Hello and welcome to my Healthy Interior Design series of blogs. Each month I will be focusing on a different room in the house. This June it’s all about the bathroom and how to create your ultimate, sustainable and healthy bathroom retreat. Whether you have a redecoration project in mind or just want to give your existing bathroom a bit of a revamp, then my June blogs are for you. (If kitchens are more your thing, stay tuned for my Beautiful Healthy Kitchen series in July.)

This week I am looking at…

FUNCTIONALITY, STORAGE & DESIGN

FUNCTIONALITY

Before you start on the design, it is really important to figure out what kind of bathroom you want. Do you prefer taking baths or do you need a walk-in shower? One sink or two? Consider the number of people who will use the room. Do you prefer shelving, built-in units or free-standing furniture?

Perhaps the door would look better rehung or replaced with a sliding door. If a shower and bath are needed, consider an over-bath shower option. Wall mounted taps over narrow basins set in a useful storage vanity unit will help increase storage space. Or better still, ask a joiner to build a storage unit that covers existing pipework. Knowing what you and your family need in that space and what you’d like to see when you open the door, is the first step in bathroom design.

Consider how you will heat the room and whether you can budget for underfloor heating (great for avoiding cold spots and toasty on the toes!).

PRACTICAL, HEALTHY & SUSTAINABLE CHOICES

Beautiful design only works if it is practical. Find out your water pressure and check this against the products you intend to buy. Some toilets come with water saving devices. Getting the room measured up and an initial sketch created of existing pipework and electrical positioning is important so then you can visualise what can be moved and what cannot.

If you are limited for space, choose a short projection toilet or a wall hung one. Choose as high a quality as you can afford as with hardware and bathroom suites, you want something that will last long and look good for longer too.

What we put on our skin and bathe in is really important as toxic chemicals can be taken on board by our body through dermal absorption. These toxic chemicals build up in our bodies over time with repetitive use. The body has a hard time knowing getting rid of them so ends up storing them in fatty tissues around our organs and in our brain. I have switched myself and my kids over to natural hand-made soap. We love the creaminess of the bars and the different essential oil scents that Evergreen Soap Company make. Shop here for their fabulous selection of handmade soap bars all wrapped in sustainable, compostable packaging. If you like to luxuriate in a scented bath, choose Join’s Restore Bath Salts made with natural Himalayan Salts, Dead Sea Salts and organic lavender essential oil.

STORAGE & DECLUTTERING

Figuring out your storage needs is vital - try and fit as much storage in as you can. If budget is tight have a scout round your home and move things around a bit - sometimes it just takes seeing a piece of furniture in a new space to work better.

Decanting essentials like shampoo and conditioner into attractive glass bottles can elevate a space immediately.

If you’re having a new shower fitted and the area tiled, add a niche.

Too many toiletries and knick-knacks will gather dust and make your bathroom both unsightly and awkward to clean. With summer round the corner it’s time to get organised and declutter so as to make surfaces easy to wipe and clutter-free.

Spread out a cloth or old towel on the floor, tip out the contents, give the unit a good wipe down and then be ruthless in your choices as to what to put back (wiping each product as you go).
Check sell-by-dates - particularly on medicines and cosmetics. Keep the necessities and get rid of the rest.
Check your local recycling centres as some of the packaging will be recyclable. Some will need to go directly in the rubbish bin. Liquid soaps and shampoo, can be poured down the sink but do remember that this contributes to water pollution and not to pour anything that is oil based as it will clog pipes and the sewers. If in doubt, drop off at the hazardous section of your recycling centre.
Make a list of any essentials you are missing and don’t forget to consult with anyone else who uses the bathroom too.

For my full decluttering guide read last month’s blog here.

DESIGN & WELLBEING

So how do you ensure that your bathroom is not only aesthetically pleasing and practical, but is also a heathy space for you and your family? The answer lies in the design and the materials you use.

The smallest of rooms can have the biggest personality but a sense of spacial awareness and clever design ideas is essential for the space to work well and for it to have a positive effect on your wellbeing.

