How to design a compact bathroom

I hope you enjoy the tips and very on trend images our guest blogger, Anna,  has for designing a compact bathroom.  Welcome to Designing Home blog Anna. Do check out the links below for more bathroom decor inspiration.

Hello! My name is Anna and today I am really excited to be guest posting on this wonderful blog about how we can design a compact bathroom without going through a lot of trouble. For more bathroom decor tips follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus.
 

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The bathroom is hugely important to the comfort of your home: just imagine living without a bathroom for a week and you will soon see what I mean! Therefore, it is well worth the effort and expense to plan, design and fit out a bathroom with the best possible products. After all, your bathroom is going to be a high traffic, intensive-use space for years to come!

Fitting Furniture?

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If your bathroom is particularly small and tending towards cramped, then you can choose smaller than usual fittings and furniture for your bathroom refit. These half-size items take up much less space but still allow for a complete and comfortable bathroom experience. You just will not be able to lie full length in the tub!

Shapely Bathroom!

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Rather than simply transplanting your ideal bathroom from your favorite magazine or website, make sure that you fit the elements of the bathroom into the available space of your existing, empty bathroom, taking into account any awkward corners and angles. By all means, allow yourself to be influenced by outside sources, but taking the time to tweak and rework the layout until it makes the best use of the available space will give your new bathroom a professional looking finish and polish.

Wet Room Popularity

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The wet room is a fairly new bathroom décor concept, and it works best in very small bathrooms. Not only do you maximize every inch of available space by stripping out internal divisions but you will be back on trend for bathroom décor fashions! Do be prepared to invest in excellent waterproofing and water tight storage units as the entire room will become steamy when in use, which can lead to damp setting into poorly prepared surfaces.

Go Up High!

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Opt for a tall and narrow décor and furniture scheme to minimise clutter and give you the maximum amount of storage while only using a relatively small amount of floor space. Another idea is to perhaps eschew a vanity in favor of a stand-alone pedestal basin. This will make your bathroom appear better proportioned as the pedestal looks tall and slim compared to the blocky squat profile of a vanity cabinet.

Reflect Large

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Always install the largest mirror that you can find, afford or fit to your bathroom wall! The larger the mirror, the greater the illusion of depth and width, opening up the whole bathroom to pleasing proportions.

Store and Pack it!

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Bathrooms always need plenty of storage, so make sure that you include it from the very beginning stages. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easily you will find hidden nooks and otherwise wasted spaces into which you can fit a small cupboard, cabinet or shelf when you begin to include storage from the design stage.

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I hope you found something to spark your  creativity.  I just finished a compact bathroom remodel which will  make a great next post topic. 

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Feeling flowers

Do  you agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson that the earth laughs in flowers? I do.  Flowers are such an integral part of my existence; I could not imagine a world without them.  There are certain times of the year that I think about flowers more than others, and spring (so called, little evidence yet) in Newfoundland is one of those times. As I look out at a light dusting of snow today (yes, snow), I am happy I have beautiful tulips on my coffee table.

Happiness reflected

I can't get enough fresh flowers in my house, but my budget doesn't allow frequent trips to the florist resulting in long gaps between vibrant colour.  No deals in this city when it comes to flowers!  I constantly joke that if I won a million dollars I would have fresh flowers in every room of my house every day.   Yep, that would be the first change I would make. Not a very exciting option according to friends, but it would make me happy.

  Flowers also move me to paint.  I  go through cycles of painting florals and gardens, and several weeks ago when  I was  in total despair about the weather I went downstairs and painted a fantasy bouquet.  I had no reference, these are not identifiable flowers; they are a hybrid I dreamed up to represent the many flowers I like.

Feeling Flowers (2014 ) EmilysBreakfast

This work is a joyful  expression of my love for flowers. Painting helps me to bridge the seasonal gap between winter and spring while I wait for nature to turn green and colourful. Sometimes my work is the exact opposite of Feeling Flowers.  It can be close up, calculated, detailed - an invitation to the viewer to take a closer look at the world of plants.

Garden Patterns I (2010) EmilysBreakfast

Garden patterns II (2010) EmilysBreakfast

Leyton Gallery of Fine Art 

 But all the paintings come from my deep love of flowers, a love born early as I lay face down in the meadow and smelled the buttercups.

 Red poppies are favourites because they are so brilliant and fragile. I am attracted to them in all their guises: in a garden, painted or as design motifs on household items.

 

 I don't even mind a good fake poppy as an accent in decor.

 Where did all this poppy design love come from?

 Well, it started a long time ago with the first  Marimekko's poppy design released in  1964!  I was not very old when  I first saw  Finnish textile designer,Maija Isola  iconic unikko design  in a magazine in our local library.  A love affair began.

And now 50 years later, I am thinking about this same design for a duvet cover in my guest room.

 

  In many ways 2014 is the year of the poppy because I just received two metres of Marimekko fabric from my daughter . Then my sister got in on the act and made me 12 dinner napkins from the fabric. A family affair for sure.

