Create a sumptuous sanctuary in a bathroom that is awash with style. Helen Carson reports
They may be known as the smallest room in the house, but having a sumptuous bathroom is a deal-breaker when it comes to selling your home — and for those not planning to move, it should be a soothing sanctuary in which to relax.
En suites are taking on a new significance with more young people staying at home longer. This is fuelling a demand for en suites, so is it any wonder that families are turning their homes into hotel-style accommodation with some of the coolest products on the market.
Royden Evans, managing director of leading online plumbing and heating company PlumbNation, says: “We are seeing more and more enquiries from families wanting to know the best way to create en suite bathrooms in their homes because their adult children are staying in the family home for longer.”
So, how do you get a luxurious feel here? Well, we in Northern Ireland have more or less ditched the avocado and coloured suites of the 1970s in favour of pure and simple white.
The good news is, it doesn’t matter whether you love the unadulterated loveliness of ultra-modern boutique hotel-style bathrooms with contemporary baths and a power shower, or prefer the Victorian splendour of ornate taps, a deep fill bath and an overhead drencher shower head, because both are highly coveted by style aficionados.
We are also upsizing to world-class brands when it comes to bathtime, think Jacuzzi — and they don’t just make those famous jet baths you know! Expect sought-after sanitary ware and tasteful taps from this top drawer name.
When it comes to finishing out bathrooms, local folk love tiles — beautiful, practical and stylish this is the only way to achieve a really polished look.
Trendy wet rooms have also become all the rage, especially to an en suite which is a compact space which is easy to transform into your own personal wash ‘n’ go space, ready for the morning dash.
One of House Doctor Ann Maurice’s pet peeves is carpet in the bathroom, and as usual, she’s right. A tiled floor in the bathroom not only adds a fabulous finish, but is more hygienic and easier to keep clean.
This functional space need not lack personality, it’s just right for wall art — whether that’s a pretty framed picture, pop art design or what about some gorgeous wallstickers which are available in a host of designs for a really individual feel?
If you’ve got enough room, interior designers love to add a chair here for a chic touch. But if you’re just too rock and roll for all that, the perfect accessory is coloured loo paper, available in black, cerise pink, turquoise blue and more from Renova. You can buy from mail order company.
