The wide range of design and product solutions – including showers, mixers, colour palettes, materials, tiling, and myriad accessories – that are available on the market can be a minefield to navigate for people trying to home in on a vision for one of the most important, and heavily used, rooms in any household: the bathroom.

Full bathroom refurbishments can also be a large-scale expense. As such, customers want the confidence that they are investing wisely, and that the final choice of component, colour, and function meets both their needs and their aspirations.

For installers working alongside their clients to help guide thinking and specification choices, the ability to highlight holistic bathroom concepts that combine visual impact with personal functionality objectives can be an added value service that helps build their business.

Using trends

Recognising the vital importance of visual impact, the ability to present full co-ordination across all product and material choices can help take away potential confusion. It can also help shorten the timescale between a project’s inception and its completion.

For example, we have seen more customers moving towards the industrial, modern feel of a matt black finish. Given its suitability for almost any bathroom aesthetic, matt black is perfect for customers wanting to move away from chrome and add a point of difference to their scheme. It can be used to create a timeless feel in the bathroom, complete a clean monochrome look, or alternatively used to make other accents and colours really stand out. 

This gives customers a multitude of options when selecting shower and brassware. However, a slight mismatch in the colour of finishes can stand out. So, knowing what is available across a manufacturer’s range is an important step to achieve a seamless look across the bathroom. 

Functionality

With each client often needing an individual approach to suit their requirements, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution isn’t an option. Inevitably, the bathroom design and functionality need of a family will differ sharply from those of a couple living in a modern apartment. By comparison, elderly or vulnerable clients will have ease, reliability, and safety-first expectations as key priorities for their bathroom solutions. 

A bathroom used by several generations must strike a balance between functionality, safety, and style. Here, practical considerations, such as installing a thermostatic shower control, are essential to avoid unwanted temperature changes to the water. Solutions that offer varied shower spray patterns can also enhance the experience for all ages, while energy saving products can help busy home environments optimise water and energy use. 

Equally, installers can advocate products that provide comprehensive water flow control. A forceful water jet may not be suitable for the elderly, so products should be proposed to deliver a more relaxing shower jet as opposed to a more invigorating experience. 

Specified products that can allow the user to alter the intensity of the water and even the droplet formation can be an extra selling point that not only looks great but doesn’t add any additional hassle to the project install. 

Limited spaces

Compact bathroom footprints present unique challenges when it comes to creating a style-led vision. The key is not to overpower the limited space, but work smartly with it, so the balance of style, function, and practicality is maintained. Keeping the overall design sleek and opting for rounded edges on units will both deliver an appropriate aesthetic and provide practical benefits when space to move around is tight. 

This doesn’t mean you have to shy away from being bold when it comes to colour and finish choices though. Compact spaces can handle striking product colour selection such as the on-trend matt black when matched with complementary tiling and attractive white sanitaryware. 

Design and regulations

Installers should always ensure that all their recommended solutions meet the prevailing industry standards to deliver peace of mind for clients. 

Specifying product solutions that comply with industry standards such as WRAS, KIWA, and NSF are important to achieving bathroom visions that guarantee long-term performance and safety.

Info at hand

Finally, installers should ensure they are up-to-speed with, and have access to, product information, design suggestions, and price points they need to commence informed and inspirational conversations with their clients. Such resources are key to transforming a vision into a reality to create bathrooms with a wow factor. 

For example, Bathroom Concepts 2024 (online.flippingbook.com/link/851106), from hansgrohe, helps bring to life how a finished project will look, and, helpfully, provide several alternatives when it comes to specific product, colour, and material choices for showers, mixers and accessories. 

Saving time when recommending products for projects, it also provides quick access to pricing information, so accurate quotations can be compiled quickly and easily.