Bathrooms

Livingetc's design guru Mark Garside answers your most frequently asked bathroom questions.

Can you recommend a stylish black laundry basket?

I still use the cheap Ikea laundry basket I bought five years ago (it was the only black one I could find at the time). Enough is enough – please can you suggest a replacement?
We all have cheap utility items like this. If you still want something dark, take a look at The Holding Company's excellent containers. It has stylish leather and wicker pieces, but I almost prefer the woven strapping designs, which cost as little as £19.

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Suggestions for modern bathroom tiles

We're planning to change the off-white, stone-type tiling in our bathroom. We want something simple that looks different and much more modern. Can you help?
Glass tiles sound perfect for you. They can be trickier to cut than ceramic tiles, but worth it for the quality they bring to a room. Look at the Live Tile from Nicholls & Clarkes. It has a subtle print that creates a sort of lenticular, shimmer effect. Or check out Villi for a range of beautiful glass tiles.

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Repairing an enamel bath

I've seen a fantastic old bath for sale in a property that's being re-developed. It has claw-and-ball feet, and is painted a beautiful sky blue, but the enamel is in a bit of a state. Can it be repaired?
Enamel baths can be repolished to a glossy finish but, in this case, you're better off having the bath totally re-enamelled. The Institute of Vitreous Enamellers has a list of local businesses which, for around £2,000, will collect your bath, strip it out, sandblast and enamel it to almost any colour and return it to you looking like new.

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Hiding flex of a towel rail

Can you suggest any simple heated towel rails that we could install in addition to our central heating radiator? And what's the best way to hide the flex on a tiled bathroom wall?
Most rails come with a short flex that tends to spoil the aesthetic of the fittings, but Black Country Heritage (bathroom-fittings.com) sells towel warmers that have the flex completely hidden. Plus, you can customise the size of the towel warmer, so it's a flexible option.

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Coloured glass shower screen

We're planning to install a wet room and want to have a floor-to-ceiling glass shower panel. As the shower is close to a large, clear window, which we'd like to keep, there are privacy issues. What options do we have for the shower screen, as we've only seen clear ones in the showrooms.
Shops use clear-glass screens so they can show off the internal shower gear, but there are actually lots of options that offer more shower privacy. Off-the-shelf enclosures can be etched, sandblasted or applied with vinyl graphics (make sure it's the outside face of the glass that's treated), and if you get a bespoke panel, you can choose textured glass. For something unique – and affordable – I'd recommend Float Glass Design, which hand-makes all manner of textured and coloured-glass screens.

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Stylish bathroom dispensers

I feel as if I'm fighting a losing battle trying to keep the bathroom looking tidy. Are there any stylish dispensers for toothpaste, similar to the type you get for soap? I've looked but never seen them.
There is a neat wall-mounted dispenser called X-Paste that looks very good (and you can use any toothpaste tube in it). As for a stand-alone one, it looks as if there's a gap in the market for someone to design one! that looks very good (and you can use any toothpaste tube in it). As for a stand-alone one, it looks as if there's a gap in the market for someone to design one!

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Best tiles for a small bathroom

We are shortly going to be redecorating our very small bathroom. There are so many different-sized tiles out there, and I'm not sure which would work best in a small space like our tiny and very narrow room.
I find the problems arise from the grout lines, as you notice these more in a small space if they don't line up perfectly around the room. People tend to use the smaller mosaic tiles in small spaces, as they're easier to fit around tight spaces, and remove the need for complex cut-outs for pipes and sanitaryware. But larger tiles can look just as good and, if you're designing a bathroom from scratch and can ensure everything lines up neatly, it's well worth taking the extra care.

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Where can I find New York-style bathroom floor tiles?

We are looking for some New York-style bathroom floor tiles, which we have seen on various TV programmes and also in the rooms at High Road House boutique hotel. They are white and have raised circles all over them. Can you help as we can't find them on sale anywhere?
Johnson Tiles has something like this called Discface in its commercial Kerastar range. They cost around £25 per sq m.

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How to make copies of bathroom tiles

We recently installed a shower over the bath in our period bathroom. Ideally, we want to continue the existing tiles up to the ceiling behind the shower, but didn't inherit any spare ones with the house and have no idea where they were from. Is there a company that supplies old tiles, or that has a tile-matching service?
Some ceramic suppliers do offer matching services, but the finish can be hit and miss, so having digitally printed copies made is a better option. For the best results, use a company with cutting-edge printers, such as Digital Ceramic Solutions. The company also prints proofs, which you can check against the originals for a perfect match.

