The Bathroom Designer

Just a little tip to keeping you warm in your bathroom when thinking of which Heated towel rail to choose think taller, when there is little space to fit your bathroom heating in then choose the tallest towel rail as you can easily compromise on the height but not the width of area, buy selecting a tall rail you are much more likely to get the correct heating output to satisfy the bathroom or shower room with the desired temperature you require.

This Towel rail from Tapstore.com measures only 300mm wide but stands up 1800mm leaving more space for the towels and allows the heat to radiate at the same time.

Best Price Tapstore.com £204.00

I have a pet hate for leaving shower gel’s, soap, flannels and shampoo lying around the bath tub or showering area, so why not use one of these shower caddies ?  The first one on the left is a chrome double corner deep basket it is a fantastic option for storing your soap or bathroom essentials whilst keeping them close to hand and neatly stored.

There is plenty of room to leave shampoo bottles standing upright in the bottom basket. a real family solution.

If you wanted to create a neat solution without using a double then why not pick and mix by using two or even three separate corner baskets to create a shower caddy and fix them to the bathroom wall at the heights you prefer.

As an example I have chosen the Dakota corner and selected the deep basket as they come from the same range, you could also use two the same size which would work just as well.

Double Corner Deep Corner Basket £30.34
Dakota Shower Caddy Corner Basket £29.36
Shower Caddy Deep Corner Basket £16.64

All available From Tapstore.com

Recessed shower valves are harder to install but look certainly neater in design and are better in performance. Why I hear you ask?

The Crosswater Totti thermostatic shower valve (left) is a nice example of a crosshead shower valve with a ten year guarantee and will function well right down to 0.2bar pressure. available from tapstore for £252.00.

I also like there Bristan Artisan shower at only £99.00 it is a bargain it comes with a 5 year guarantee and is thermostatic as well the handles and front plate are not as good a quality as with the crosswater valve but for less than half the price who would worry.

Both available from Tapstore.com

A fixed shower head is now one of the most important features you will choose for your shower or bathroom so lets look at whats available to get the best showering experience for you.

Multifunction shower head choice

If you are looking for an exhilarating shower the a multifunction shower head is for you there are so many out there that you really need to consider what is the right one for you. The spray patterns that are available are massage, mist, pulse, rain, drench, and water saving mode.

Most consumers that purchase a multi function shower head do so leaving the shower head in the rain pattern all of the time ask your self this question first as a multi function shower head simply does not perform as well in a rain pattern as a single function shower head.

Single function shower head choice

The single function shower heads are rain or drench pattern only, they are the best at giving a good volume of water which for a practical shower is really what most people desire, they generally operate at lower pressures and can work as low as 0.1 bar pressure and still give you the function required.

There are now many water saving Eco shower heads on the market that will split or atomise the water flow to give a good spray pattern but higher pressures would be required to obtain the correct function.

Large fixed shower head choice

Previously these were called traditional shower roses available in 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and even 12″ diameters you can still get the traditional shower roses and they are great but they have limitations, the water jets are a series of drilled holes that can get lime scaled up easily, and they do tend to use a vast amount of water and can either drain all your hot water or if you are on a mains fed system it cannot supply enough water.

The new generation of fixed shower head is both stylish and practical there are some many designs to choose from a round fixed head to square fixed heads, flat chunky you name it its available to you. The added benefit of choosing a modern designed fixed shower head is that you get a large showering drench head without using a huge volume of water. The way the jets are designed they will always hold back some flow even under pressure, the other main benefit is that you will get rub clean jets and that stop lime scale build up and gives the product durability.

With the large shower Heads you will need to choose either a wall arm of at least 300mm or a ceiling arm to connect to the shower head. By having a large fixed shower head you will need to consider the one down side as is with all fixed heads you will not be able to rinse out or clean the shower enclosure or bath that easily so the addition of a handset is always a good idea so it is worthwhile buying a thermostatic shower valve with a built in diverter so that one you have finished invigorating yourself a quick jet from the handset and your done!!!

