Pages

Friday, October 5, 2012

Bathroom Inspiration {and how to organize your ideas}

Renovating a bathroom is probably one of the most challenging but at the same time most satisfying rooms to redecorate; bringing not only daily pleasure to those in the room but also increasing the value of your home.

Inspiration comes from the latin word Inspirare meaning ' to breath into '. We inspire to breath new life into our home when we embark on a renovation project. 

Wherever you look, images of stunning interiors make you fall in love over and over again, one day it may be a clean lined contemporary bathroom and the next day an elegant classic design. There is an abundance of design inspiration online, in books and magazines and on TV, and then there is the inspiration around you, from the outdoors to a vintage tablecloth your grandmother gave you. Using something you love as the basis of your design can spark a myriad of ideas, it may be the colors or textures, or even the memory of a place you visited can be the 'lift off' for your bathroom project.

I advise my clients to hold on to anything that inspires them, it may be a brightly colored scarf, a ripped out page of a magazine with that gorgeous glass tile on it or even postcards from their vacation. But how do we deal with the torrent of ideas that stem from online resources such as ours and others like Pinterest? 

  • It is important not to get overcome by the thousands of design websites available, chose your sources wisely.
  • Try not to take other homeowners comments on designs to heart. Their taste or experience will be different from yours!
  • Browse through the Professional portfolios, look closely at the designer and company and check out their work and credentials.
  • Go to bathroom frontrunners product websites such as Franke or Kohler and see what is new on the market.
  • If you are looking for a designer to ultimately work with you on your bathroom project browse the work of designers in your area and not across the country! It is invaluable to find a designer that suits your style and who is located close by.
  • Before and after photos are really inspiring, this is what your bathroom could look like!
  • Save the images you absolutely love in an Ideabook, it is very easy to save hundreds of photos in a span of a week and not remember why you chose them in the first place.
  • Edit your images every now and then, as you become more familiar with what you like and don't like you will become more select in your choices.
  • Organizing your inspiration is key to a good meeting with your designer, you will have limited time so make use of it wisely.

Here are some tips on how to gather and organize your ideas.


Contemporary Bathroom design by Denver Interior Designer Andrea Schumacher

Browse randomly through images saving all the bathrooms that appeal to you. On a single day you could be focusing on a one particular item for your bathroom, for example floor tiles or bath tubs and the next day it could be wall colors. Open a folder and save these under a particular heading for example 'Vanities' or 'Shower Fittings'. This method will keep you organized and prevent you from getting overwhelmed. It will eventually also help narrow down your choices come final selection time.

Traditional Bathroom design by Columbus General Contractor Michael Matrka, Inc

Organize your favorite images by style. A 'My Style' folder can contain anything you love, be it contemporary, classic or a mix of both, your favorites will come to light automatically. Sometimes you will save the same images over and over again. This is an indication of what you really like and you are forming your style. I would take time to note down the design company responsible for your favorite pictures and browse through their work, their style may be just right for you.

Modern Bathroom design by Miami Interior Designer DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami, FL

Look for trends in your collections, you may be gravitating towards marble floors or mosaic backsplashes? You will see that many of your images start to lean towards a particular colorway or that a similar product keeps reappearing in your collection, this is not a coincidence, you are carving out your personal preferences which in turn starts to define your style. Some websites are tagged with product information as this can take hours off sourcing for a particular item. Make a note of these materials for future reference, as finding that particular floor tile once again prove difficult.

Eclectic Bathroom Tile design by Los Angeles Tile Stone And Countertop Filmore Clark

http://www.filmoreclark.com/

Inspiration can be found everywhere, from online sources, great stores and glossy magazines, for me simply finding a tile that excites me is a great starting point for a great bathroom design. Let me know what you think, I hope I have helped you to channel your inspirations!

Dx