Home Design and Architecture Guide

A Walk in Shower Is Best for the Elderly or Handicapped Individual

Today, we are lucky to have so many options available whenever we are interested in purchasing something. With this in mind, for example, let’s say you have had surgery on any part of your body, done your time at the hospital and are now recuperating at home, or you are at the age when you can’t move around so freely anymore. Maybe you have been in an accident and are now deemed disabled? You have mobility issues and are in a wheelchair or walk with the assistance of a cane.

You want to take a bath, however you discover your walk in shower at home is not adequate for this activity and needs some converting or upgrading. Here are a few suggestions to help you configure an existing walk in shower to a walk in shower that is accessible as well as comfortable for you.

1. Make sure your walk in shower is safe and provides you with comfort when you wash such as a non-slip walk in shower base and a couple of seats inside. It is also recommended that you install grab bars for convenience in moving around or getting up and down when inside the walk in shower stall.

2. If you are in a wheelchair or use a cane, make sure there is no curb to block the entrance into the walk in shower. That way you can easily get in and get out without too much difficulty.

3. Consider the size of the walk in shower. It should be wide enough to accommodate a wheel chair or provide comfort to the individual using it while transferring in and out.

There are many walk in shower designs and styles to pick from. Once you start researching the different enclosures, stall shapes and sizes, walk in shower units, walk in shower doors and walk in tub shower combinations, you will be surprised at the price and styles that are available for the elderly and the handicapped. So, just because you have mobility issues or is at an age where it is difficult to move around, you will not have to sacrifice style when improving your current walk in shower or creating a new one.

Perfect Bathroom for Perfect Therapy

Bathroom is one of the important rooms in the house. This is the place where people can enjoy therapy from water. This activity done everyday, because losing dust and dirt which stuck in the body, this activity can be an easy effective therapy which can be done at home. Because of the importance of this room, many people designed and made it as well as possible to make the shower activity more enjoyable and fun so that the muscle and nerve relax well.

The ornaments that usually put in the bath room are glass shower doors and bathtub. Shower door usually designed and produced from glass to make the light enter freely and make the small space of shower looks wide. The glass used to make it is from tempered glass. This glass is chosen because the resistance of any damages. The shower door installed when the floor is finished, to make sure the size of the space and the glass will be used.

To build a beautiful and comfortable bathroom and shower space, there is a correct place to consult that is Dullesglassandmirror.com. In this place people can order services to make bathroom for perfect therapy with the glass shower enclosures design and products. They will serve depends on order by size, model, budget, space and people taste. They are really professional to make it com true.

Make Your Bathroom Elegant

Bathroom is one of the most private rooms in your house. This room is the place you clean your self and also spoil your body with various body treatments. You beautify yourself in this room with many herbal mixtures and also maintain your body. In this room you can enjoy your relax time deep in the bathtub and thing about many thing that can make you happy. To make your bathroom the best place to spoil your self, you need to put various tools and accessories. There are many accessories that you can put in your bathroom and if you have large bathroom, there will be many elegant bathroom equipments that can make you comfortable. To get all those accessories, you don’t need to walk from one store to the other; you only need to come to one website to get it all. Open your search engine and type the suitable keywords.

From the result of search engine, you will be able to get and buy many Bathroom Vanities that can be put in your bath room. Those luxurious bathroom equipments will make your bathroom elegant. The bathroom vanities are made using the best materials and it is designed with classic models and shapes with wood ornaments and deep carvings. You can get elegant sink vanities and also Cabinet Hardware from this website with the best design. The sink vanities that you can get from this website are similar to what you often see at classic movie about royal families.

From the internet, you will also be able to buy Decorative Wood that you can also put into your bathroom. The decorations are very suitable for your wooden bathroom door and also many other parts of your house. Don’t make yourself confuse if you want to have nice and elegant bathroom because you can always get it from the internet.

Revamp with Double Sink Vanities

When it comes to bathroom vanities, the days of a white box with a sink sitting on top of it are gone. Time has certainly changed the different types of styles, designs and colors that are available when it comes to bathroom vanities. Whether you prefer contemporary lines, vintage antique or sleek oak, there is something for everyone. From single sink vanities to double sink vanities, your styles and choices are endless, so there are a few key elements to keep in mind before you make your purchase decision.

The first thing to consider is the overall size of your bathroom and the space where you want to put the vanity. If your bathroom is small then you may be limited to a smaller size vanity, but if you have some room to work with you will have several more options, including double sink vanity styles. To make sure you will be getting a proper fit, measure the area where you’re going to be putting the vanity accurately.

Next, what is the intended function of your new vanity? Knowing the answer to this question will help you best determine what kind of vanity will best suit your needs. If you find you need a lot of storage space, then a cabinet style would be something to consider. This vanity works well for families with children because of storage potential and durability. How many people typically use the bathroom? If it’s intended for a guest room or a half-bath, then a single sink vanity will do just fine. If the bathroom is shared by 2 or more people then double sink vanities would be the way to go.

