The bathroom has lately ceased to be simply a place in your house where you wash, take a shower or bath and go to the toilet.

These days, according to interior designers, a bathroom should be a "happiness area" for family or visitors - a pleasant and carefully designed room that is a delight for anyone to visit and use. Consequently, designing and decorating the bathroom so that it becomes a private haven has become a major issue for home decorators.

Cotto Bathroom Service designer Pipat Kosolwantana says designers must first be concerned to make a bathroom match the lifestyle of its end-users. Then the raw materials should be chosen according to the users' tastes and demands.

Modern sanitaryware producers have developed innovative products that are not only more functional, but also come ready-equipped with anti-bacterial qualities.

Siam Sanitary Ware Industry, producer and distributor of Cotto and Toto brand sanitaryware, has created a wide range of products and has also set up the Cotto Bathroom Service to offer design advice and consultancy for renovators.

"Most end-users have different demands for decorating their bathrooms, so our designers will help them to select raw materials that most closely match their demand," Pipat says.

Normally, homeowners want ceramic tiles as the main decorating material in the bathroom because they believe tiles are easier to clean and more durable than other materials. However, modern construction materials offer variety and different surface textures to create different design themes, and Cotto's designers are prepared to help customers create "different" bathrooms to match their ideas.

Before selecting the raw materials with which to decorate a bathroom, the first concern should be for the end-users. Grandparents, parents and children all require different design considerations, and the older members of the family, in particular, need special equipment.

For instance, the sanitaryware and accessories, such as water taps and flushing system, need to turn on and off easily for the oldest and youngest members of a family. Baths and showers need easy access without the risk of slipping and rails may be provided to avoid falls.

After the sanitaryware has been chosen to match the needs of its users, the next step is to select the raw materials for decoration.

Many manufacturers of home-construction materials have recently developed new decorative items, including ceramic tiles, fibre-cement board, wood and stone to offer a wide market variety. Many home-owners therefore benefit from the advice of designers about the kind of raw materials that will achieve their wishes.

For example, a stucco-textured surface will create an antique feeling. And producers of fibre-cement board are these days offering not only durability, but a wide range of permanent colours.

For those who are keen on a feeling of closeness with nature, stone tiles offer a naturally textured surface unlike the factory finish of ceramics.

Pipat suggests that if a bathroom occupies a narrow space, then earth tones and bright colours will make it look wider than it really is. Bright colours such as white, ivory or bright green will also make the bathroom feel clean and warm.

If, on the other hand, the bathroom is large, the secret is plenty of colour and modern design to make it feel fresh, comfortable and secluded.

"Bathrooms are these days a happiness area in which anyone can spend their private time, so when you design your bathroom you have to be concerned about both functionality and beauty. You can spend between Bt50,000 and Bt100,000 to renovate your bathroom, and that is not bad when you consider that you spend time in it every day of your life," Pipat says.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation