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Eric Spurt

The use of color in your bathroom is a very personal decision. Colours not only arouse our senses and affect our moods; they also help create a particular ambiance in our bathrooms. As humans, how we respond to an individual colour depends on our inherent nature; extroverts (people who are energized while being in the company of other people) tend to feel happy with bold bright colors, whereas introverted people prefer more subdued colors. While these are two extremes of the same coin, balance in your bathroom colours will normally be achieved through a combination of the two colour psychological combinations. Through using specific combinations of color, combined with a careful consideration of simple color schemes and the dominance of one colour psychology with accents of the other is often the most effective solution to your lavatory colour decisions. Using these simple principles you too can learn how to choose colors for your bathroom. Read the rest of this entry »

There is nothing more beautiful in your bathroom than natural stone. On the whole, most natural stone is hard, durable and water resistant. Some people don’t mind a tiny bit of wear on their stone surfaces but if you are like the majority of us that spent a small fortune on your natural stone surfaces, you want it to look like the million dollars that you feel like you paid. Natural stone, whether it is marble or granite will need to be occasionally resealed and while regular bathroom cleaners are fine for ceramic tile, they are normally too harsh for cleaning natural stone surfaces. Even using soap to clean your stone surfaces can cause a soap film to build up overtime. From sealants, cleaners, strippers, enhancers, polish and conditioners, to preserve the natural beauty of your granite and marble countertops, walls or floors you need to be selective about what products you use to care for your bathroom stone surfaces. Read the rest of this entry »

An interesting emerging trend that has come forth in the bathroom renovation industry is bathroom cladding. Maybe it’s the fact that a certain segment of the home renovation market is strapped for time or perhaps society itself is to blame with its need for instant gratification. But the fact still remains that there are many companies emerging to meet the demand for this new bathroom development. Whether you call it waterproof wall paneling, plastic tongue and groove or shower wall panels, they are all basically the same product. The cladding sold by most vendors is usually made from plastic, vinyl, acrylic, UPVC or PVC panels. The reason these panels are becoming increasingly popular is because they provide a virtually maintenance free cladding for your bathroom walls. The term “clad” means fully clothed, so in essence you are clothing your bathroom walls with paneling. But you are not limited to your walls as you can purchase bathroom ceiling cladding as well. Read the rest of this entry »

As you develop your bathroom layout, it is very easy to overlook the ceiling in your washroom, yet your bathroom ceiling is an important element in your baths overall design. Most people forget that a bathrooms ceiling must be resistant to moisture and humidity just like your walls and floors, so your choice of ceiling material and proper ventilation should seriously be taken into consideration to prevent mold or warping. A typical bathroom ceiling is about eight feet in height. Depending upon the size of your bathroom, the ceiling can make your bath appear cozy or you can add drama to the room by incorporating a high ceiling. Sometimes this can be too much and one way of fixing a ceiling that is too high is to either install a lower hanging false ceiling or by simply painting or tiling a border strip around your bathroom walls about the eight foot level to create the illusion of a lower ceiling area. Read the rest of this entry »

With all this talk about recycling and green products, you sometimes wonder who is for real and who is just abusing the trend. Well, after having talked to the general manager of Granite Transformations at Home Expo 2010, I knew he was avid about Granite Transformations quest to be a truly environmentally preferred company. Granite Transformation can transform your outdated shower or tub surround with its eco friendly recycled glass, engineered stone or their glass mosaics, and all of this according to Granite Transformations, can be done in as little as a day. Their nonporous 4’x10’ recycled slabs can be cut and installed over your existing vanity countertop, floors, bathroom walls or shower pans. And the great thing about these slabs is that they require virtually no maintenance, come in more than fifty stylish colours, are easy to clean and are also mold and mildew resistant, which is pretty much a necessity for any bathroom environment. Read the rest of this entry »

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Kevin Boschee, owner of Beyond Foam Insulation is a foam master; we had a little chat about insulating your home down at Home Expo 2010. As I found out, because of the versatility of expanding spray foam insulation, you can insulate just about anything including spraying under your bathtub or hot tub to keep the heat in and even spraying your internal bathroom walls to provide a type of sound proofing. Spray foam for those unfamiliar with it is an expanding insulating foam that is environmentally friendly and also more energy efficient than regular fibreglass insulating foam because it is sprayed into every nook and cranny where it expands and forms an airtight seal that never sags to create gaps in your insulation. This is good news for the homeowner because spray foam can dramatically reduce your heating cost and with many government grants available for those wishing to make their homes more energy efficient, these grants can significantly reimburse the cost of the spray foam insulation upgrade with this eco friendly solution. Read the rest of this entry »

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So you have decided you want to paint your bathroom in a fresh new colour and the best part is all its going to cost you is your time, a gallon of paint and a few painting tools. But first you have to come up with a colour scheme before you grab your brush or roller. I should mention here the importance of buying a top quality paint and quality brush. Behr, Sherwin-Williams and Porter are good paint brands. Because your bathroom is a high moisture area, always use a glossy or semi glossy paint for easy cleaning and moisture resistance. The first thing you need to do is create a sample board of various colour combinations that you like and feel comfortable with as stated in Part 1 of How to Choose a Colour Scheme 4 Your Bath. Paint little 1×1 swatches of the colours you’re considering for your bathroom on 6×1 inch flat pieces of wood. Then hold the swatches against different pieces of furniture in your lavatory and with different lighting conditions such as natural light and artificial light (you can even do this at different times of the day). What you are trying to do is get a feeling of how the colour works with your bathroom environment and also how the colour of the paint is affected by different lighting situations. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are new to painting your bathroom walls, you will soon come to see that nothing changes the mood of your entire bathroom like altering the colour of your walls. Painting your bathroom walls not only creates a powerful visual statement but is ultimately a reflection of your personality and design style. And the great thing about painting your washroom is because of its size, you could probably finish this weekend project in just a couple hours. A good place to start getting color ideas is by looking at the colors of your furniture, woodwork, curtains and other prominent knick knacks such as a painting you would like your bathroom to compliment. The bottom line though is to pick colours that you like and feel comfortable with. And remember to preserve a sense of consistency throughout your home, so try to maintain similar colours between the rooms in your house. If you are not quite ready to commit to a particular colour scheme but still want to paint your lavatory walls then choose a light or neutral color such as white, gray or sombre tones of brown, which you can accent by adding eye-catching accessories. These colours are also easy to paint over if you do decide on a color scheme at a later date. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a first time renovator, coming up with usable bathroom renovation ideas can sometimes be daunting. But don’t fret; many others have traveled in your shoes before, rest assured you are not alone. So, let’s shed some light on how you can come up with some good bathroom renovation ideas, get it done right the first time and save yourself a few headaches. First lets examine the problem. The good thing is that in every renovation problem lies the solution. If you break down exactly what you need accomplished and then what you plan to do to get there, then with a game plan, your renovation project should proceed according to your outline. As obvious as this may seem, you’d be surprised at just how many homeowners out of unbridled frustration run down to their local home improvement store and start buying on a whim as they go and then regretting it later when they have to return the items or worse, having to live with their impromptu purchases. Before you even step out of your home you must decide just how far you are willing to go with your bath ideas. The first question you should be asking yourself is – what is my budget and then the next question is whether or not you plan on changing your bathroom layout. Read the rest of this entry »