Once you have determined your space and function you can turn your attention to the style that will suit not only your needs but also your decor as well. Vanities are available in a variety of different materials including wood, glass, ceramic and stone. Unless you’re planning a major renovation, your new vanity should complement your current bathroom style. Finally, don’t forget about the price! Local home improvement stores will have double sink vanities at affordable prices whereas specialty stores will carry the more high-end vanities in creative styles. Knowing how much you are able to spend will help you narrow down your choices as well.

Bathroom Design Planning

Coffered ceilings offer a unique look to your home that is perfect for contemporary, Mediterranean, country, and many other styles, which is why they are so popular. If you do a little planning along with a thoughtful selection of fittings and fixtures can make a big difference.

It’s one of the first rooms we see in the morning and one of the last rooms we see at night. It’s certainly among the most private rooms in the house, and the finishes, fixtures and mechanical equipment required by even a simple bathroom place it among the most expensive real estate in the house. Given the intimate nature of bathrooms and the frequency with which they are used, I think their design and detailing should also impart a measure of emotional well-being to their users. In this spirit, I offer ten suggestions for making a good bathroom that can enhance some of your everyday experiences.

An entrance transition.Except for the so-called master bath, most bathrooms serve several users and need to be placed in a location central to these users, usually halfway between the private parts of the house and the more public parts. Don’t have a bathroom with multiple-door access.

Instead, create an entrance with a space outside the door — maybe an alcove off the hallway that gives some privacy from the main rooms or circulation area and with a little room inside the door before reaching the bathroom fixtures roomlike proportions. Too many bathrooms are simply hallways with the fixtures lining one side of the hall. It is hard to make a pleasant room of that shape. First, a good room is roughly square or rectangular with length-to-width proportions not exceeding 2:1. In almost every good room, there is a clear central space, a center with smaller spaces like alcoves around the edges. A bathroom can be designed using these principles in miniature. There can easily be a central space that contains the entry, with some elbow room for washing and drying off and with alcoves around the edges for the toilet, the shower or the tub.

A good window.Natural light and a view to the outside are important in the bathroom. Our first understanding of the weather and the general look of the day comes in the window. Ideally, windows are on at least two sides of the room to provide even daylighting. If privacy is an issue, make multiple windows face a courtyard garden, perhaps with an outdoor shower. If you have room for only one window, place it where it illuminates the portion of the room that you see when you enter.

From the least intimate places to the most intimate places
Another principle that applies to residential design in general and to the bathroom in miniature is “the intimacy gradient.” Just as you locate the bedrooms the farthest from the front door, you should locate the most private part of the bathroom the greatest distance from the entry to the room. The most private part varies from family to family, with the toilet being the most private for some and the bath for others.

Borrowed views
In a small space such as a bathroom, it is difficult to get a direct view to the outside from each space. But it is possible to borrow the view across another space or another fixture. A shower is a good example. It needs to be enclosed with water-resistant materials. So a window in a shower with an exterior wall, particularly a beautiful wood window, is not an ideal candidate for part of a shower enclosure. There are a number of positions that the shower can take in the bathroom that will allow for a good view through a clear-glass shower door.

Pay attention to vertical and horizontal dimensions
Certain minimum clearances around bathroom fixtures are required by every building code. My own experience is that you need about 36 in. of elbow room at the lavatory to use it comfortably. Its counter is typically between 31 in. and 34 in. high. The rule: You want the water to run off your wrists, not your elbows. A double-lavatory arrangement is mostly ornamental unless it has 6 ft. of counter space.

A toilet compartment is tight at the code minimum of 30 in., about right at 36 in. and a waste of space after that. In fact, after 40 in., you lose touch with the walls on each side and the sense of enclosure they provide. Although the minimum dimension for a shower stall is 30 in., it must also have no less than 1,024 sq. in. of finished interior area. This amount is really minimal, and I wouldn’t recommend less than 36 in. square, or a 30-in. by 48-in. rectangular shower if you can find the room…The standard length for a tub is 60 in., and many are 66 in. and 72 in. long. If you get a deep, rounded-back claw-foot type, you can easily be comfortable with a 54-in. or a 56-in. long tub unless you’re taller than 6 ft. I recommend, however, that you make an honest evaluation of whether you really ever use a tub and consider instead putting money into a nice shower.

Just as any good room benefits from a variety of ceiling heights, so does a good bathroom. Make the ceiling highest in the center, and lower it around tubs, showers, toilet alcoves and window seats.

