Toilet decoration: we develop the design ourselves
Decorating one of the smallest rooms in an apartment - a toilet - is far from the easiest task. It is necessary to use even the smallest area optimally, placing, if possible, also a small sink. At the same time, the design of the toilet consists not only of the choice of finishing material, but also the development of the design of the walls, floor, ceiling, lighting.
The content of the article
Finishing materials
Since the toilet is a room that requires frequent cleaning with the use of detergents, the requirements for finishing materials are high. They should wash well, not be afraid of water, not absorb odors, have a long service life and not change color for a long time. There are not so many such materials. Most often these are ceramic, marble tiles or porcelain stoneware.
The mosaic is worth highlighting. These small squares look very different. When combined correctly with normal sized tiles, there are many interesting options.
There is one more material that appeared several years ago. These are decorative plasters. They are of different types with different characteristics. They are also water-repellent, and many of them can be washed many times with brushes. They look modern, serve for years. They are applied to leveled walls with special plastic trowels / spatulas. The disadvantage of this type of toilet finish is the high price. Another unpleasant moment: there are few specialists who can lay decorative plasters at a sufficiently high level. There is nothing complicated, it seems, but without experience there are many "jambs" - visible seams, poorly rubbed components, irregularities, etc.
There is a more budgetary option - finishing with plastic panels. It is, of course, not as durable as the tile, but it costs much less, and it is installed much easier and faster. If you want an inexpensive option, this is it.
Another cheap way to decorate a toilet is to cover the walls with washable wallpaper. But the durability of such a coating is relatively low, and the prices are not to say that they are so low. In this case, there is a good way - to combine plastic panels and wallpaper: trim the lower part with plastic - to a height of about 1.5 m, and paste over the rest of the space with wallpaper.
Choice of color and design
When choosing a color scheme for finishing the toilet, it is necessary to proceed from the general design of the apartment. Basically, the toilet design should not fall out of the general concept. But every time to change the tiles in the toilet after the wallpaper has been re-pasted, as if no one will. Therefore, neutral tones are often used - white, beige gray. They are diluted with accessories to match the basic design of the apartment. It turns out a universal option.
When choosing a tone - light-dark - first of all, they look at the size of the room. In most apartments, the toilet is small - 2 sq. m, maximum - 3 sq. m. This does not complicate the situation too much - a similar situation occurs often, solutions are known and worked out.
For a small toilet, a light tile or combination is more suitable. It is desirable to do the combination like this: dark bottom, light top. This division is not fashionable, but it visually makes the room much wider and more spacious. Look at the photo. The red and white toilet appears to be much wider than the beige colors, although in fact they are the same.
Horizontal division gives one more effect: a clear edge, as it were, "breaks down" the walls to the sides, lowering the ceiling. In a narrow and high room, this is the desired effect. If this design of the toilet - with a clear division - you do not like at all, do something similar, modifying the idea. For example, as in the photo below.
The idea is the same, the execution is different. The combination of black and beige is not as bright as with white, but it is more pleasant for the eyes. The division is also horizontal, but it is not on the same level, moreover, the zebra-like tiles on the sides distract attention, also optically "pushing" the walls to the sides.
Two more photo examples. In the right picture, the wall farthest from the entrance has a dark color and a dark stripe on the sides. Visually, the stripe pushes the walls to the sides, but the dark distant wall becomes, as it were, even further. In this case, it is not the most correct decision. It will look better if this wall is lighter than the side ones.
The design of a toilet in a standard apartment in the photo on the left is made using several techniques. The first is a horizontal division of the far wall, which visually brings it closer. The second is vertical stripes on the side walls, which serve the same purpose: to make the room more square, at least visually.
Another method helps to visually make the room not so high - several rows of tiles are laid on the walls, which were used on the floor. It looks good, creating the illusion of lower ceilings.
Interesting vertical stripes. Manufacturers of ceramic tiles also began to produce their collections (like wallpaper) to make it easier to combine. All of their elements go well together, you just need to decide how many different types you will use - two, three or four. Some options for finishing the toilet with ceramic tiles can be seen in the photo.
