Kitchen Article

A new Bathroom

Perennial home improver, Gillian Switalski is mad about bathrooms. To relax when she is not working, she designs bathrooms. She has created at least 12 to date and spends hours selecting the right baths, tiles and fittings for each one.

She says you do not need acres of space to create a fantastic bathroom, but there is one golden rule that can never be broken - use any colour as long as it’s white! For Gillian, coloured

bathrooms date and the wonderful thing about white is everything goes with it. Her advice is to spend as much as you can spare on good taps.These can make an inexpensive white suite look luxurious.

If you don’t want to tile throughout, Gillian suggests using pictures to create a welcoming space. “I’ve even seen some bathrooms with TVs so you can lie back and watch Coronation Street in the bath! If you can’t run to that then select some lovely prints to look at while you are relaxing,” she says.

Add about 10% to the value of your house with a new bathroom.Map out your desired layout on paper so that you can see how it will work in practice. There are plenty of changes you can make to a bathroom without it costing the earth:

● Add a water pump to improve water pressure on both taps and showers.

● Consider combining a separate toilet with the main bathroom to provide more room and more light.

● Bear in mind that it's cheaper to put the bathroom at the back of the house where it is easier to run a soil pipe.

● Economise with a plain white suite and add style with great fixtures and fittings.

● Electric showers can be energy efficient as they have an integral pump and

instantaneous heating system.

● Low voltage lights give a modern feel.

● Many modern radiators are also designed for drying towels and have the

advantage of working off the existing hot water system.