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Where can I find dog's-tooth border tiles for a bathroom?

I'm looking for a dog's-tooth border tile for my bathroom. I can find this pattern for floors, but not as a border. Can you help?
I've had no luck, either. Your best bet is to either use a square tile set in a diamond orientation, or have tiles cut to your required size. Or you could have your own designs printed onto tiles. Check out Johnson Tiles' Artile service, which will print images of your choice.

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Which bathroom tiles are best?

We're having a nightmare choosing bathroom tiles. Can you give us any advice?
I feel your pain! Tiles can be even more of a headache than choosing colour, as you also have the size, pattern, surface detail and grout colour to contend with. Consider the ambience you want to create. Darker colours absorb light and show soap residue. Gloss tiles reflect light, making the room feel bigger. Coloured grouts can look great, but remember, the more obvious the grout line is, the more it'll show up any uneven spacing. Sizewise, the rough rule is the larger the space, the larger the tile.

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Neat storage boxes for the bathroom

In an effort to create some order in the bathroom, I have been trying to find some neat storage boxes that I'd be happy to leave on show. Are there any you'd recommend?
It's a long while since I went into a Muji store, but your question reminded me that it does some of the best clear plastic storage around. Now you can buy online, too, so you can browse all the options.

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Giving a Victorian roll-top bath a facelift

I have an oversized enamelled Victorian roll-top bath that's beginning to look quite neglected and worn. I don't want to replace it, so can you suggest any way of giving it a facelift?
There are many companies out there that offer in-situ repair or re-spray services for baths. If you want to give it a go yourself, a new product called The Tubby DIY Bath Tub Resurfacing Kit (around £30), looks worth a try on baths and other sanitaryware. After cleaning and prepping the bath surface, a tough epoxy paint is rollered on, which dries to a gloss finish. Available from brandonmarketing.co.uk.

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Hunting for a circular shower rail

I hope you can help me. I'd like to track down a circular shower rail like the one featured in Livingetc May 2007 on p147. My bathroom has a high sloping ceiling and so the shower rail would need to be fitted from just one point on the wall.
Most good bathroom centres (not the big diy stores) should be able to source one for you, or look online at victorianplumbing.co.uk/curtain-rails-c-39.html for a number of circular rails, starting at £89.99 for one that attaches to one point on the wall.

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Black toilet paper, please

Silly question, I know: recently we stayed in a swish hotel in Paris, and it had black toilet paper! No one would tell us where it was from, and I've had no luck finding it. My friends have never seen it, and they think I've gone nuts! I thought you might be the man to make me sane again.
It's okay, I like nonsense like this! You can get toilet paper in black, as well as trendy tones of red, green and orange. It's made by Renova but, surprisingly, hardly anyone in the UK stocks it apart from, of all places, Harrods (surely we'll start seeing it in the designer stores soon?). It's not cheap (about £1.50 a roll), but if you've gone to the trouble of styling your bathroom interior, why not go for that little extra touch?

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Fabric shower curtain with clasps

We have just renovated our bathroom, and I want to hang a grey fabric shower curtain on wire using clasps. I very much liked the shower curtain I saw on a freestanding shower on the Livingetc website. Do you know any companies that supply similar fabric, without eyelets?

It's notoriously difficult to trace fabrics, as the turnover of products is so quick, and no one really stocks made-to-measure shower curtain fabrics. John Lewis does a white polyester shower curtain fabric, but you will probably need to find other fabrics that can be used for this purpose. Synthetic 'treated' (waterproofed) polyesters and nylons are probably the best options, and you'll find these in the sports and leisure industries. For example, ripstop nylon, used for tents and kites, is very affordable and comes in a huge range of colours. It is available in the UK mainly through kites stores and, and online from USA retailers such as www.rockywoods.com

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Deep-sided Japanese baths

We've been looking to buy a deep-sided bath, approximately 1m sq, but none of the bathroom shops we've been to seem to know of one. We recently stayed at a hotel in Cumbria, which had the very thing, but unfortunately the staff there didn't know who the supplier was. Can you help?

If only I had a pound for every time someone has written in about Japanese baths! Fortunately, the last time I had a question on this type of bath and drew a bit of a blank, I had a flood of emails all alerting me to the one company that does sell them in the UK – Omnitub. They come in two sizes similar to that which you're looking for, and are made in fibreglass, which means you can make a special order in the colour of your choice. Prices start from £455.

