Archive for March, 2010

Creating A Stunning Cloakroom With A New Suite

Homes without cloakroom suites will be lacking in functionality and so it does pays to learn how these can be installed. Cloakrooms are additions to a home that add functionality, although care has to be taken that the right options are chosen, even if all that needs to be done is adding a toilet and a washbasin. The addition of showers and suitable storage will certainly make the cloakroom more practical and in addition it will help to add value to the home.

The basics of good cloakroom suites involve budget as well as dimensions. Fortunately, these suites are available for almost every dimension, and following the rule of measuring twice and cutting once will prove to be very useful.

The budget should revolve around installation costs and in order to spend less, why not consider installing the cloakroom on your own?

Stylish cloakroom suites are easy to create and require having the right tastes that in turn will help in deciding what needs to be included and what should be excluded. In any case, two styles are most often used, which include contemporary and traditional styles. In the case of traditional style cloakrooms, these are very popular and usually involve using furniture items that are curved and which have round edges. Toilets and the basins are often chosen as items with pedestals and these are normally colored white or cream.

For contemporary style cloakrooms, these can prove to be very beautiful and at the same time they can be functional. Contemporary styles are also ideal options when space is limited, which is why many people opt for this style. It requires dispensing with washbasin and toilet pedestals and instead, the washbasin and toilet can be mounted on the wall and even placed on available surfaces. Another option is to put them on any item of suitable furniture.

Taps should be wall mounted and must be of lever type and their shapes are generally more angular, but for added beauty, the right shape would one that is curvaceous and which is minimalistic. Whether you opt for traditional style or contemporary cloakrooms, the main issue that needs to be addressed is ensuring that everything in the cloakroom is very functional. The right option is in fact to combine function with form as this will provide the best results.

In regard to creating a cloakroom that is luxurious, it only requires hanging sanitary ware from the walls as this helps in freeing up space and at the same time creates a more modern looking cloakroom. Also, it pays to make full use of cloakroom furniture such as vanity and back to the wall toilet which will make the cloakroom look more compact. Using coat hooks or even a hat stand can help to create a nice design while adding stylish mirrors and towel rails made from chrome will compliment the cloakroom admirably well.

Cloakroom suites are not so hard to create but it will require doing more than using normal bathroom designs. Because space is usually limited, it does require making use of every design trick so as to maximize space that with the help of the tips mentioned above can help in achieving desirable results.

View our entire cloakroom suite range

Project Cloakroom Suite – Where To Start

Whether you are installing a new cloakroom into your house, or simply replacing an old, worn out cloakroom suite, the sheer choice of sanitary ware available out there can make choosing a new cloakroom suite a confusing project.  Hopefully, the following points will help you in that choice.

How can it be so confusing, you ask, when all you’re really looking for is a washbasin and toilet?  You just wait and see!  Also, don’t forget that, if you have enough space, you can add to the value of your property by installing a shower and some storage facilities to the cloakroom too.

Let’s get back to the basics, though, and think in terms of the essentials first.

The very first things you need to consider when planning your cloakroom are budget and the amount of space you have available.  If you are skilled enough to install the cloakroom suite yourself, that’s great, but if you are in any doubt it pays to employ a professional.  Don’t forget to factor the cost of installation into your budget.

Next consideration is style – are you a traditionalist or a modernist?  Whichever of these terms applies, there are plenty of cloakroom suites out there to fit your particular bill.

Traditionally styled cloakroom suites generally are rounded in shape or have curved edges.  There’s nothing ’shocking’ – all is as it should be, with pedestal mounts and classic good looks.

Contemporary cloakroom suites throw that entire specification up into the air!  You will find rectangular basins (and indeed toilets) with flattened, angular edges.  The pedestal has been vanquished and basins and toilets are wall-hung; taps are operated by the use of levers or they are wall mounted and there seems to be no connection between the cistern and the lavatory bowl.  Contemporary suites are very popular, possibly because the minimalist lines look better in confined spaces.

Whatever you do and whatever your style choice, remember that when all is said and done you are designing a room that needs to be functional as well as good looking.

View our full cloakroom suites range

Cloakroom Suites For All Tastes And Budgets

If you are installing a new cloakroom, you will very quickly find yourself wondering how on earth you ever managed without it.  If you are renovating an existing cloakroom, you already know what a useful addition to your home this usually very tiny room can be. Whichever of these categories you fall within, however, you might well find that there is now so much choice out there that you don’t know where to start.  The purpose of this article is to give you a push in the right direction.

If you find yourself thinking that choosing simple sanitary ware such as a hand washbasin and toilet, well, perhaps it is.  But have you considered how the addition of a shower and storage facilities (if you have enough space) could positively affect the value of your home?

But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here!  We’ve already mentioned the astonishing choice of cloakroom furniture that abounds on the market, so perhaps your first priority is to find your way through the cloakroom suite maze.

The very first things you need to consider when planning your cloakroom are budget and the amount of space you have available.  If you are skilled enough to install the cloakroom suite yourself, that’s great, but if you are in any doubt it pays to employ a professional.  Don’t forget to factor the cost of installation into your budget.

Style is such a personal thing but the truth of the matter is that your choices really boil down to traditional or contemporary.  Whichever side of the traditionalist fence you fall, there will be something out there to suit.

Traditionally styled cloakroom suites generally are rounded in shape or have curved edges.  There’s nothing ’shocking’ – all is as it should be, with pedestal mounts and classic good looks.

Contemporary, modern styled cloakroom suites can be something of an eye-opener, and they can also be particularly useful where space is limited, which is probably why they sell so well. Toilets and hand basins forgo the pedestal and are hung from the wall, placed on existing surfaces, or on suitable pieces of furniture.  Taps are either lever style or also wall mounted.  Shapes tend towards the angular, although there are some beautiful cloakroom suites available that combine curves with minimalism to great effect.

Whatever your style choice, be it contemporary or strictly classical, the major point to remember is that the room you are styling must, above all, be functional.  This is the time to strive for that most elusive of blends – the combination of form with function.

View our full cloakroom suites range

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