WELLBEING

The idea of looking after one own’s wellbeing rather than purely noticing the abscence of ill health, is gaining momentum.

“Eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, mastering stress and practicing mindfulness,… it all definitely adds up to longevity and enhanced well-being. Nevertheless we are becoming more and more aware of the role of our surroundings – the built environment in which we live, learn and work — play in this equation.” mindtheinterior.com

By ensuring we are sensitive to our holistic needs when decorating, it becomes much easier to create a pleasant and appealing space.

NATURAL MATERIALS

Natural materials are usually more sustainable, environmentally friendly and a healthier option than man-made materials but using natural materials in a bathroom environment isn’t always the best solution as the space will often be humid and damp. Bamboo flooring for example is fairly resistant to water spills however it can over time start to discolour, warp or distort when exposed to too much moisture. Instead I would recommend hardwood flooring that has been sealed with an environmentally friendly oil or floor tiles.

If you are going to replace your bathroom towels, now is the time to invest in organic cotton to avoid the carcinogenic chemical formaldehyde.

Switching to toiletries made with natural ingredients either in glass bottles or in bar form (see our gorgeous natural soap and hair bars here) and ditching bleach in favour of home-made cleaning solutions (with white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and essential oils) will help you create a far healthier space for yourself and your family to luxuriate in.

INERT MATERIALS

Choose materials such as tiling, glass, metal, concrete, steel and porcelain as these are typically inert and won’t off-gas into your indoor air - therefore healthier for you and your family. If you are choosing wood, opt for solid or MDF painted in a low VOC paint. If going for an MDF vanity unit, just be aware that although they are probably splash proof, they are not water proof and any water left on the surface will, over time, expand the MDF underneath the coating which will shorten the life expectancy of the product.

FOCAL POINT

Whether it is a free standing bath, a beautiful mirror or an interesting basin, create a focal point in your bathroom to add wow to the overall design. I fell in love with this handmade porcelain bowl by The Way We Live London. It is an absolute show-stopper and goes perfect against the turquoise-green of the vintage table I chose for the stand.

VINTAGE

Adding something vintage will give the room character and warmth. Upcycling or repurposing a unit or table for the basin vanity stand is a popular and easy idea but choose your piece wisely. If it is to hold a sink, do consider the placement of the piping below and whether the top should be sealed or tiled so prevent water damage. If your furniture item comes with drawers ensure you figure out where the bowl and plumbing will be placed so as not to loose too much storage space.

Choose a fun vintage print, and match your accessories to some of the colours in the art - helping to pull your scheme together.

PLANTS

A connection to the natural world is important. Bring the outside indoors with potted plants and be sure to have an ivy in your bathroom as it is great at cleaning the air of faecal particles and mould. Peace lilies are all rounders - great for any space, absorbing five known toxic chemicals from our air!

NEED SOME DESIGN HELP?

For those of you who are about to embark on a bathroom renovation but not sure where to start, give me a call and we can talk it through together. I offer a variety of design services that suit various budgets and our first chat is completely free. Contact me for your free discovery call and let’s see how I can help make your bathroom dream a reality.

The services I offer are:

colour advice based on tried-and-tested psychology of colour and its affects on our mood;
key product sourcing that will fit the needs, space and style of your room whilst ensuring the materials are healthy and sustainable;
concept design that cover the aesthetics, functionality and health of a space with hand-drawn elevations and mood boards;
or all of this combined into a full healthy interior design service - from project planning through to completion.

contact

NEXT WEEK

Stay tuned for part 2/4 in this series of Healthy Design for Bathrooms. - when I look at ventilation, heating and indoor air.

NEXT MONTH

In July’s blog I talk about kitchens and how we can make those spaces family-friendly, healthy, sustainable and the hub for entertaining guests.

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Images © Unsplash: Marble - R Architecture; Persian Rug - Ryan Christodoulou; Pink Bowl - Cameron Smith.; Double mirror - Taylor Beach; Candy Pinks - Grace Kelly X; Monochrome - Hemant-Kanojiya

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Healthy Design for Bathroom series 1/4: Functionality, Storage and Design

FUNCTIONALITY, STORAGE & DESIGN