At Stone and Chrome we were delighted to be featured in the April edition of the magazine Kitchens and Bathrooms News – see image on the left. In the article – entitled Set in Stone – we discussed our experiences in bathroom design and in particular our belief in “differentiation by design”. Design is a subject close to our hearts! Read on to find out why ….
More than a Happy Accident!
Many of us are familiar with the old saying along the lines of something happened “by accident rather than design”. But our experience, that doesn’t apply to bathrooms! You are not going to get a wonderful bathroom by accident or through a stroke of luck. It needs to be designed well to end well! Sadly many of the problems that people have with new bathrooms is because of poor design – or perhaps no real design at all!
The importance of the design process when planning a new bathroom or wetroom cannot be overstated. If you get your bathroom design wrong it can result in a facility which is at best difficult to use and at worst dangerous. Nevertheless spending time and effort on the design phase of your new bathroom is something that many people seem reluctant to do, yet later realise that it can be very expensive to put right.
Your Tardis Bathroom
Part of the problem we have these days is that people love their bathrooms! Having a fabulous bathroom has become a bit of a national obsession and it means that everyone wants everything in their bathroom! Yet for many of us, space or other constraints simply do not permit the desired combination of wetroom, steam shower, freestanding stone bath, basin with surrounding vanity unit – plus state of the art entertainment system – that we might ideally want.
This is where bathroom design really does come into its own! Professional designers can advise which elements are and are not workable and can then produce a set of designs showing you how everything could actually fit into your space.
The Design Process
The Design Process
At Stone and Chrome we have invested in the highest quality computer aided design (CAD) software and the computers to run it effectively. This is available in our Camberley showroom and you are welcome to come and see it! The image on the right shows an example of the quality of the designs that would be available to you.
If you choose Stone and Chrome for your bathroom design we can either come to your home to take our own measurements and pictures, or you can provide your own and answer a series of questions to help assist us during the design process.
Coupled with our many years of installation experience, the bathroom and wetroom designs we produce are very accurate. We can produce an accurate design from architects plans and even provide you with first fix plumbing diagrams.
In the capable hands of our skilled bathroom and wetroom designers you will be able to see just how your bathroom will look on completion! You will be able to discuss your own ideas more easily having seen a 3D image of the room. Our designers will also help you to incorporate innovative features into the designs, such as clever storage ideas and the use of subtle but effective LED accent lighting.
Our Products
As well as creative and accurate bathroom design, the quality of the products used in the bathroom is paramount. At Stone and Chrome we use a lot of natural products in our bathrooms and are able to produce bespoke items in our designs. Most of the high end manufacturers we use – such as Laufen, Hansgrohe, Clearwater, Catalano, Merlyn – have also made their products available in CAD format so you can actually see how the products would look in the room. This helps give you the best visualisations possible and enables you to end up with a result like the one below!
As we’re sure you’ll agree, the result of all the above is that a Stone & Chrome designed bathroom or wetroom has a distinct timeless appearance. One of our bathrooms would look wonderful in your home: by design rather than accident!