As the Paralympics get under way prepare to be inspired! Twelve days of an enormous variety of events with many world records expected to be broken. The image on the left shows the Paralympic Mural which was officially unveiled on Wednesday. Made of tiles and decorated with waves of orange, blue, green – the colours of Rio 2016 – it is covered with messages written in various languages by Paralympian athletes wishing well to all those involved.
But it is not just the sporting triumphs that are inspirational. All the Paralympian athletes have some kind of physical impairment, some due to conditions they have had from birth and others as a result of accident or illness. However well these athletes perform during the twelve days in Rio – and they will! – their physical condition affects their life every single day.
Many of us at some stage will need to be able to accommodate family members with some kind of physical impairment and this includes having a bathroom that is suitable for their needs. At Stone and Chrome we can provide help and advice as to how to create a new bathroom – or adapt an existing one – to make it more accessible. A bathroom can be both accessible and beautiful: there is no reason why the two criteria should not co-exist!
Below are some ideas for items to include in an accessible bathroom:
Wetroom
The image below shows a stunning walk-in linear shower with heated seating. This was part of a proejct to create a master en suite wetroom: you can see the full range of photographs here. The walk in shower features seating so is ideal for those who are unable to stand for long. The seating is also heated for additional comfort. There are also LED lit storage recesses which means that all the essential items are close to hand. The wetroom is decorated in premium Silver Grey Limestone tiling and Farrow & Ball All White paint, with subtle LED lighting adding the perfect finishing touch.
Shallow basin
The image below is from a luxury family shower room: you can see the full range of photographs here. Although the shower room was small, we managed to fit various luxury items in and also leave room to manoeuvre. The easily accessible shallow basin (Kartell from LAUFEN Bathrooms) is housed on a gorgeous solid oak Venice wall mounted vanity unit from Stonearth with our own slate surface. The surface provides an area to steady the hands and the stylish storage shelf just above the basin is convenient for holding all the daily essentials. The whole bathroom is tiled in our calibrated Amazonas grey riven slate.
Whirlpool bath
A whirlpool bath – such as the one pictured below – is very therapeutic. It can help to soothe aches and pains and stimulate the circulation. The bath below was part of a main bathroom that also had a steam shower: you can see more photographs here. There are various aids available to help people get in and out of baths if this is difficult, and it would be worth looking into these as the benefits of a whirlpool bath could really be of help. The bathroom below was tiled in Latte travertine for a stunning effect.
How to get started?
So if you have the need for an accessible bathroom now, or anticipate that you might at some future stage then the good news is that it can also be a beautiful and elegant Stone and Chrome bathroom! Why not make an appointment to come and visit us at our Camberley showroom? We’d love to welcome you and show you our stunning range of bathroom displays to enable you to visualise how much one of our distinctive bathrooms would enhance your home.