Showers You Can Control

I don’t know about you, but I cannot mention the number of times I’ve had a shower using separate hot and cold water taps, leaving me either scorched with hot water or screaming as the water temperature suddenly changes to freezing.

While adults can usually manage this temperature variance, I always worry about my children. Especially the younger ones when they want to shower rather than bath. Using separate hot and cold water taps when showering is not only inconvenience, but the one reason we all use a shower is to save water and you can waste so much water as you stand there trying to get the water to mix to the perfect temperature.

If you think about it, there is nothing pleasant about showering like this. The water can change from one minute to the next and while showering the last thing you need is someone in the home turning on the kitchen tap, this can leave you either burned or frozen.

Shower Valves

The solution to this problem is the use of shower valves. Shower valves come in a selection of choices from exposed thermostatic valves to concealed options with cylindrical or square options to choose from.

The exposed shower valves are usually a long product which is mounted to the shower wall, there are two controls one on either side of the valve, the first controls the water pressure, while the other controls the temperature. You know how much time you can save using shower valves, you turn the dials to the required temperature and pressure and you’re in the shower without the risk of the water changing temperature constantly.

Exposed Shower Valves

The concealed shower valves are modern and sophisticated and are displayed on your shower wall as a chrome plate with either two or three controls. These controls are the same as the exposed shower valves in that they manage pressure and temperature. If you choose the concealed shower valves with three dials, the third dial is used if you have a second shower head or shower jets in your shower.

concealed shower valves

Using shower valves makes your showering experience easier and more enjoyable and I would recommend them for any family bathroom ensuring that younger children can shower with ease without the fear of them being burned.

Are Quadrant Shower Enclosures the Best Choice For Compact Bathrooms?

When it comes to designing a compact bathroom there is one thing that stands in your way and that is the space you have available. Careful layout, using carefully chosen bathroom products and measuring everything is the only way to get the bathroom design you are hoping for.

One of the best compact bathrooms I have ever seen really made the most of the small space available. It was a galley style bathroom, very long and thin. When you walked in the door which was on the one side of the bathroom area you were faced with a good sized vanity in white which incorporated a stylish basin.

P Shaped Quadrant Shower Enclosure

The entire bathroom was painted in brilliant white which really made the space feel light, bright and airy. Above the basin was a window which allowed some light, but didn’t bounce throughout the space.

Next to the basin was the toilet and then opposite the toilet they had chosen a quadrant shower enclosure with tray which fitted into the corner position with ease.

Opposite the window, next to the door they had placed a large bathroom mirror with lights which helped reflect any light into the bathroom.

Make the Most of the Space

Being limited on the bathroom space available can make turning your compact bathroom into a dream bathroom very difficult. It’s how you use the space that counts.

Quadrant shower enclosures that fit to a quadrant shower tray is the first step in the right direction. These are designed for the corner in mind, either in a square or rectangular design with a stylish curved front that adds that elegance to your overall design.

Then your basin. Every bathroom needs storage space so adding a vanity which includes a basin is a space saving option which also helps reduce the clutter in the bathroom, enabling you to have ample storage. This way you don’t end up with towels strewn across the floor and toiletries everywhere. The neater the better, especially when working with such a small space.

Taking the quadrant shower enclosures, vanity units with basins and a back to wall toilet are all ways to maximise the space available. Be sure to paint or tile your bathroom in a light colour, white works best but natural tones are a top choice this year. Add a large window to allow the natural light to flow through the space and enjoy your light, bright and spacious bathroom design.

Elegant Shower Choices

Showers are becoming a top choice on bathroom designs due to their convenience and water saving ability. Did you know that when you shower you only use a fraction of the water you would have used if you had soaked in a hot bath?

Another reason that showers are becoming a top choice is because you can add touches of luxury, making them a welcome addition to any bathroom, such as the jets which spray water at you from various angles, depending on where you have placed them.

Top Choices

There are a number of shower choices that really have that “wow” factor. Some of the best I have seen include a wet room design with enormous picture window to one side. The window looks over a lake where the views appear never ending.

Frameless Sliding Shower Door

The great thing about this design is there are no shower doors, no tray and yet, in some cases a wet room can be a nightmare. Though they do work well in smaller bathroom spaces.

Another of the top choices was an enormous oval bath freestanding in the middle of the bathroom floor on fake grass, there was a huge window to the side of the bathroom overlooking a forest, really welcoming the outdoors into the room. Above the bath on the ceiling was a large round shower head which sprayed water directly into the bath. This design was both elegant, stylish and practical offering both the ability to shower or bath, depending on your preference.

