Small bathrooms are often a challenging space to renovate and redesign with style and function working together. Creating a multi-functional family bathroom with timeless style means investing in fixtures and faucets intended for modern day living.

“Just because your bathroom is small doesn't mean it can't make a big design statement,” says Donna Church, Kohler Canada, “If renovations are beyond your pocket book and know-how, there are still many options that will create the illusion of having more space.”

With that in mind, here are a few tips and tricks to make that water closet feel like a roman spa.

• Showering Solutions: Multifunctional showerheads offer much more than the standard spray, providing a sense of showering luxury in a small space. Kohler's Flipstream handshower saves space and delivers four distinct spray experiences, each with its own dedicated sprayface, to suit your mood and the angle that best fits your stature.

• Mirror: Reflective surfaces will help to create airiness in the room. This is especially important if the bathroom doesn't have a window to allow natural light to filter in. The scale of the mirror is really dependent on the space and accompanying fixtures. Consider a wall-hung mirrored cabinet that will provide additional storage as well as reflectivity. Generally, a bigger mirror will create a more open-feeling room by reflecting light throughout.

• Wall Hung Vanities: Reducing the size of your bathroom fixtures is an excellent way to create more space. The growing availability of wall hung bathroom furniture provides storage and leaves the floor space open, making a small bathroom seem larger. Petite vanities, though small in stature, offer an alternative that is big on design and function, making the bathroom a unique escape from the ordinary.

• Colour: Choosing softer and lighter hues of colour will make a room feel more relaxed and open. In a smaller space it's important to pull all of the elements together by selecting colours that complement and play off each other. Creating the illusion of space can also be achieved by matching the wall colour to the colour of the vanity or other fixtures in the room.

• Lighting: Without taking up counter space, add extra lighting to brighten the look of your bathroom and add interest. Recessed lighting can be used to soften the space while providing ample light and, when used to its full potential, can highlight some of the fixtures that make a statement in a tighter space. Wall sconces can add warmth and sophistication to any bathroom as long as the style suits the overall design of the room.

• Eliminate All Clutter: A clean, neat bathroom always looks larger and more spacious than a dirty one. Don't let clutter accumulate; organize storage areas and make use of them. Innovative, stylish design will always be lost if the space is messy and disorganized.

Don't let the size of your washroom dictate the limits of your design. With creative ideas and great use of space, it can be a warm and inviting retreat that shows off your sense of style.

More information is available online at KOHLER.ca.

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Hot new technology attracts trendsetters

According to design experts, most Yuppie trendsetters these days are not remodeling their bathrooms on the basis of resale value. The new attitude seems to be “why relocate when you can renovate.” This trend, as a result, has sparked a new movement towards personalized luxurious and sensuous bathroom spaces.

In these uncertain economic times, families are choosing to travel less and spend more time at home, according to Nancy Soccio, designer of Dolce Design in Montreal. “The trend is towards recreating that spa-like experience they had when they traveled abroad in the form of a Chic, Zen-like ambiance for their new bathroom home spa.”

In response to this new reality, home renovators are now gravitating towards luxurious surround enclosure multi-body-spray and steam shower units and therapeutic air jet baths. Soccio said consumers are choosing stone floor tiles and other natural, luxurious design materials to personify this trend. “Opulence in the bathroom is the new fashion, as polished nickel chrome, cut crystal and a return to sophisticated new generation marble is creating a visual awakening that's fueling the movement.”

How can marble return when this timeless, luxurious surface didn't really go anywhere? Designers mention that regular “first generation” marble tile was receiving less attention in new decors than in the past due to its limitations as an inherently heavy, fragile option and the perception that is was passé among trendsetting homeowners.

Toronto-based designer Andrew Pike of Andrew Pike Interiors explained that “some clients shied away from using marble in the past due to the fear of breakage and waste during installation or having to replace pieces that become weak or crack over time.”

However, a new generation marble tile has been developed, called Accolade Premium RF, and it is receiving praise from designers, architects and tile setters as the ultimate durable solution to marble tile.

Using the same innovative concepts that have brought engineered hardwood floors to the forefront, these tiles feature a wide range of marble meticulously selected from exotic quarries bonded to high quality porcelain for significantly superior strength and precision engineered to meet the most demanding specifications with unparalleled beauty.

Most importantly, this innovative technology also allows these beautiful marbles to be bonded to honeycomb aluminum for large wall panel applications, a first in the industry.

“It's very exciting to finally be able to use marble on vertical surfaces with confidence, with the help of the aluminum backing,” Pike said. “Now large installations have less wastage, and install easily. Accolade opens a whole new range of possibilities for designers and architects.”

“It's so easy to install it's quickly becoming the preferred choice of tile setters and luxury hotels across the country,” said Mark Hanna President of Leeza Distribution Inc., (leezadistribution.com) one of North America's leading distributors of premium surfaces including the new Accolade Premium RF Collection.

Discerning consumers have also followed suit incorporating these magnificent marbles into their new customized palatial bathrooms adding a desired sense of luxury, grandeur and status to their well decorated spa spaces.

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