Designer Luxury Bathrooms
The ultimate in luxury, is the romantic and sumptuous designer bathroom. Picture yourself soaking in a jacuzzi tub, above hangs a crystal chandelier in a hand painted domed ceiling, the room filled with soft flowing music, a fireplace with a soft glow, the scent of fresh flowers in the air, and nobody else around. Now, lets get back to reality.
The above mentioned bath is truly a possibility, but there are many other features available in today's designer bathroom. Lets start with the flooring. Depending on your climate, a hard surface will be cold in fall and winter. A hard floor is certainly practical as far as cleaning and durability, but can be very cold on your bare feet. There are several ways available to heat the floor without turning the thermostat up. Radiant heat is an answer, and can be added to a bath, but the expense is high. A fairly new technology of a cork based underlayment is available with cost and installation fairly reasonable compared to radiant heat. This technology has its own thermostat but does require its own outlet, which is easily installed. Many of the newer laminated wood floors are also available to be used in wet areas. The secret is to make sure the perimeter is well sealed. The cork heating system can also be used under laminate flooring. Designer bathroom flooring should also have borders, inlays, or a definite pattern as to dress up and formalize the area. The same goes for the shower walls and tub decks.
Vanities, the main furnishing in a designer bathroom, should have all the bells and whistles. Whether you choose built-in vanities or the newer free standing “furniture” vanity is purely a preference. The main difference is going to be storage and height. If there is room for a storage valet, either in a armoire, or decorative chest, then the choice of vanities is endless. A beautiful hi-boy, an antique cabinet, an accent piece of furniture that has a damaged top all can work great. If there is no extra room the the main vanities should have as much storage as possible. The higher vanities available today are far superior that the conventional height vanities. The convenience of the taller height vanity is amazing, though in the beginning it may take a little time to get accustomed to. Make sure there is plenty of drawer space, since drawers are always a priority.
Shower enclosures are our next issue. A clear shower enclosure certainly makes the designer bathroom look larger, and showcases the shower walls, but cleaning is a constant battle. A frosted shower enclosure is far less maintenance, but will hide the beautiful shower walls. Glass block shower walls/enclosures are an option especially for larger wall-in, step down showers, but again hides your shower walls. There are no great solutions, so go with the beauty. Shower areas today are not just for bathing anymore. Consider installing a steam, sauna, or combination of for the area. They offer great health benefits, and truly make this room a designer bathroom.
Counter tops in the designer bathroom need to be as durable as possible, but need to conform with the beauty of the room. Granite is usually the best choice, since it is the most durable, but marble tops generally are superior in appearance. As long as you are careful not to leave any alcohol based product spills on the counter for any length of time, feel free to select the marble. As far as cost goes, tiles in either granite or marble are the least expensive way to go but, if the budget allows a slab of either stone surface looks far superior.
At International Design House we are always thriving for the “ultimate” in any project , regardless of scope, we work on. Remember our philosophy, “Beautifying the world, one room at a time”.