Any small room like a bathroom can benefit from the visually expansive effects of horizontal lines. This is often seen in traditional bathrooms as a strong cap on top of wainscoting. The lower part of the wall is done in a water-resistant finish such as tile or enamel paint and is capped by a strong horizontal band with plaster or wallpaper above. This horizontal band combined with a baseboard and sometimes a crown molding at the ceiling adds horizontal lines that visually enlarge the perimeter of the room. Two vertical dimensions are often the subject of discussion and sometimes construction changes. The first is the height of sconces. I prefer a framed mirror above a lavatory with sconces on the side because they give the best light to the sides of the face and fewer shadows in the facial recesses than light from above the face. The height I use for sconces is the height of my client.

The last vertical dimension is one of those little details that gives me problems near the end of a project: the water supply to the toilet. Place it high enough, including the escutcheon, to be out of the baseboard. I’ve found that 10-1/2 in. is enough to clear all but the tallest baseboards and still leaves room for a flexible connection to the toilet tank.

Water-resistant finishes. There is probably nothing nicer than ceramic tile in a bathroom. Properly installed, it is a cleanable, water-resistant surface for floors, walls and shower enclosures. If a whole wall need not be water resistant, ceramic tile can also make a beautiful wainscot. On floors, it can be colder on the feet than other materials, such as wood, but a simple area rug or a more expensive heat pad under the tile can easily solve this objection. Too much tile can change the acoustics of a room, and you should keep to softer materials on the ceiling and a portion of the walls (or have lots of bars for big fluffy towels) have used wood floors in many bathrooms, and with today’s tough floor varnishes, they can hold up well to a modest amount of water as long as it is not allowed to sit on the floor for a long period of time. It seems a little uncomfortable putting a toilet directly on a wood floor, so I use a transition pad made of a scrap of granite or marble for toilets on wood floors.

Another attractive, traditional bathroom-floor material is linoleum. It is nothing like today’s vinyl plastics. Again, proper installation is important for resistance to water. The only wall surfaces that truly need to be water resistant are the shower walls. There are a variety of useful materials ranging from one-piece molded enclosures to wall-size sheets of materials to individual pieces such as tile. In every instance, installation is critical, particularly at joints, to the ultimate success of the material.

It is helpful to have an easily cleanable surface around the lavatory on the countertop and on the walls immediately around the sink. Ceramic tile is a good choice. Natural stone, polished and sealed concrete, and other nonabsorbent materials work well on both surfaces. On walls, a good-quality enamel paint on smooth plaster makes a cleanable, water-resistant finish.

Fixtures that really work
To me, good-quality bathroom fixtures mean enameled cast iron for tubs and china for lavatories. I recently remodeled the two bathrooms in my 1929 cottage. After 70 years, it was finally time to replace the original enameled cast-iron tubs. Cast iron and china are still so commonly used that the price difference between these quality fixtures and bargain fixtures is modest.

Good fittings such as faucets and tub/ shower valves, however, are noticeably more expensive than run-of-the-mill fittings, sometimes as much as triple the cost. I use them, however, whenever I can afford to put them in the budget because over their life, they are still a bargain when compared with average fittings that last a far shorter period of time. I also have to admit that there is no other faucet that gives me the pleasure of use as a classic Chicago (847-803-5000; www.chicagofaucets.com.) or Rudge (Waterworks; 800-927-2120; www.waterworks.com) faucet. For finishes, stay with tried-and-true nickel or chrome without the plastic coatings. Someone’s going to have these faucets in 50 years if you make the correct choice…One piece of equipment that has improved during the past few years is the exhaust fan. They are clearly quieter than five years ago. Companies such as Broan and NuTone (800-548-0790; www.broan.com) have ceiling-mounted, barely audible exhaust fans. Speaking of noise reduction, the newer “coexcel” ABS plastic drain pipe seems to be quieter than the older ABS. But nothing can replace cast iron for quietness in a drain pipe that comes down the wall of a first-floor living space. The slight increase in material cost is more than offset in the long run of the life of the house.

Important accessories
Light fixtures, towel bars, medicine cabinets, furniture, switch-plate covers, shower doors — there are hundreds of opportunities to make decisions about these kinds of details in a bathroom. My advice: Keep them simple and straightforward. Buy good quality that will last a long time. Keep them related to each other in design and materials, except for the occasional humorous surprise. Look for timeless qualities. Choose things that you want to live with. There is no reason you can’t enjoy even the most mundane item in your bathroom…10. The lost art of bathing.The previous suggestions will help you to make the ordinary bathroom that you use several times each day a pleasant, enjoyable place. Sometimes, though, you want to go beyond that and experience the real pleasure of bathing. The deep relaxation of hot water, the peaceful pleasure of bathing with family or friends, and the therapy of quiet immersion in water are all aspects of the art of bathing. The oversize master bathrooms in the pseudomansions of the late 20th century only hint at this fundamental human need. The essence has been lost in the cheap materials typically used to build them.

To re-create this experience requires a deep, profound examination of the history and tradition of bathing and the environment needed to support it fully. My sense is that the quality of the room as a space–with places to sit around the perimeter, with good natural light and with good connections to a private outdoor space — are paramount to creating this experience..