 

From tulips in the flesh,  fantasy flowers, poppies and wherever your heart desires if you feel flowers.

I will end as I began, with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson...

" Flowers.... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities of the world".  

Sometimes you get to combine both !  

Happy Mother's Day 2014.

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EmilysBreakfast Furniture weekly update post for Thursday, May 8, 2014

I had planned on introducing you to three new EmilysBreakfast Furniture employees – then two of them left before I remembered I wanted to take their photos – so that will have to wait to next week.

Since we were planning on having a super fun YARD SALE today, tomorrow and Saturday – I realized it made sense to share that anyway.  I snapped these two photos as I was leaving and the second one certainly does not capture our inventory that’s ready to be moved onto the grassy area (please, no rain; please, no rain).  Having our own property allows us to do some creative things we were unable to do in our old space. 

So, here’s the skinny:

• we’ve priced a ton of inventory $5, $10, $15 or $20 (everything that’s part of the yard sale will be outside – thus the plea for no rain)
• price includes sales tax
• volunteers will be standing by who will take your CASH and mark the item SOLD
• everything from the yard sale MUST BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY WITH YOU (just like most yard sales)
• you leave with a fabulous piece of furniture that you bought super cheap.  We clean out our older inventory and make room for new stuff!  Everyone wins!

Meanwhile, on the inside of the store there are so many new-to-us pieces which are FABULOUS, GORGEOUS, AMAZING, WONDERFUL, LOVELY, SWEET, and FANTASTIC that I ran out of adjectives on the price tags!  Seriously, there’s that much to swoon over. 

Don’t believe me?  Let’s take a look:

this is an amazingly beautiful French Provincial vanity and mirror by Joerns Bros. – priced $475 for the set

fantastic, solid bookcase – perfect size – for $145

this leather Chesterfield by Classic is where I ran out of descriptors.  Truly words fail me.  I noticed one spot where one of the buttons is missing and there is some wear on the leather (but the good kind of wear).  Priced $525.  Sweet black painted pine butler's coffee table in front of the Chesterfield is priced $45

this swivel rocker/recliner (back recliners but there’s no foot rest) by Palliser is amazing!  Priced $425

this is a cool piece – just some issues with it.  There are noticeable cracks on both side of the piece and one of the marble pieces is also cracked (been repaired but it’s obvious).  There’s a single shelf when you open the doors – so offers a lot of storage.  Priced $50

I tried to get a photo of the manufacture's tag (last photo) but it didn’t come out so well (sorry).  This leather and wood sofa is by a Scandinavian company called Ekornes and this sofa is called “stressless” (Connie sat on it and immediately felt stress-free so this is one amazing sofa!).  In excellent condition.  Priced $825

fabulous hall or entry table (though it’s finished on the front so could be used in another area of your home too) – priced $135

these Room & Board two door bookcases offer plenty of storage, solid construction (solid maple and maple veneer) and a clean design.  I found them in an older catalog (Woodwind collection appear to be a custom order now) for $949 each.  We’re selling them for $345 each and we have four of ‘em

Tom, Barry, Mike and Dustin – I so wished any or all of you  were at the store yesterday when I was researching these unbelievably fabulous vintage chairs!  There are no labels on any of the chairs – so maybe I’m completely crazy when you see what I’ve priced them – but they appear to be very similar in style to Eames molded plywood chairs and are certainly the right era.  Well built.  Fantastic green pleather (though there are some small rips and missing nail head trim).  I’ve priced all four of them for $895 – which puts them at just under $225 per chair.  If they ARE Eames chairs – that’s a steal.  If they AREN’T Eames chairs – then that too high.  Time will tell

another gorgeous retro piece – by Century – a buffet in excellent condition.  Priced $295

very nice two piece sectional – cushions need some adjusting – no name though classic wonderful lines and only a few spots – priced $325

amazing pine lift top writing desk for $175; Room & Board chair for $95

lovely buffet by Davis (in Naperville) priced $195

please come buy this magazine or sheet music rack before I do (Hello.  My name is Susan and I’m furniture hoarder).  Love the color!  Priced $40

spring has finally sprung but these three pieces would offer flowers in your home all year long!  There’s a loveseat (needs to be spot cleaned) for $60; matching sofa (in excellent condition) for $145; and a matching unique wingback chair (love the curved back though it is a bit hard) for $65

These three pieces by Henkel-Harris are solid mahogany, gorgeous and in pristine condition.  I love the simple, understated hardware that allows the design of the piece and the beauty of the wood to be the main players.  Oh man.  The first photo is of the armoire which is priced $595; chest of drawers for $650; dresser (no mirror) for $650

sweet mosaic tile top side table for $60

this is another fantastic bedroom set – there’s a king-size headboard, footboard and side rails (note: where there’s a break on the metal scroll work and one of the knobs needs to be worked on to get it to fit back in the hole) priced $225; massive dresser with mirror for $325; two nightstands for $95 each

and what a lovely place to end – with these amazing lamps (which I also super much want to buy).  Priced $30 each

Blessings and grace to you, dear reader!  Thanks for stopping by!

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