As you can imagine, it is impossible to imagine all the options for toilet design. There are too many options and variations, but we have outlined the main trends and methods.
Plumbing location
As you have seen, in many toilets, even small in size, they try to put a small washbasin. Fortunately, plumbing comes in different shapes and sizes. For toilets, the so-called mini-options are used. Their depth can be - 20-30 cm, there are straight and angular, so, if you wish, you can find an option for a variety of conditions.
Let's consider the most typical ways to locate the sink in the toilet. If the doors are located so that one of the walls is slightly larger, you can put the sink on this wall.In this case, the toilet is placed traditionally - closer to the opposite wall.
With the same layout, you can choose another option - put the toilet (if you wish and the possibility, and a bidet) along the long wall, and place the mini-sink in the corner.
Just keep in mind that the width of the passage must be at least 60 cm. Otherwise it will be very inconvenient. This means that this option for the location of the plumbing can be realized if the width of the toilet room is at least 1.2 m.
You can pick up plumbing for a very narrow and small toilet, no more than 2 square meters. m. There are models of toilets that can be placed in a corner. It can be perfectly combined with a corner sink.
Color and type
In most cases, plumbing is chosen in white. But it can be of different colors: red, black, pink, etc. Another thing is that colored toilets or washbasins are delivered mainly to order, and you have to wait for them for several weeks. But any color can be purchased.
If possible, it is better to install a console toilet in a small toilet. Due to the fact that it rests on the wall, and not on the floor, it does not look so massive, it is more convenient for cleaning. Its downside is the high price. For its installation, a sufficiently strong base is required, which is hidden behind a bezel. This wall can be made:
- part of the height - to close the mounting frame;
- to the very ceiling, by making a door for revision or installing a plumbing roller shutter;
- arrange in the form of shelves.
Installing a console toilet - video
The principle of installing a console toilet is demonstrated in the video. The sequence of actions is clearly and clearly described.
Toilet lighting
Traditionally, ceiling lighting is made in the toilet - one light bulb, and not very powerful, is enough for a small space. But lighting is also one of the design methods that can play up even simple tiles to create interesting lighting effects.
You shouldn't give up the light source at the top, you can just add a few lamps to the interior. If you have shelves, make them backlit. For this purpose, it is more convenient to use LED strip. Although it does not have a tangible effect on the degree of illumination, it looks good (in the photo on the left). Another option is to install the lamps in the wall. These may be ordinary built-in models, but they look very unusual on the wall (pictured on the right).
There is another option - to mount the backlight on the bottom of the wall. It will be easier to do if you can find fixtures that are the same size as the tiles and calculate their position so that they become completely. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't matter, but the tiles will have to be cut.
The technical requirements for lighting fixtures for the toilet are standard - there should not be high humidity here, so you can buy any model.
Photo of toilets in an apartment of unusual design
Let's start with the practical part. In many apartments, technical rooms are so small that it is very difficult to find a place for a washing machine. This primarily applies to Khrushchev buildings, but other typical high-rise buildings are rarely pampered with open spaces. If this is your case, you can try installing a washing machine in the toilet.There are two options - find a special typewriter - as in the photo on the left, or install it in a specially made niche that covers the pipes. Only the base requires a strong base, and the machine with a minimum level of vibration.
Now let's move on to design delights. Let's start with the floor. In recent years have become fashionable Self-leveling floors, and they can be made with a 3D effect.
The image on the floor can be any, without restrictions. This is a space for fans of non-standard solutions and extreme sports ... even in the toilet.
Photo printing can be done on walls. Images are transferred with photographic accuracy to the ceramics. As a result, you can feel yourself on the top of a mountain before the start of a ski competition, for example ...
There are some rather strange tile collections. For example, in the form of windows of high-rise buildings. It looks interesting, but how comfortable you can feel in such a place is the question ...
And if desired, even ordinary finishing materials can be assembled so that you get a masterpiece toilet design.