MyBathroomFinder.com

Time for us to have another scoot through the online world of bathrooms and interior design and to bring you the very best news and comment:

• Everybody loves looking at gorgeously-photographed luxury bathrooms, and the staff at Furniture Fashion are no exception. This blog is pointing readers in the direction of Italian manufacturer La Roccia’s bathroom vanities with a touch of storage: “The Nuda series takes on many faces with combinations of natural stone solids and veneers against stained wood accents with just enough storage to get the job done without taking away from the sleek linear design. La Roccia makes use of the space provided with wall mounted elements which free up floor space, or the island vanity that is accessible from all directions.” Well, we can all dream… Read full post here and part two here.
• More evidence of the march of the coloured bathroom from House of Turquoise, a blog dedicated to all things “teal, robin’s egg blue, aqua, sky blue, seafoam green and ocean blue,” as its masthead tells us. Sensing a theme here? Blogger Erin has uncovered this gorgeous picture of a turquoise and yellow bathroom from Harcourt Designs that shows just how well bold colour can work even when your ceramics are still white. Read full post here.
• At the US-based Earthfriendly blog editor Marina Hanes is looking into ways to generate less bathroom waste. She’s found a great product, a recyclable toothbrush made from yoghurt pots: “After you’re done with the brush, you send it back to the company so it can be transformed into other things like tables and boardwalks.” Now all we need to know is, can you get a similar product in the UK? Read the full post here.
• Over at DiVapor.com, the blog is reminding readers about the importance of using qualified traders for tasks like heating and plumbing. It says: “There is a sense of weariness about bringing a trader into the equation with popular TV shows such as Rogue Traders teaching us to be aware of the fallacious conmen that crawl our communities. Finding a trustworthy, qualified individual can sometimes be a difficult task.” It goes on to point out that the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, the professional body for the UK plumbing and heating industry, has earlier this year received a Royal Charter for its contribution to the safety and health of the public and the environment. Read full post here.
• MyBath.com is taking a helpful look at steam shower ventilation and ways to tackle the problems associated with it. It recommends upgrading your bathroom fan: “Before choosing a fan you will need to know the air volume in your bathroom. This is calculated by multiplying the length, width and height of your bathroom to get the total cubic feet of air. When purchasing a fan you will want one that completely replaces the air in the bathroom at least 10 times per hour. Having too much circulation can never be a bad thing, too little can be. Another thing you will want to look into when purchasing a bathroom fan is the noise rating.” Read full post here.
• VictorianBathrooms4U has some interesting news about Hudson Reed’s latest line of eco-friendly taps: “By installing Eco-Flo water regulators to your fittings you restrict the maimum flow rate to 6litres per minute – in line with current environmental guidelines. Not only will this help the environment, but it will reduce your own water consumption and reduce running costs.” Read full post here.

A brief moment of humour for those beset with plumbing problems: why not make a nice cup of tea and let your cat sort it out:

more cat pictures

It’s the middle of January and finally we can’t pretend it’s the holiday season any more. With everybody back at their keyboards and working away, it’s a good time to take a look at the best of the New Year crop of bathroom blogs and see what is occupying other writers on the subject this week:

• Getting bored with basic white? It looks like the pendulum might finally start to swing the other way again when the avant-garde is using bright colours. Cue MyInteriorDecoration (no relation to us, honest) pointing you in the direction of an astonishing creation from Lagares – the Corian sink. It’s available in a number of vivid hues including bright yellow. Are we seeing the future?
• Over at Nouveau Bathrooms they’re examining the delights of the wire mesh shower curtain. It’s billed as a flexible and versatile fabric, easy to maintain and perfect for creating a sleek, modern look. We think it’s a potentially very stylish idea – but you’d need to be ever so careful to stop your bathroom looking like something built by the Stasi in East Berlin during the 1980s. Avoid the white tiles, maybe.
• Wow Bathrooms has published its predictions for 2008. Writer Cathy says: “2008 will take the the synergy of art, design and function in bathrooms even further as we witness more and more companies acknowledging the wishes of the consumers who seek much more than just bare functionality.” We’ll look forward to keeping an eye on the blog and seeing how her predictions pan out.
• This one’s actually at the tail end of 2007, but we think it’s well worth including, and we’re sure you’ll agree. Hotel Bathrooms Exposed does exactly what it says on the tin – and brings you exclusive reports from around the world. This post gives you an exclusive insight into how the high-rollers at the Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas relieve themselves. The top line: it’s lush.
• The 45fix Home Remodelling Blog (it’s a US publication but we’re spelling that the British way here) is following up on a Cincinnati Enquirer article on seven deadly bathroom sins. How many of these have you committed? No, seriously? Take that advice about doing the maths, it’s very sound. And you can even relieve your conscience by confessing to your own sins in the comments.
• House to Home has some timely advice for anyone who wants to make their New Year home makeover as green as possible. It includes tips for environmentally-friendly paint, natural flooring and ethical accessories. Definitely worth a read!

We thought that, as a new feature for the MyBathroomFinder blog, we’d have a look at what some other bloggers have to say about the world of bathrooms and home decor this week.

• Gizmodo, the uber-blog for geeks in love with gadgets, is featuring the slider shower concept – a fold-in shower that also has a back and shoulder massage function. It looks great – but is the shower head big enough? See what you think…
• The Trendir home decor blog is taking a look at the Four Seasons luxury bathroom from Italian firm Milldue. You thought bathtime was about getting clean? Think again. It’s “a quest for comfort and harmony” in which “surfaces gleam alluringly and stretch out invitingly.” Steady on there. Link safe for work? Probably…
• The Keetsa blog asks: why should green-branded DIY and household products be more expensive than regular ones? (And then links on to girl gadget guide Shiny Shiny in search of an answer.) A very good question and one we’d quite like to know the answer to as well…
• The Wow Bathrooms blog features some beautiful, cutting-edge bathroom design pictures, for those that like to indulge themselves with thoughts of the really high-end stuff. We like to fantasise over this as much as anyone – but we’re a tiny bit worried about these Planet sinks from Scarabeo. What do they remind you of?
• On the subject of high-end, visit contemporary design blog CubeMe and swoon over this Swarovski crystal-studded toilet. That’s right, for only $75,000, created by design company Jemal Wright. We think it’s maybe taking bling a little bit too far as you could well suffer severe performance anxiety…
• And finally. Over at The Internet Journalist the Dec 6 picture of the day has some very good advice for those that need it (don’t worry – it’s safe for work).

Are there any good links we’ve missed and ought to know about? Let us know…