For the Smaller Bathrooms

Of course these lavish shower designs are not always practical for our bathrooms, especially when you live in the city areas and having a huge picture window will only welcome the neighbours eyes.

Some of the best designs I have seen yet include the bow sliding door shower trays, these are rectangular trays with a gentle curve. The tray was placed against a back wall in the corner facing into the bathroom and combined with the stunning sliding doors which didn’t compromise on any floor space.

All the items in the bathroom included the gentle curve you found on the bow sliding door shower trays, carrying the design throughout the space and really complimenting the room.

Whether you choose the bow sliding door shower trays or another of the shower trays available it’s so important you always take your floor space into consideration when choosing your shower tray. The sliding doors don’t open into the space and that is why they are always a top choice in the smaller bathroom designs.

Stylish Shower Designs

One thing that is definite about 2013 is the fact that more bathrooms are being designed on a spa-inspired theme. What this means is that you can include a shower in your bathroom, but turn it into a design feature, making it the centre-piece of the room and giving your bathroom space a “wow” factor.

One of the shower designs that have topped the charts lately is the walk in shower design, these showers don’t use doors making them an ideal choice for family bathrooms and bathrooms for the elderly.

The great thing about the walk in shower design is that when combined with the right shower accessories, they can add that “wow” factor to your bathroom space. The enclosures for these designs are made from a pane of safety glass. They are minimalistic in design and blend in beautifully with any bathroom design.

Walk In Shower

The shower accessories you may want to include are the jets. If you are after a spa-inspired bathrooms the shower jets can add that touch of luxury. The jets are available in square or round designs and power water from different angles depending on where you have placed them on your shower wall.

Funky and Modern Designs

Recently I saw two ultra modern bathroom designs, they probably cost a lot, but they are the funkiest and most modern shower designs. The first was the egg design. This shower stands in the centre of your bathroom and is a solid unit in the shape of an egg. The one side of the egg opens for a doorway, almost like peeling the wrapper from an Easter egg.

The other design that caught my attention was the sphere design. This is a round design that runs from the floor up and over your head in a circular shape. The shower head is placed at the top and then the shower accessories, such as the jets are mounted in the sides offering a complete showering experience. The great thing about the sphere design is that they can be placed both indoors or outdoors by the pool offering a modern twist on a regular shower enclosure.

At the same time many of us are down to choosing the shower enclosures available online or in stores, if you are choosing a shower, be sure to find the right shower accessories to make your shower the centre-piece it deserves to be, a shower that will complement your bathroom design.

How Are You Installing Your New Shower Head?

Showers have become such a popular choice offering convenience and functionality while saving you water. It’s a fact that showering saves water over using a bath and the average person will only take five minutes to shower, so it also saves you time.

When placing a shower in your bathroom these days, you have such a selection available to you from the different shaped and sized shower trays to the various enclosures all the way to the shower heads and shower jets.

Your shower head can be ultra modern or traditional and you can add that touch of luxury by incorporating shower jets, but do you know where you are installing your shower head?

Star Shower Head

Wall Mounted Shower Heads

Wall mounted shower heads offer functionality and practicality, enabling you to place the shower head at your desired height, but once it’s up there is no moving it. You can get shower arms which come out of the wall with a movable elbow which allows you to move the shower head around to ensure that you get the most out of your showering experience.

Ceiling Mounted Shower Heads

You will find many modern bathrooms will choose this option when mounting their shower heads. A large square shower head mounted to the ceiling looks stylish and sophisticated, but again there is no adjusting the height. While it may look great if your ceiling is high above the shower you may find that you don’t benefit from the full water flow. I can think of nothing worse than dancing around a shower trying to get the water to cover you when you’re full of soap.

Slide Rail Kits

Slide rail kits offer ease of use, functionality and convenience. Unlike the wall mounting and ceiling mountings you get for your shower, these kits offer a rail which is mounted to the shower wall enabling you to adjust the height of your shower head.

Slide rail kits are the perfect choice for family bathrooms where you have family members, all different heights using the shower. This enables you to adjust the shower head each time you shower to ensure you are getting the best showering experience. The slide rail kits come in a choice of designs to blend in with any bathroom design, whether you have a traditional or modern bathroom.

Hinged Door Shower Enclosures – A Stylish Finish To Your Bathroom

Choosing a shower enclosure should be easy, but with so many to choose from you may be hesitant on which one is the right option for your bathroom. Hinged shower doors offer style and elegance to any bathroom space, they can blend in with your bathroom design assisting you in finishing your bathroom to perfection.

