New Year, Refreshed Bathroom

Has time stood still in your bathroom since you celebrated that Millennium midnight hour with fireworks and fizz? If so, we reckon that getting to grips with the upgrade project you’ve been putting off for so long is just the thing to take your mind off that pesky 2016 January dryathlon!

But before you start ripping out the fixtures and fittings, pleeease remember the planning bit.

So take a step back, dare to dream and follow these 10 top tips from the style gurus at BathEmpire:

1. Plan ahead
Yep, you really do need to make a floor plan first. It only takes a few minutes to make life so much easier as you start the search for sinks, baths and toilets that fit the size of your wallet and the size of your room. Need more tips? Check out our planning section.

2. Get rid!
De-cluttering is a quick win that helps you view your space more clearly. So get rid of the drooping geranium and all those lotions and potions you never even opened. When you don’t have much room to play with in the first place, you really need to sacrifice anything that’s going to make your small space feel even smaller.

3. What’s in store?
If there’s a trick to successful bathroom design, it’s making the space you have work best for you. So if minimalism appeals (it looks so great in the brochure), be honest with yourself and envisage not what your new shiny sanctuary will look like on day one… but what it’s likely to look like on day 21! Hmm, maybe sacrificing storage for a single glass shelf isn’t such a great idea after all once you remember to reintroduce that armada of floating plastic bottles to blight your beautiful new space. Trust us, a roomy vanity unit with space for extra towels and all your nick nacks makes big sense!

4. Do it with style
Let’s get one thing straight: The days of matching three-piece bathrooms suites are so not happening in 2016. Creating an on-trend space is all about mixing different styles – even introducing waves of whimsical wallpaper. Surf and research – t’interweb is a useful tool to check exactly what’s happening in the most contemporary 21st century bathrooms – TIP: start with bathempire.com ;)

5. The white approach
While we love the idea of all that quirky mix and matching (don’t forget the accessories!), don’t be tempted to experiment when it comes to choosing the main colour theme for your bathroom suite. If you’re thinking “space”, white really is right.

6. A night on the tiles…
Check out the current trend for ceramics with striking designs, but tailor your choice to the size of your room. It’s perhaps not such a good idea to get over-decorative in a small space, but don’t be afraid to give it large when you have more to play with. Going tile-crazy floor-to-wall can work, but ceramics can also look great on a feature wall or floor.

7. Screen star
Get rid of the shower curtain… no, really! There’s nothing worse when it comes to cluttering up a bijou space – and a swish new screen is transparently a better option (see what we did there?). We’d recommend an on-trend mirrored shower enclosure (TIP: Our EasyClean range of screens are a happy choice if cleaning isn’t your most favourite occupation!).

8. Banish the bath?
Getting rid of the tub can be done a little too hastily, so think it through. Right now, a shower may suit your lifestyle perfectly, but if this is your forever home, make sure you’re not making a decision you will regret in the future.

9. Perfect fit
Do you remember that humongous hotel bathroom with all those sinks and the roll top bath and the walk-in shower with water jets firing at you from every conceivable angle? Forget it. Most of us have to put up with a less palatial space, so don’t try to squeeze the proverbial quart into a pint pot. Instead, think smart. How about a fabulous futuristic space-enhancing illuminated mirror? And there are so many cute and fabulous slimline suite options out there, perfect for your petite space.

10. Finishing touches
Touch-technology is no longer the preserve of the living room and the kitchen, and to finish off your bathroom project you might want to go for a sumptuously luxurious look. Yes, the wettest room in the house has bags of potential when it comes to clever gadgets – from spectacular mirror TVs, inventive integrated sound systems and luscious LED colour-changing shower heads to Wi-Fi super scales and happy heated loo seats. Good luck!