’s probably best to avoid wall-hung fixtures.” Free-standing furniture on legs is a good alternative where wall-hung is not an option.
Make storage family-friendly
Ample storage, including dedicated space to store away bath toys, is key to the success of family bathrooms. Mobile storage units are particularly good for this purpose. Yet, layout is also important: vanity units which will hold medicines and/or cleaning products
should, for example, be positioned out of easy reach. Locked cabinets (right) are another good alternative. Soft-close doors and drawers are increasingly being introduced as standard, which is good news for young families — preventing doors slamming shut on little hands. While handleless doors will prevent young children from banging their heads against protruding door furniture.
Your furniture will need to withstand the additional knocks, bumps and splashes that a family bathroom is likely to come up against — so choose a material up to the job. “For front finishes, look out for solid acrylic doors from Parapan — the high-gloss finish runs all the way through the material and is impervious to water,” says Alan Stanford from KBSA. “So too is Corian and other similar mineral-based man-made materials.”
For furniture with an MDF, chipboard or plywood core, Alan recommends specifying pre-assembled units. “The ideal construction is a traditional glue and dowel, rigid construction, delivered to site as a complete finished article. Having said that, a good, conscientious fitter can make a perfectly reasonable job of fitting flat-pack furniture with a few extra precautions.” Alan also suggests that “all exposed edges should be sealed with a suitable edging strip”, for a durable finish.
Plan Small Bathrooms
Small bathrooms and en suites require careful planning. Too little storage can result in cluttered surfaces, while over-sized cabinets and vanities will make the space look cramped. Built-in units, such as those which incorporate the WC and basin (and conceal the plumbing) with storage, can prove a good solution in small, boxy rooms (above). While small wall-hung under-basin vanities lend a compact, but contemporary feel.
Made-to-measure fitted furniture is often the best way of maximising on storage potential in awkwardly shaped small rooms. “Corner vanity units are especially suitable for smaller bathrooms, making the most of an unused area of the room,” suggests bathroom planning expert Geoff Wells from fitted bathroom specialist Dolphin.
Where possible, try to maintain a minimum comfortable circulation space of 400mm around furniture and sanitaryware.
Turn furniture into a feature
Vanity units and cabinets do not just play a functional role, but are integral to the bathroom aesthetic. Needless to say, the furniture you specify should complement the style, finish and colour of your chosen sanitaryware. This is particularly key when renovating an old home or building a period-style house where you intend to recreate an era style, such as Regency or Art Deco. Mixing contemporary wall-hung units with a Victorian-inspired high-level cistern toilet, for example, will inevitably detract from rather than enhance a bathroom. Matched well, furniture is an asset which will help to create a timeless bathroom interior.
Bathroom furniture can also be utilised as an eye-catching room divide. This works particularly well in large bathrooms, helping to creates zones — with a practical space for getting ready for the day to one side, and relaxing and bathing to the other (as above). Add to the ambience with illuminated shelves or lit vanities to showcase your favourite products and lend a soft and relaxing background glow.
Furniture could also be positioned so as to hide the WC from view of the door or the bath. If the vanity will stand away from the wall and you intend to mount a basin on top, remember to plan in advance for the wastes.
Finally, bathroom furniture need not be square or rectangular: the current trend for curved kitchen units has seen curved bathroom furniture quickly follow suit. Vanities and cabinets are also beginning to be seen as pieces of well-designed furniture in their own right.
Lets start coming up with your own designs that fit your design taste!
Now your bathroom will look soooo unique.
Emil M.
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