Design Digest
Design Digest
“Making Better Homes” September 2010
OUR FALL ’CHANGING COLORS’ EDITION
September brings with it the new fall / autumn season. And with fall comes a glorious array of new colors for the leaves on the trees. It’s a beautiful time of year, and we celebrate it this month with our own Design Digest “changing colors” edition. All of our articles in this issue pertain to changing the colors in your bathroom.
A Different Color for Your Vanity
The traditional color for bathroom vanities is brown–and for good reason. That’s the natural color of the wood that is used for them. Brown with an oak or cherry-wood
vanity is a wonderful color and goes with many bathroom themes. It’s not the only color, though. For a change that will dazzle everyone, consider a white or black vanity. White especially looks good with bathrooms that are sporting a modern / contemporary theme. In fact, consider splashing white all over the bathroom for maximum impact: Not just a white vanity, but white side cabinet and white shelves.
A Different Color for Your Faucet
A common bathroom design faux pas is developing a vintage style bathroom and ruining the look by having ultra-modern fixtures such as today’s current crop of silver, futuristic looking faucets. Instead, if you’re going with an antique or Colonial or early American or Victorian bathroom, you need faucets that match the theme. That means swap out the polished silver look for something in more of an old copper look. A copper-colored, ornately-styled faucet looks just like it’s been snagged from last century and is perfect for these vintage bathrooms.
A Different Color for Your Tile
Bathroom tile doesn’t always have to be a plain white. Consider playing around with the colors available to you in marble or travertine tile. These natural stone tiles give any bathroom a sense of elegance, and almost majesty. They’re available in the traditional marble black-with-white swirls (which looks great as a countertop on your vanity or for the shower area), in the white / gray mix (nice for floor tiles as well as, again, the shower or counters), and even desert beige (in case you have a bathroom that is heavy in earth tones). To really add variety, especially on your floor tile, add extra decoration, through for instance, a floor medallion (See MEDALLIONS on the www.HomeDesignOutletCenter.com website for ideas).
Hopefully from these three ideas this month, you’ve seen that often, changing the entire look of your bathroom is as simple as changing up the colors.
Design Digest
Design Digest
“Making Better Homes” August 2010
BACK-TO-SCHOOL KIDS’ BATHROOMS
It’s August, which means that homes across America are getting the kids ready for another school year. Getting kids dressed and ready in the morning will be easier if they have their own bathroom. This month, we focus on suggestions for your kids’ bathroom.
Make More Room for More Kids
If your bathroom is big enough for it, one of the best reasons for upgrading your bathroom vanity from a single vanity to a double is having more than one child who needs to use it at once. This one step, by offering sink space for two kids at a time, can
cut the kids’ get-ready time in half! Remember, though, that when you’re installing the
bathroom faucets for the vanity, to make them reachable by the little folks.
Keep Everything at Kid Level
A well-designed children’s bathroom is one in which everything is low enough for the kids to reach. This means that towel racks are lower, and vanities sit low enough that the young ones can use the sink for brushing their teeth, washing their hands, and other chores. Also, consider installing a hand shower in the bathtub / shower unit. Sometimes, the stationery shower heads are too high to be completely effective. A hand held shower head allows them to clean more at their own level. Don’t forget the mirrors; they must be kept at eye level for every child in the family. If you have two or more children, each with radically different eye levels, then you might need to incorporate more than one mirror.
Use a Durable Tile
The bathroom tile is no place to skimp, especially when you have kids running in and out all day. Use a hard material for the floor and wall tiles—something that can resist the abuse that the average kid can dish out. Natural stone tile is perfect for a children’s bathroom.
Let the Kids Help
Since this is the kids’ personal space, ask for their opinions. What theme would they like to use? Pick a favorite topic that all the kids can agree on, such as favorite cartoon characters or animals, and use those ideas for your towels, curtains, and table decorations.
Safety First
Of course, with children, keep safety always in mind in their bathroom. That means you should use a bathmat for when they get out of the tub or shower, and if possible, handle rails to help them get in and out.
