This bathroom planning guide aims at providing you with bathroom design ideas useful in planning a bath space, dressing area or cloakroom. Children, guests, you, two people or the whole family ?

1. What is the area of the bathroom?
2. Who will use it? Children, guests, you, two people or the whole family?
3. What are the fixtures you would like to install?
   (Shower cubicle, jets, tub, vanity etc)
4. Which parts of the bathroom you plan to revamp?
5. Is the lighting appropriate?
6. What bathroom furniture you would like to buy?
7. Does it require plumbing work?

Measure up the bathroom area and make a rough sketch with the fixtures you have, you wish to change, and even fix in case it’s a new bathroom. Even if you are thinking of redoing the plumbing job, estimate the costs, for it can be expensive.

Modular bathrooms done in little space are in vogue. There are more people looking for smaller bathrooms fitted with modern amenities.

You get corner shower cubicles that save space and if there is space constraint, you could always use a separate overhead shower cubicle and use curtains to keep away the water splashing.

Tubs come in different shapes too and save your bathroom precious space. For bigger bathrooms, when you have good space on hand, you can play with the space with fewer constraints. Estimate the space, the gadgets and fixtures you plan to add.

Bathroom fittings

To avoid any ghastly sites in the bathroom, you may need to pay attention to bathroom fittings. Detailed work and fittings like faucets and sinks can matter in fashioning your desired space,

• Faucets
Modern bathroom Faucet may sound like the simplest thing to choose, but pay attention to details like mounting (wall/sink) and material. • Toilet Seats
Toilet seats come in different shapes and sizes. The elongated seat is great for comfort, but pay attention to details and dimensions. Also, for smaller bathrooms, you can get one of those corner seats that save space.

• Sinks & Taps
Sinks come in sundry shapes, colors and sizes too. The designer variety includes wall-mounted, counter sinks in steel, glass, ceramic and a combination of accessories and colors to match.

• Contemporary bathroom furniture
Be it a bathroom or cloakroom, contemporary bathroom vanities deserve great scores on utility and function. Work on the storage room and sink shape and size very closely.

Summarized from “Your Guide to Bathroom Planning and Design” by Amanda Somers

It was at that moment that I realized I had forgotten to switch the fan direction from “warming” to “cooling.” You see, most ceiling fans will go in two directions: clockwise and counter-clockwise. Most ceiling fans sold these days have a small switch right “above” the blades (between the fan blades and the ceiling, on the “stem” of the fan) that control the fan blade blowing direction: right or left. Some fan manuals call these directions “forward” and “reverse” but I can never remember which direction is which. This fan direction switch is a pretty important feature because the ceiling fans will move air differently for each direction.

If the fan blades start moving to the right, then your ceiling fan is blowing clockwise. If the ceiling fan blades start moving to the left then your ceiling fan is blowing counter-clockwise.

Ceiling Fan Spinning Counter-Clockwise: Makes a room cooler by blowing the air downward. When the fan is spinning in a counter-clockwise direction you should feel a cool breeze coming down and around the room.

Ceiling Fan Spinning Clockwise: Makes a room warmer by creating subtle updraft which pushes the warm air near the ceiling down along the walls and into the room.

Say goodbye to the bland living room. Now, bright vivid colors are where it is for décor. Consider the basic white room. That room probably also has white wood blinds. Well, you need to discard those wood blinds. Surf the web and find some window treatments with colors. Find vertical blinds with a vivid red. Bright vivid blinds can coordinate well with a pillow or a small rug, but get the blinds first, as the colors of those are more variable than the colors of blinds.

A white room can also use a colorful stained wood blind. However, consider using a medium color wood blind, and not the dark colors of the stains. There are rich mahogany wood blinds that can make an interesting complement. Then there is the black room, which has only a small splash of white. These rooms can be a bit harder to decorate, because you cannot jump straight to the white blinds for contrast, and the colors of blinds can be lost in the darkness of the space. Consider a blind of vivid color that allows light through to solve this problem. By allowing a translucent treatment, you can see the light that passes through lighting up the room a bit more. And, of course, the slight glow of the light as it glows in the rich color will help change the moods.

When decorating these difficult rooms with blinds, consider coordinating the space with a little artwork that has colors similar to the blinds. This can balance the room, and will help the vivid colors of the blinds dance off the artwork, and enhance both. Don’t stop there, the blinds will get mad. It can look quite interesting to feature blinds with casual but direct lighting. When the blinds are lit up by spots, the colors glow even more.

Remember, paint first, hang the blinds after the paint is quite dry. If you want to paint your blinds, don’t buy nice new ones, If you paint your blinds, you will cause unintended effects, and you will be very sorry that you did it. Select high quality long lasting blinds which you can use to coordinate and make look wonderful in your formerly attractive pad. Blinds can bring life and energy.

summary from “Using Blinds For Coloring At Home” by Judith Persit

The various people who are hunting for good homes to live will sometimes look at apartments. You will find that there are many different types of apartment buildings from which you can choose to live.

Among the various apartments which you can find will be ones which are furnished, unfurnished, condominium type apartments, luxury apartments, and old style and newer modern apartments. The one thing that you will find in all of these apartments is that apartment living provides people with a way to live.

With the cost of land and home buying and building today, many people prefer to lease an apartment as opposed to the high initial costs of buying a home.

As with the majority of living places today you will see that apartments come in fully furnished and unfurnished forms. The price range for these two styles of apartments reflects what can be found in the place. As you look at the apartment and it seems to have passed your initial check list and requirements, it is time to take a more detailed look at the apartment itself. One of the most important items to think about in renting a living space in apartments is that you are going to be sharing living space with other people. You must understand that sometimes noise from other apartments will filter into your apartment.

So long as you choose one of the newer apartments which provides lots of tenant friendly amenities you will find that sometimes living in apartments is better for your peace of mind than living in a house.

summary from “Apartment Finding Tips” by Jack Valli

If you’re looking for something to fill up your wall space and make it look more interesting, why not try contemporary art. Contemporary art, in itself, doesn’t always have to mean anything. Contemporary art comes in many different styles – some are wild splashes of loud color, others have smooth lines and warm colors that give a sense of calm when looked upon. Imagine having an art piece in your living room that was originally painted by Pablo Picasso or Georgia O’Keeffe – that would be nice wouldn’t it? As contemporary art stretches across so many genres and forms, it would suit very well with most home decorating styles.

Once you have bought your favorite art piece, explore unique ways of presenting it to your audience. If you have several pieces of art that you want to hang on the wall, try grouping them creatively to add a more interesting look. Art doesn’t have to be hung on the wall. Just hanging a solitary piece of art on the wall may not be enough, why not tell a story by including accessories or other decorative ornaments to compliment the art work.

For example, if you have a piece of Asian contemporary art on the wall, you can place a small coffee table below it and decorate it with Asian antiques – maybe include some stone carvings of Buddha, or perhaps a few candles or flowers to add more variety and complete the look. Make sure that the items you choose will suit the theme of the art piece and not steal attention away from it.

There are many exciting ways you can display your art in your home. The creative possibilities are endless.

summary from “Beautify Your Home with Contemporary Art” by Edwin