Four easy steps to selecting better bathroom & kitchen fittings
Selecting bathroom and kitchen fittings for your new home or DIY bathroom renovation project can be a daunting task. The choices are overwhelming. But there is an easy way to navigate all the choices and help you keep your budget in check.
There are four simple steps that you can apply to choosing bathroom and kitchen fittings (PC items) for your entire home.
Step 1 – Planning – bathroom and kitchen fittings and laundry lists
Planning is the most important step when choosing wet area items. It is also not complicated.
Start by counting the number of wet areas in your home. This includes the kitchen, the laundry and all bathrooms. Use a sheet of A4 paper for each wet area in your home, or, for the computer literate, create a spreadsheet. Then write the name of one wet area at the top of each page.
in-wall toilet suite
shower screen and panel
shower screen and panel
wall basins
semi-recessed basin
undermount sink
Write the following items to each page:
- Vanity / bench top
- Mirror / shaving cabinet unit
- Toilet suite – 1/2 flush, wall / back facing or corner facing?
- Wall hung and mounted toilet pan with concealed in wall cistern – half flush?
- Toilet roll holder
- Toilet brush set
- Shower enclosure – semi-frameless screen with door and floor with good fall, folding, or a single frameless toughened glass screen mounted off the wall?
- Shower tap set – plastic or ceramic washer disc?
- Shower rose / adjustable rail slider and hose – wall or ceiling mounted head?
- Basin / tub / sink – drop in, insert, pedestal, vessel, round, square, semi recessed, under slung (undermount) or above bench/counter, overflow?
- Plug and trap – diseno bottle trap or regular?
- Basin tap set – three holed or single (flick mixer)
- Bath / spa
- Bath tap set or tap set with spa hob spout
- Bath / spa plug
- Exhaust fans / heaters
- Floor wastes, for drainage (type and amount) – pop up, stainless steel concealed, round s/s or stainless steel trough / grate.
- Towel rail – double or single?
- Shower rose/rail
- Other – to include non standard units like; bidets, goose neck spouts, soap dishes, hand towel rings, cupboards, soap dispenser, glass shelves, door stops, storage cabinets, robe hooks, heaters, grab rails, decorative mirrors, extra plugs, heated ladder, baskets,towel warmers, towel rail and racks, as well as drawer and cupboard units and free standing drawers etc.
Also write at the top of each page Description – Size – Colour -Price.
Shower rose, floor waste, soap dispenser, stainless steel grate
Step 2 – Select your theme
Now that we have a list of all the items needed for the wet areas, it is essential to choose a theme.
Important tip: it is better and easier to have the same theme and items throughout all your wet areas. Having different themes and model numbers for each wet area is more work for everyone involved.
To choose a theme you need to think about your existing interior design theme, for example ‘minimalist’, ‘French provincial’ or ‘crazy’. These styles are distinctly different, but let’s choose minimalist for our example, starting with tapware.
minimalist tapware
The fitting above is a good example of minimalist style tapware. The look has clean lines, is non-decorative, modern, simple, yet elegant.
Doing your upfront research online is much quicker than going from store to store. If you choose your main bathroom and kitchen fittings before you go shopping it will save you the headache of too many choices. It may also save you time from the additional driving to various locations.
Once you’ve chosen your tap, it is also a good idea to start thinking about your budget. Don’t choose something you can’t afford – consider a complimentary compromise.
Next start choosing other items off your list. Base the style of these items on the first. Keep thinking about your criteria: clean line, non-decorative, modern, simple, yet elegant.
stone vessel basin
If you choose items like vanities that include a natural stone or reconstituted stone, make sure they match the theme you have chosen. Products like CaesarStone, AltsaStone, Trendstone, or natural stones including granite and limestone, can clash with a minimalist theme.
Once you have chosen the first few items selecting items will become straightforward.
Step 3 – Set your budget
Now that you have researched your theme and have found the right items for your bathrooms and kitchen fittings as well as your laundry, think seriously about your budget. Email your list to three different bathroom supplies (without the costs you should have noted when doing your initial online research). You may be surprised how different the prices can vary from shop to shop on items that are identical.
Buying Tips for Bathroom and Kitchen Fittings
- Keep your eyes open for sales.
- Compromise with those ‘I want articles’ like under-floor heating and perhaps DIY your own under-floor heating. Bathroom Warehouse supply DIY packs. Click the link to see their under floor heating product.
- Be patient if you have the luxury. If the quotes are looking too expensive, wait for a sale, you can save thousands!
- Keep your eyes open for kitchen and bathroom auctions. Auctions often have great deals on large deep therapeutic baths, sinks, small sinks, molded basins, steel mixers .
Step 4 – Think about longevity
When buying a product you need to think about how this product needs to perform, for example:
- Will the items have constant use, or will they be left un-used for months at a time?
- How will the items last in a salty beachside environment?
- Will the product be kept outside or inside?
You need to choose items that are going to last the distance of your expectations. For example: choose a plastic cistern toilet for the loo in the shed, and a porcelain cistern for the high traffic toilet on the house.
On a final note
There is a formula to choosing taps, baths, sinks, showers, floor wastes or other accessories. Choosing bathroom, kitchen and laundry items should be based not only on what you like aesthetically, but also on what will suite your the theme of your home improvement project or new home, what you can afford, and how well it will need to perform. So save yourself the headache and be prepared before you turn up randomly at a bathroom and kitchen store. Be comforted by the better choices you will now make in choosing bathroom and kitchen items for your home improvement.
Bathroom Warehouse supplied all the images in this article. They are based in Queensland and specialises in bathroom, kitchen and laundry products. They deliver nationally to residential and commercial customers in NSW , QLD , SA , WA , NT , ACT and Tasmania. Bathroom Warehouse has many return customers in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Cairns, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Coffs Harbour, Perth and Darwin. They also sell environmentally green products that are energy efficient or water-efficient as well as being able to source unique products such as hygienic and composting toilets. You can call Bathroom Warehouse on
1300 788 653