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Gloss flooring for the bathroom

We're trying to replace our bathroom floor, but with no success. We're after some lovely join-free gloss flooring, as seen regularly in Livingetc, and we want something warm underfoot, so polished concrete won't do. Sheet rubber suppliers don't sell pieces small enough, and self-levelling resins don't come in suitable colours or are for industrial premises. Please help – we'll DIY it if there's a kit.

It's very difficult to find contractors to do resin floors for domestic clients as costs can be prohibitive. Stratum Resin Flooring is one of the more approachable companies and its Bolidt system comes in a huge range of colours. If you want to save some money, you may want to try use a self-levelling compound then a few coats of decent floor paint (Dulux's Trade Floor Shield can be mixed to any colour and is only available at builders merchants). In fact, some of the interiors in Livingetc would have been painted floors, so you don't always have to pay a fortune.

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Grout cleaning

My brother and I finished renovating our bathroom about six months ago and are really pleased with the results. We've tiled the floor with white mosaics, which look great and have really lightened up the space. Our only problem is the pale grouting. It's become quite discoloured and no amount of scrubbing and bleaching the floor seems to help. Is all hope lost or is there a solution to this problem? We have resigned ourselves to the fact that we may have to scrape out all the old grout and redo it, but we really don't want to put down a dark grout in its place as the rest of the room is white. Perhaps there is something we could paint over the top to create a sealed and cleanable surface?

A company called HT Hagesan (01206 795200) supplies a couple of grout cleaners, but it's important you use the correct one. If they're ceramic tiles, you need HT Grout Cleaner; if you've used marble or slate tiles, you need HT Remover. Once you've successfully cleaned everything (and remember, if all else fails, you can always re-grout), I'd advise you to use its Super Protection for Walls and Floors, which is a sealant that will keep the grout clean. Any readers who are getting their tiling done in future, remember to make a point of doing this at the time.

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2>Coloured-glass splashbacks
I'm after a coloured-glass splashback to run behind my range cooker and sink unit, but, after speaking to several specialist suppliers, I'm still unclear as to whether glass (especially when painted) is safe to use near a gas flame. Do you know of anyone who can help?

It's common to paint glass and not have problems, but there's always a small chance that the paint can peel and, given the expense, it's probably not worth risking it. Instead, contact Deco Glaze, which produces toughened glass splashbacks in 40 standard colours, all suitable for use directly behind gas stoves. The colour coating the company uses is guaranteed to adhere to glass and is unaffected by steam and most caustic agents. Best of all, it does a colour-matching service, so you can get the exact shade you're looking for.

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Reviving dull tiles

I've tiled my bathroom floor with stylish black porcelain tiles. However, they now appear dull and stained wherever water has been splashed, and no amount of rubbing with a dry or damp cloth makes any difference. Any advice on how to return the floor to its shiny, polished state would be much appreciated.

It's always worth sealing tiles in the bathroom to protect them against a build-up of residues from shampoo, soap etc. Anyone re-tiling their bathroom should seek advice from the supplier so you can buy a suitable sealant. In your case, the tiles appear not to have been sealed, so need to be cleaned first with a pH-neutral detergent, and then sealed. Any high-street tile store will be able to advise you on the best products for your tiles. Quality brands to ask for include Lithofin and Hagesan.

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Modern bath fittings for disabled

I wonder if you can help me. I know you've featured showers and basins before, but I'm trying to find stockists of modern-looking bathroom rail fittings for people with disabilities.

As you know, I've had problems finding decent suppliers of inclusive design in the past, but thankfully Livingetc readers have been emailing their contacts, and I have some better leads to pass on. The best I've seen so far come from Hewi's cutting-edge and comprehensively designed product range called Lifesystems. All fixtures conform to the new Disability Discrimination Act, which details and promotes the way buildings and interiors can be designed to be more inclusive. The resulting accessories (such as shelves with grab rails) wouldn't look out of place in any modern bathroom. Hewi products are available through Turnquest UK.

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Restoring limestone tiles

I bought some beautiful limestone tiles for a shower room that is poorly ventilated. They were badly fitted, water got under the seals, and they are now marked with mould stains. Bleaching and scrubbing hasn't helped. Are there any ways to rescue them, or will they have to be ripped out and replaced?
This serves as a warning: when using natural products, always have them professionally installed, and follow the guides for sealing treatments and aftercare to the letter. Lithofin, available through most tile shops, has a wide range of cleaners and sealers, and most industry people would recommend it. But, sadly, I don't have a magic solution for you – it sounds as if tackling the ventilation and replacing and resealing the tiles is the only option here.

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