What you will notice when looking at hinged door shower enclosures is that you have two options available, there are framed and frameless designs and you choice can be determined depending on whether you are working with a modern or traditional bathroom.

Bow Hinged Shower Door

The framed designs are finished in chrome helping it blend in beautifully with your bath and basin taps, shower head, shower valves and your designer radiator, if you have one. These are perfect for both modern and traditional bathroom designs. The gentle curve of the door offers additional showering space, but be sure your enclosure is bowed, these hinged door shower enclosures only work with the Sloegrin shower trays, matching perfectly and ensuring that the shower is fully enclosed, reducing the risk of leaks.

The frameless hinged door shower enclosures are the ideal choice for both ultra-modern and modern bathroom designs following through with the minimalist design. The chrome handle blends in with the rest of your fixtures and fittings while the plain glass of the enclosure allows light to flow through with ease, making the space feel lighter and brighter.

The Best Match

Of course your shower enclosure will depend on the shower tray you intend on placing in the bathroom. For example, the frameless hinged door shower enclosures work beautifully in a recess space where you have chosen to place a shower with straight edges and a modern finish.

You always need to take the space you have into consideration when choosing these shower doors because they do open up into the bathroom. The hinge allows the door to swing open with ease giving you a large opening to get in and out of the shower. If you think you may have obstacles in the way, be sure to measure and then measure again, as there is nothing worse than your shower door not opening completely and having to squeeze through the opening.

When you choose the hinged door shower enclosures for your bathroom you can enjoy an elegant and stylish finish to your design, a centre piece of your bathroom that is cool and modern.

Getting to Grips With Shower Valves

Shower valves are an important aspect of your showering experience, this is the part that helps you manage your water flow and temperature. Of course you want your new shower valves to blend in with your overall design and complement your shower, which is why you need to know the different options available.

Exposed Shower Valves

The exposed shower valves are stylish and elegant and will look fantastic in any bathroom design. These are generally a bar with a valve on each side, the one side will determine the water flow while the other determines the temperature. The advantage is that everyone in the house can manage the temperature they prefer and the pressure they require.

Thermostatic Mixer Valve

The exposed shower valves come in cylindrical designs, square and deluxe options. Depending on your overall bathroom style, you will be able to pick the one that best works with your other bathroom fixtures and fittings.

Concealed Shower Valves

The concealed shower valves are very modern and stylish, perfect for that minimalistic bathroom design. These valves are a plate which is attached to your shower wall with two or three dials. Each dial has a purpose, one will be for the water flow letting you determine what water pressure you prefer, one will be for the temperature giving you the chance to make your shower as hot or cold as you wish. If you choose a concealed shower valve with three dials, you will use the third to manage the shower jets or extra shower head that you have placed in your shower.

Dual Concealed Shower Valves

These shower valves are very stylish, perfect for modern or traditional bathrooms. The valves are round in shape with two levers, the levers manage your water flow and temperature.

There are four dual concealed shower valves to choose from, two of which have a cross head for managing the water flow, the same as you would find on many traditional taps. Perfect for all bathroom designs offering elegance and sophistication to the space.

How to Choose

With so many shower valves to choose from it can be a difficult decision on which is right for you. The best solution is to take your overall bathroom design into consideration along with the taps you have already chosen for your basin or your basin and bath, keep the shower valves in line with those designs to ensure you have the same style flowing throughout the space.

Have You Got Everything You Need For Your Bathroom Renovation?

Doing a bathroom renovation is such an exciting time, you measure your bathroom, draw up a plan and start choosing your bathroom products. Very often the budget gets used on the larger items, the bath, shower and vanity and little is left for the essential items, such as your easy plumb and fast flow waste (wastes for shower trays, baths and basins).

It’s so easy for your budget to get blown on the larger items, yet forgetting or not having enough money left over for the essential waste can be disastrous for any bathroom project. It’s obvious you need easy plumb and fast flow waste for your bathroom design, where would the water go if you didn’t plan this into your budget?

90mm High Flow Shower Waste

Ensuring You Stay on Track

The easiest way to ensure that you don’t forget the essential things you need for your bathroom renovation is to set an overall budget and then break it down. Set a budget aside for the shower and its waste, the bath and its waste and the basin and its waste. This way you can rest assured you will have everything in place when the contractors come in to start work.

