At BathEmpire, we offer three distinct types of shower to fit within your shower enclosure:

• Concealed Shower Kits
• Exposed Shower Kits
• Bar Shower Kits

If you are installing a straight or shower bath, then you may also consider purchasing a bath shower mixer tap instead.

Concealed
With our concealed shower kits, all the pipework is concealed behind the wall. Only the chrome valve, and shower head and shower arm will be visible.

A range of sizes and styles are available by searching the Concealed Kits section on the website. However, if none of these meet your fancy, we also offer the option for you to construct your own concealed shower.

The key components of a concealed shower kit are a:

• Concealed Valve
• Shower Head
• Shower Arm

Onto this base, you can install a number of additional outlets, such as a hand held shower head, shower jets, or a bath filler. The concealed mixer valve you purchase will depend on the number of secondary devices you wish to include.

Chrome Effect Shower Head, from BathEmpire.

Lightweight
We also offer a range of chrome effect shower heads; these are specially constructed from a polymer to form a lightweight shower head. The range of designs are wider than those available in the solid brass shower head range. With the lightweight nature, they will put less stress on your plaster wall.

These shower heads are fully compatible with any valve and shower arm, and the chrome effect finish will blend perfectly with other chrome plated units.

Exposed
With the Exposed kits, most of the pipe work is not hidden. The exposed kits at BathEmpire all consist of a bar shower valve, a hand held shower head and the main chrome shower head.

The individual styling, such as an LED shower head, or a curved or straight shower arm is left to individual choice!

Bar Shower
The final shower option are the Bar Shower Kits. These kits all consist of a wall mounted valve and hand held shower head. All our kits are thermostatic, and are TMV2 certified. This means the valve will cap the maximum temperature of the hot water, ensuring safety for the whole family.

Millions around the world will be celebrating the Chinese New Year, and 2012 represents the year of the dragon. What better way to get in tune with this than to add an Asian influence to your bathroom? Below, we cover some tips on how to decorate your Asian inspired bathroom.

Inspired by Nature

Getting an Asian influence ultimately depends on introducing a natural theme to your bathroom. A great way is to introduce green colours into the bathroom, and what better way to do this than via leaves? Use a stencil to paint an array of leaves onto the wall, or choose a fitting (such as a window blind or wall photo) in rich green or blue.

The year of the Dragon is inspired by elegant and mysterious black, dark blue and rich blue green tones. So don’t limit yourself, as the stencil can also be used to decorate the wall with Asian symbols. Remember, when adding symbols, dark colours are best suited, so ensure to keep all walls and tiles in pale tone.

Bamboo

Any exposed wood fittings also fit well with an Asian theme. Raw bamboo shoots can be added to any bathroom accessory. You can also get creative, and hang long bamboo from the ceiling to make a distinction between the shower area and the basin and toilet, or to cover an area of storage.
On wooden furniture, avoid any lacquered finishes and steer towards fittings which have a deep wood grain; to highlight the grain, paint all fittings with a good quality varnish.

Plants

All plants are essential to complete the theme, and a few soothing orchids perched above the basin would provide a complimentary finishing touch.

Khana Counter Top Basin, from BathEmpire

Don’t avoid the modern!

The Zen influence isn’t really conveyed through contemporary, ultra-chic units and shiny chrome – although including a few of these pieces in the final bathroom will not spoil the theme. The Khana counter top basin (left) from BathEmpire is ideal.

Counter top basins feature heavily in any Asian inspired bathroom, and you should always opt for a curved design and avoid harsh edges. There is no reason why you cannot add a chrome basin mixer tap to complement this bathroom basin, as long as all the essential design principles discussed are maintained.

Photo Credit: Nikisublime, Flickr.

Since Americans have a reputation for lacking subtlety, you can be sure that their bathrooms are equally bold. That being said there are some truly stunning designs on display.

Stand out designs for me are the Muse Hotel’s individually themed rooms, with beautiful mosaic tiling and some very creative lighting.

The Grand America Hotel has an equally grand bathroom. Gold taps, marble counters, fresh flowers and chandeliers.

Really not sure about The Fountain on Locust. I’m all for a bit of bold design, but surely there is far too much going on in this room?

My vote went to The Muse Hotel, you can cast your vote here. We will let you know who wins when the competition ends in September.

Take your first step to creating your remarkable bathroom with our range of Roll Top baths.