No one wants an ugly bathroom…
Now with Sydney being the third most expensive city to live in the world, you may not have a spare few thousand dollars simply lying around to spend on a bathroom renovation. What you can afford to consider, though, is to have your plumber install new furnishings for a fresher look. This is an easy way to bring the room back up to date without burning a hole in your pocket at the same time. To really save those big bucks, do not change the plumbing (i.e. pipes) and ensure that your new vanity, tap, bath or bathroom accessory will fit in place of the old one.
Here are a few of my favourite bathroom items from local bathroom suppliers:
1. A Modern Slipper bath
A slipper bath is a bathtub that’s shaped like a shoe, that allows the bather’s feet to rest in the ‘toe’ part of the tub, while they are sitting more or less upright in the open part. The tub is partly covered, which is useful to prevent the spilling of the water and to protect the bather from currents of air. Because of its sleek, inviting design, it practically orders one to soak in it for a very, very long time! They are often installed in, but not restricted to, traditional bathrooms. Why not give it a contemporary twist with a custom paint finish. Slipper baths are available from Early Settler, located in Leichardt and Artamon.
Tips from the plumber: If your current bath isn’t freestanding, a low budget change over is tricky to achieve because of the re-tiling that’s required.
2. A Capital Basin
Yearn to live in London, Paris or New York? You can easily bring any of your favourite cosmopolitan cities to your bathroom by simply replacing the bathroom basin. A bathroom vanity – the combination of the bathroom sink or basin and the storage that surrounds it – can simply be revamped by this design. A modern bathroom would be the perfect fit for something like this, but it could also happily reside in this more traditional Centennial Park bathroom.
Tips from the plumber:This basin needs a tap mounted on the vanity or the wall behind, and suits either a one or two tap arrangement.
3. Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
Spice up the wall with some art deco or Venetian-style mirrors – they are more visually appealing and give the bathroom a cosy, homely look. These would fit perfectly into a traditional bathroom but, as you can see, look equally fab in a modern one. If you’re short on space, dedicate either one to be the feature of the room. A statement piece also works in making a lasting impression.
Tips from the plumber: If handypeople are not in abundance at your house and your plumber is already doing some work for you, they shouldn’t mind adding this job to their quote.
4. Taps
Taps are the icing on your bathroom’s cake. They are the pieces that give a bathroom a refined look, which can easily be brought down by dated, pitted or worn tapware. The sky is the limit in terms of design, colour and budget. Wide ranges of tap furnishings are available from Reece – Balmain, Lewisham, Waterloo and Waverley.
Tips from the plumber: Taps can create big bang for your buck, in addition to being a quick and easy makeover. Changing like for like i.e. a mixer (see above) for a mixer, or two taps for two taps is most cost effective, but you can change tap type completely if you wish.
Depending on the state of your bathroom, a cosmetic update might be all that is needed instead of a total bathroom renovation. By carefully choosing one or two areas of a bathroom to update or transform, you can give your entire bathroom a facelift.