There is nothing worse than building work being put on hold because you don’t have everything ready when the contractors arrive. They can gut your current bathroom, but once it comes to installation they will not be able to proceed without the right easy plumb and fast flow waste available.

Choosing your Plumbing and Waste

There are a number of choices when it comes to your easy plumb and fast flow waste (wastes for shower trays, baths and basins). If you imagine a bath you know there is an overflow area and a plug hole, both of these need to have access to the drain allowing water to drain out of the bath without flooding the bathroom. The wastes for these incorporate the two with the option of the traditional plug and chain design or the easy Klik-Klak push design. Choose the design that best suits your bathroom décor and style.

The same applies to your basin, are you going to choose the traditional plug and chain or the easy to use push button easy plumb and fast flow waste? Which one suits your bathroom style and is easier for the family to use?

Take careful consideration when choosing your waste, always see what is available before making any decisions and most of all, remember to add your easy plumb and fast flow waste into your bathroom budget so you have everything ready when your contractors arrive.

Shower Choices For The Modern Bathroom

What do you think of when you think of the word “modern?” Do you think of straight edges, minimalistic, white and bright? Modern is a popular choice for bathrooms these days, the streamlined designs, the elegant touches, the square bathroom products and the white, glass and chrome finishes.

When choosing a shower for your modern bathroom you need to choose a shower tray that blends in with your bathroom design while remaining both functional and practical. This is why I love the square shower trays, they offer the straight edges and you can place them in the corner of the bathroom or against a wall, wherever you have chosen to place your shower.

Bi-Fold Shower Doors

Where is Your Shower Going?

Your first decision before you go out and buy a shower tray is to determine where you are placing it in your bathroom. Often I choose a corner position which helps maximise the floor space of the bathroom leaving you room to place a bath if you have the room and all your other essential bathroom products.

Maybe you have a recess area in your bathroom, the perfect place for a shower. Again this is where the square shower trays come in, often fitting into the space with ease and then there is placing the shower along a wall. Combining the square shower trays with a stylish enclosure, panels and accessories and you have a sophisticated space to be proud of.

What Door Are You Choosing?

As you look at all the shower trays available you’ll notice that some of them only allow you the ability of a sliding door, now you may prefer the idea of a bi-fold door or a pivot door and with the square shower trays you are in control and just about any shower door will work with ease.

For smaller bathrooms I would suggest that when installing your square shower trays you stick with the doors that do not swing open such as your sliding doors or bi-fold doors. The bi-fold doors are stylish and work on a concertina effect that allows you to make the most of the bathroom space you have available.

For larger bathrooms you can choose any shower door to fit the square shower trays from the hinged and pivot doors that swing open to the walk in shower enclosures that don’t have a door and ooze sophistication and elegance to the sliding and bi-fold doors. With these trays you are in control of your own bathroom design.

Be In Control of Your Bathroom Design

How often have you had that perfect bathroom design in your head, but when it comes down to the putting the final pieces of the puzzle together, you find that you can’t put your shower where you wanted? This is probably one of the most frustrating parts of any bathroom design.

You want your bathroom to look exactly like you wanted. You want your shower exactly where you intended placing it and there is no reason you should not be in complete control of your design. Don’t let your bathroom be in control of you, put your foot down and get what you want.

Side Panel with Hinge Door

The Convenience of Shower Panels

Right so you have chosen the perfect shower tray, a nice big rectangular tray which can fit against the back wall of your bathroom. Now you already have the wall which you can waterproof and tile and you have your door chosen. Maybe a stylish pivot or hinged door or may the concertina design of a bi-fold shower door. The problem is that you still have two sides open to the elements. You immediately go into overdrive imagining that you will have to rethink your bathroom design. Think again, shower panels are the solution.

Shower panels are panes of glass, they are thickened and they fill in the open spaces. This gives you control of your design and choose exactly where you want your shower to be placed.

If you have chosen a design that turns your shower into a centre piece along the back wall of the bathroom, you can have it. All you need then is to tile the back wall and ensure it’s water tight, have your door selected and two shower panels to close off the two open sides of your shower.

The advantage is that you can place your shower wherever you want, in the corner of the bathroom with two sides being already enclosed by all, one with the door and one with a shower panel. It’s a quick and easy solution which stops you from having to rethink your design.

Better yet because the shower panels are a pane of glass they let the light flow freely through them, as we all know light helps make the bathroom feel bigger than it is. There is nothing more stylish and elegant than a light and bright bathroom filled with white products, plenty of glass and chrome.