Roper Rhodes Storm bathroom taps are pound for pound the best value for money bathroom taps on the market today, I have been looking at the quality of many bathroom taps and testing the functionality as well as considering the price tag these are the reasons why my vote goes to the Storm Bathroom tap range.

The chroming quality is very good something to look out for in cheaper ranges, the flow rate on the low pressure items is better than most other low pressure models of single lever mixer taps, for a mass produced Chinese import product the consistency of brass casting is very good, and the valve technology is exceptional the ceramic disc cartridge mixing valve for the mono-bloc basin mixer has a flow limiter built in restricting the volume of water that can be used (especially required for higher pressure systems) the temperature on the hot side can also be restricted making hotter stored water safer to use.

Products in the Storm bathroom tap range: * Note the basin mixers come both with and without pop up wastes.

Storm mini basin mixers.

The G - Type Bathroom taps from Bristan are engineered to perfection with a slide control operation on the range for hot and cold flow and temperatures. This is an original way of operating the mixers and it works a treat as the temperature controls are exacting to say the least.

In the Bristan G-Type range is a monobloc basin mixer as shown on the left, a three hole basin mixer for the larger basin, the most stunning wall mounted bath filler, a conventional wall mounted bath shower mixer, and a thermostatic bath shower mixer with the style and functionality as well of being able to have a fully thermostatic shower over your bathing area, and just to top off the range if thats not enough for you there is the stand out in a crowd freestanding bath shower mixer to satisfy the larger bathrooms.

RRP £293.00 G-Type Monobloc Basin Mixer

Best Buy Tapstore.com £205.00

Deva have launched the award winning Awatea Satin Jet water saving shower head, what’s new about this eco water saving shower head I hear you ask?

Well its not a simple case of restrictive flow as with most water saving shower heads it is a truly new concept, I first saw this shower head in London at the bathroom show and I was fully impressed with its performance, that’s what makes it different, how it works is by using it’s twin jet technology, The twin jets oppose each other water smashes into the opposing jet stream creating 3000 tiny water droplets per second delivering a wide spray pattern giving a truly drenching feeling. It also encumbers a massage setting if the soft drenching is not suiting your mood the then just switch over with the push button.

Whilst in the water saving mode the handset will only use 9 liters per minute, it is available as both a shower handset and a fixed shower head.

To the indigenous Maori of New Zealand, Awatea means moving from darkness to light, the awakening of a new dawn.

RRP £80.00 Awatea Shower Handset, RRP £99.00 Awatea Fixed Shower Head

The One from Crosswater is a new concept in basin mixers, the idea is when the body of the tap is pulled towards you the water flow is turned on and when swung to the left its hot and to the right its cold.

A design innovation in brassware from Crosswater and the One monobloc basin mixer certainly is that.

You will need a high pressure water system 1 bar minimum to get the best performance from the One bathroom taps, in the range is a tall basin mixer, a 3 hole basin set, 2 wall mount basin mixers one with a shelf, bidet mixer, a wall mounted bath shower mixer, there are also manual valves for showering and bath filling operations.

The One Monobloc Basin Mixer RRP £349.00 tapstore.com £279.00.

If you mention The Bathroom Designer you can get another 5%.

 Crosswater’s Rio Led Shower head will defiantly impress your guests, a new experience for all with the coloured lights appearing to move around the streams of water, It is 400mm in diameter mains powered and comes with an electronic key pad that controls the 96 LED lights with 12 different program modes.

The shower head is made from Chrome plated solid brass and is an ultra thin design and manufactured from the highest specification. It requires 3.0 bar pressure as a minimum pressure.

The Crosswater Rio Led shower head comes with a 15 year Guarantee.

RRP £2499.00

When it comes to shower pumps the Salamander RSP 50 is a good choice as it is quiet and reliable, out of all of Salamanders ranges of booster pumps I think this is the cream of the crop, Why I hear you ask? Several reasons, it’s centrifugal so it is quiet, it’s 15mm pipe connections so its just perfect for a standard thermostatic shower valve and small shower head, it’s flow rate is exceptional for a 1.5 bar pump and it’s cheap.

With lots of other pumps available in their product ranges they do have more powerful models for more demanding applications.

RRP £240.88.