How to design a great bathroom

Your bathroom is one of the most important and most used rooms in your home. It has to be functional for everyone in the house, or you will have chaos. You must keep everyone’s needs in mind when it comes to designing your bathroom. This goes for the small child who is not yet potty trained, to the adult who wants to spend some time in the tub soaking and for the fast paced teen on the go, needing a shower fast and without interrupting anyone else.

Along with keeping it organized and ready for whoever is intended, you should also think about the style that you want to use. What types of styles do you have to choose from? Functional is one style, simple, not cluttered areas is what a functional bathroom is.

A pampering bathroom is all about the adult, male or female. This is for those who want to be able to leave make up or shaving kits where you want them to be. Perhaps there is a radio, a place to set your coffee when you are dressing in the morning and even a hot rod, where you can place your towel to get warm for extra comfort when getting out of the shower.

Yet, another type of bathroom will be based on the needs of one who comes home very dirty and grimy after a long hard day at play or at work. In this bathroom, you will find a special rack for dark towels that won’t get stained, another rack for towels for after the shower if you would like. In this type of bathroom, you will find a hamper for the grimy clothes and one for the clothes you don’t want the grime piled up on top of. This is still a functioning bathroom, but one that fill a special need of the users.

If you are starting everything from scratch, then you need to think about where you are going to put the shower or tub, toilet and sink. You should map out the room first before you start. Having your floor plan ready before you start purchasing these important items, you will have a better idea of what you need and how much space you will have to work with. Think about the amount of space that you have available and what will be the best way to use it. This layout will also include planning for your plumbing.

Next, you should think about what colors you want to use and if you want a theme to be incorporated in your bathroom. Decide on themes that best suit the style the bathroom is going to be most occupied by. This is the fun part and one of the hardest. Making sure that all the items and accessories in the bathroom match can be a difficult task if you do not stick to your theme or color pattern.

When deciding what types of products to use in your bathroom, think about what your preferences are and what materials you like best. You should make sure that the tile and countertops that you choose are able to stand up to your daily abuse. Think about the type of flooring that you want and consider the fact that some materials such as shiny materials may not be slip resistant when wet. You may also want to consider what is going to be easier to clean and what is more practical for you and your family.

Choosing the right light fixtures for your bathroom may be a challenge also. Consider what kind of lighting you want to use in your bathroom and where you are going to need it. Keep in mind where your outlets are and where you will need the most light for your everyday needs.

The last step in designing the perfect bathroom for you is to add a few of your personal touches. Hang some pictures or place some fresh flowers or plants in the bathroom to add a warm and cozy feeling. This will make your bathroom complete and give it the final touches that it needs.

Interior Design and Decorating Lighting Planning in your Home - The New Room

The New Room Interior Lighting Planning
Before you embark on purchasing or deciding the lights that you prefer, look very closely at the room.

It is essential to have your furniture plan worked out before deciding on the light fittings and fixtures positions.

Allow for some general light, this is a light that is an overall source.

The general light has not had its light focused into a beam or set in a particular direction.

The light shines in all directions from its source without obstruction, glass and translucent shades are included in this.




A central light source on the ceiling providing general light for the room. It does make the room appear small as it does not highlight the corners of the room.

Then allow to highlight focal points with directional light, this is light that is focused and forced to travel in a particular direction by either a reflector or baffle. This may be a spotlight of any sort or a lamp with an opaque shade (not translucent) so that the light goes in a particular direction.





An option to make general light softer in a room is with reflected light, this is light that is bounced off another object usually a wall or a ceiling or it can be part of a fitting or bulb. It comes from a directional light source usually but has the light diffused by the reflection.

Rather than a spotlight shining directly onto an object the light is bounced off a wall or ceiling to subtly and/or softly illuminate rather than the full intensity of directional light.

Uplighters and downlighters are forms of spotlights that rely on the reflected light off the floor or the ceiling, although note that a downlight can be used to illuminate an object directly at a pinch.

Downlights come in all sorts of forms that give a narrow beam that spreads down to the floor. They are recessed or semi recessed and may be a feature or extremely discreet. Some have baffles or reflectors and are able to be angled to direct light to wash a wall i.e. a wall washer.
Uplighters can be freestanding or may be mounted directly to the wall and either fully shrouded or have a translucent shade giving an overall ambient light as well as a reflected light.

Interior Design and Decorating Lighting Planning in your Home - The Existing Room

The Existing Room
A number of options exist to illuminate the room without having to change fittings that are hardwired or permanent features and fixtures.

Using freestanding lamps and uplights we can enhance and focus on the features mentioned previously.

The Table Lamp
These come in all forms and sizes, and the shade can be a feature or selected to blend in with the existing decoration.
The lamp can be used to illuminate a corner or as a task light beside a chair for reading, writing or needlework.


The ideal positioning of the lower edge of the lampshade should be at eye level when you are seated - varying between 970 mm and 1007 mm above the floor.
Other features of the simple table lamp are that it gives three forms of lighting; uplight / downlight, task light or ambient background light.

This is especially useful if the lamp is attached to a dimmer.





The lamp can be used to illuminate a corner or as a task light beside a chair for reading, writing or needlework.


This is similar to left but is used more for placing in corners to make a room feel larger, or dividing up spaces when placed between two sofas for example.





The Free Standing Lamp
This is similar to above but is used more for placing in corners to make a room feel larger, or dividing up spaces when placed between two sofas for example.