Creative Designs

Location of facilities

Unless you are planning a huge bathroom renovation, most often you are limited to the current placement of the bath, shower, sinks and toilets; although with careful planning certain items can be re-arranged. Also consider the placement of clothes hampers, towel rods, and other easy-to-move items. Are they in the most suitable place for their use? Or do you have to make three or more steps from the point where you will most likely to use them in order to reach them. Making a few quick changes can improve the functionality of a bathroom a great deal.

Colour

Many older bathrooms have interesting wall paper usage or paint effects from previous owners that are nothing short of an eyesore. Like the bedroom, the bathroom serves as a sanctuary for its owners when they want to relax in a bath so colour is just as important here. Pick a light, airy colour that wont overwhelm and seem to suffocate its users. Additionally, older bathtubs were often moulded in interesting colours such as green or aubergine. Modern bathtub moulds can often be slipped directly over existing bathtubs to get rid of the old color without making a major renovation.

Storage

Just like any other part of the house, the bathroom requires adequate storage, especially for unmentionable items. There are varying types of cabinets available from home improvement retailers that will accommodate almost any need and many include more than enough space for even the most devoted of pack-rats. These usually install with just a few screws in the wall, but if you need help, dont be afraid to ask a professional.

Light

A well Designed bathroom always centres on proper light, but many bathrooms do not come with windows. To make up for this Design flaw of the house, consider white, natural light-mimicking bulbs and careful placement of mirrors on the wall. This tactic can also help tremendously in making smaller bathrooms appear larger and much less cramped.

Accessories

Keep accessories and knick-knacks to a minimum. Sure that dressy shower curtain looks great with those rugs, but when paired with the toilet seat cover and the matching drapes, your bathroom can quickly seem claustrophobic with all the matching colors, especially if you are limited on size. Two or three dressings are all you probably need to make the accent that you want without going overboard.

Vision House Software develops specialist 3D CAD Visualisation and Illustration software tools for Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom planning. The software's popularity has grown enormously since the first version was developed in 1999 and it is now widely recognized within the KBB, CAD development and interior Design industry.

posted by lks  # 6:07 AM 0 comments

Everyone who has some major reDesigning ideas for their kitchen or bath has a secret desire to know what OTHER people are doing. Even if they do not have any intention of imitating or copying others' ideas, they still want to believe their ideas are not too far out.

This year, 2005, has been an exciting year for hand-painted tile. The overwhelming trend for kitchen and bathroom tile murals has been tropical fish. In multi-tile scenes with their natural environment of corals and rocks, and in single accent tiles to scatter around the room for effect, more people chose fish as their Design theme than any other subject.

One reason for the popularity of tropical fish as a Design theme, I believe, is because there is such a huge variety of colors that any preconceived color scheme can be accommodated with some or other species, no matter what. Even if blue/green is the main color, the fish can float in their natural color background with no distracting rocks or brightly colored corals.

Another reason could be because the idea for hand-painted tiles to beautifully accent a room's decor often comes, in typical human fashion, AFTER the basic colors have already been chosen. What theme has so many colors to match with as tropical fish?

They are also great as an abstract theme as well. They are as wonderful in a whimsical, cartoonish style as they are in a realistic style. Kids love the fun ones in their tub and shower walls. Adults seem to like the more somber, darker colored abstracts, such as the copper-colored weather-vane look, with a greenish patina, an awesome mural in the kitchen!

Silhouettes are popular too. Many fish species have a distinct profile that is easily recognizable in silhouette. Use varying colors and the effect is marvelous! Interspersed with silhouettes of other sea items like coral, shells, and other nautical items, and you have a one-of-a-kind art theme in your own special space.

Believe it or not, even dead fish, done in a realistic style, can be painted to look excellent, rather like the way they look laid out in a market bin. It has a "French poster" look to it that goes very well in some country-style decors. Of course, this style works best with food fish, as opposed to tropical fish species.

There really is no end to the marvelous themes and schemes that can be created using fish as a basic motif, whether food, game or tropical fish are used. Work with a tile artist who is open to all your ideas and she will create a magical space that will be tireless and timeless.

I believe that with so many people catching on to the fish theme, this will be the hottest trend for years to come. Especially within all-white tile walls, the bright colors set off anything and everything you wish to accessorize, and these things can be changed every year and your tile will always have a color within that matches.

Dy Witt has 22 years working with ceramic glazes and tiles. To read her free article on brightening your decor with hand-painted ceramic tile and to view her gallery of one-of-a-kind commissions and testimonials, visit http://www.dyztilz.comFor answers to any tile or Design questions, email Dy at DyWitt@dyztilz.com

posted by lks  # 12:41 AM 0 comments