Bathroom Oasis

Mini Ebb shower bath, £1,495, Waters Baths of Ashbourne.

12 ways to make your bathroom a Relaxing Oasis

Functionality comes first in the bathroom, but there’s no reason why you can’t combine efficiency with aesthetics – and gain all the benefits of a space that looks good and feels good at the same time. Here are a dozen ideas to start you off: • Lighting is vital. Check that the bulbs in your light fittings are giving off the light you prefer, though try not to mix different light temperatures (warm or cool) in the same room. Smart bulbs can be switched on and off and the colour temperature changed or dimmed using a remote control or an app. Or, if you have a light switch outside the bathroom door, consider swapping it for a dimmer. • Sort out your storage. Slim wall cupboards, shelves, ladders, caddies, peg rails and over-door hooks are options, while small storage items – such as wicker baskets, pretty ceramics or bright plastic tubs – bring texture, colour and interest.

• If your shower is pathetic, investigate whether you can add a pump to make it more powerful. • Get rid of the grunge and scrape out the old grout and silicone between and around your tiles, especially if there’s any mould. Redoing them will make an extraordinary difference.

• Replace a shower curtain with a shiny glass shower screen – the look is clean and minimally efficient (and won’t need replacing regularly). • Jazz up your windows. Options include decorative window film, a beautiful blind (Roman or roller) or some minimal wooden louvres. • Add a large mirror – it’s not only useful and a focal point but increases the feeling of light and space in the room. • Buy a set of coordinating towels. The fluffier the better, in clean, bright, hotel-white or a colourful pattern. • Add plants, large and small, high and low – they usually thrive in a bathroom’s humid atmosphere. Choose pots that complement your overall scheme. • Lay a woven cotton or ‘outdoor’ rug on the floor – it can easily be washed or wiped down and will introduce a softer feel, adding colour, pattern and texture, too. • Change a dated pair of taps for some good-looking, modern ones. Check that they will suit your water pressure, and make sure the new spout extends the correct amount over the bath or basin – they should reach about as far as the plug hole. • A chair or stool is always useful in a bathroom, even if it’s just to throw clothes over or to hold soap and books next to the bath.

Wooden blinds are elegant and practical, and come in a range of natural colours, or brighter, painted shades.

Incredibly glamorous, these pink wall tiles have a glossy, crackle-glazed finish, and fit right into this luxurious bathroom, which features huge amounts of built-in storage.

Bella Pink wall tiles, £35.99 per square metre, Tile Mountain.

Recharge and Revive

in a bathroom that makes you Feel Great

LONGER-TERM CHANGES

If you are rethinking your entire room, decide on basic layout issues at the start. Should the WC be in a separate room, for example? Do you need to knock down or add partition walls? Or would you like a walk-in shower, extensive fitted storage or perhaps a pair of his and hers basins? Avoid moving existing plumbing, if possible, as it will save money and effort. However, if the floorplan of your current bathroom really isn’t working for you, this one-off plumbing cost could be worth it in the long run. When thinking about the overall room design, it makes sense to build shallow false walls within which to hide cables and pipework, while installing underfloor heating allows you to remove a radiator, thus freeing up some wall space for a statement towel warmer as well as providing cosy, constant heat. A brand new lighting scheme can provide a real upgrade and, if you’re renovating the whole bathroom, it may be possible to install two lighting circuits: one for working lights and the other, on a dimmer switch, for soothing, ambient lights. Some gorgeous new flooring is a must: for the look of luxurious stone or marble on a lower budget, lookalike porcelain tiles are a great option, while vinyl flooring comes in a huge range of colours and patterns.

The best gadgets for every kitchen

Now that many of us are cooking so much more at home, there are lots of gadgets that promise to make our kitchen time better. Some of them enable you to do much more with much less washing up; others ensure brilliant results for every meal; and still others enable you to cook like the pros. One of our favourite kitchen gadgets is the electric pressure cooker. The most famous one is the Instant Pot, but there are lots of rivals. It’s a one-pot machine that you can use to make soup, stews, casseroles and even yogurt, and unlike many multi-cook devices it’s good at all of them. One of the best things about it is that it enables you to slow cook quickly: pressure cooking means you get all the flavour and tenderness of slow cooking in less than an hour. And when you’re done, there’s only one dishwashersafe pot to clean. Another firm favourite in our kitchen is the air fryer, which gives you deep fried taste without the mess, smell or unhealthiness. They’ve come a very long way in just a few years and they’re brilliant for fantastic fried chicken, amazing chips and quickly reheating takeaways: the only thing they’re not great at is food with lots of runny batter, which just falls off. If you’re feeling really fancy, a Thermomix can do pretty much everything: it can vacuum cook meat, fish and vegetables for sous vide cooking; it can slow cook; it can caramelise, brown, blend, boil, knead, emulsify and more. It even has a display to show you video tutorials. It’s very expensive but it’s an incredible device. If you prefer to cook manually we’d thoroughly recommend the Thermapen, an instant thermometer that enables you to test the temperature of things like large roasts. It takes the guesswork out of cooking times, ensuring that every roast is perfectly done, and it’s also really useful in barbecue season when you don’t want to risk giving people undercooked meat.

THERMOMIX TM6

The TM6 is incredibly expensive but it’s a truly extraordinary intelligent cooking machine that’ll replace many of your existing appliances. £1,145, Vorwerk.co.uk

THERMAPEN

This instant-read digital thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking meat, fish and bread, and while clones are cheaper they’re not as accurate. £51, Thermapen.co.uk

ANOVA PRECISION COOKER NANO

Sous Vide – gently cooking food for hours in warm water – delivers incredible tenderness and flavour, and the Anova enables you to do it in any big pot. It’s appcontrolled, easy to use and produces amazing results.

£129, Anovaculinary.com

PHILIPS AVANCE COLLECTION AIR FRYER

Philips’ air fryers are easy to use, easy to clean and deliver excellent results. This is one of the larger models, with a 1.2kg capacity that makes it ideal for families.

INSTANT POT DUO EVO PLUS

This isn’t the cheapest Instant Pot – the Duo is half the price – but this is more flexible and has a brilliant display that makes it even easier to use.