To anyone who has browsed the showrooms of the city it will come as no surprise that when it comes to bathrooms Manchester is one of the prime places in the UK. With an abundance of high quality showrooms and several key names in the world of bathroom design Manchester has become something of a Mecca for people interested in taking their own bathroom to the next level.

If you’ve started to look at your own bathroom and realised that it is desperately in need of updating or redesigning then a visit to one of the many showrooms which Manchester has to offer will certainly provide a great deal of food for thought. But although browsing the many example bathrooms Manchester has to offer can be fun and exciting, it can often prove difficult to consolidate the designs and layouts which the showrooms provide with the existing space in your own home.

Clearly in many cases bathrooms displayed in showrooms have no walls, or only a single wall, and this can provide a false sense of perspective and of space. It is therefore important to approach choosing your next bathroom in a careful and well planned way. First of all, have a think about all the things which are wrong with your existing bathroom.

It’s easy to be swayed by shiny new taps, a beautiful shower and vanity, but in many cases people overlook the real reasons why they felt it necessary to replace their existing bathroom suite with a new one, and perhaps completely renovate the bathroom at the same time. For many people a stale and perhaps out of date bathroom is reason enough to replace the suite with a new bath, toilet and basin, but often there are other problems, and it makes sense to tackle these at the same time.

A perennial problem for many people as far as the bathroom is concerned is storage, with endless bottles and lotions stacked along window ledges, the edge of the bath or shelves. These then tend to get dusty as a result of talcum powder, aerosol sprays and fluffy towels being used on a regular basis, and this can very quickly lead to a bathroom looking unclean, dusty and unappealing. Being able to store all those bottles and jars conveniently is important, and today there are many excellent examples of bathroom storage which can be integrated into a new bathroom design. Think carefully about your bathroom storage needs, and work this into the design if needed.

Lighting is another problem for many people, since often a single light fixture in the middle of the room provides insufficient light for doing make up, hair or shaving. Lighted mirrors, bathroom wall lighting and other lighting solutions can be integrated into a new design to completely transform the usefulness of the space.

Clearly one of the most obvious features in any bathroom will be the suite, comprising of the bath, basin and toilet, although possibly you may consider including a bidet, and increasingly these days we’re seeing a lot of people include his and hers wash basins for added convenience. Think carefully about what differences will really make a difference and how your bathroom can be transformed, not just by replacing a few main items or making superficial changes, but by going right back to the drawing board and being as honestly critical as you can.

This means that when the time comes to browse the bathrooms Manchester has to offer you’ll be clearer about what you’re looking for, what’s likely to work, and what isn’t, giving you the chance to buy the bathroom of your dreams, and not just the bathroom which caught your unprepared eye.

By Lela