Spring Has Sprung

Spring 2019 is our first spring in Hawick and so far has started off a very busy one. Spring tends to be the busiest time of the year for home improvements to be started or at the very least to be considered so my advice is to never rush when making these decisions as you will find yourself living with the choices you have created. 
Most people tend to go with what they believe are common norms with bathrooms and kitchens to stay safe forgetting that these rooms should be personal to themselves much like a living room or bedroom rather than keeping up with the Jones’.

What we have found over the years are that the kitchen and bathrooms have changed a lot and became more than just used for practical functions. For example, we all know the kitchen is considered the heart of a home and not just the room where meals are made but the where friendships are created, where children’s homework is being done, where debates and informative discussions take place and perhaps takeaway food is consumed after a couple of drinks. So with this in mind the kitchen must be a welcoming and an easy to use space but not forgetting the practical side of what this room is actually used for so storage, placement and design are key factors when planning the kitchen right for you. 

The kitchen has evolved over the past decades so rapidly with storage and cooking technology not creeping in but more like invading the kitchen and with this people can feel easily overwhelmed with whats on offer and accept perhaps dated appliances rather than moving forward with new technology and taking advantage with whats on offer. A simple example of this is a standard fan oven which most people tend to buy then perhaps complain years down the line that they find it hard to keep clean and may consider a new oven however this standard oven actually has an alternative which is a self cleaning pyrolytic oven. This is not a new piece of technology but has been on the market for a few years now and available in many brands and is not as expensive as some would think. 

A kitchen and a bathroom is considered an investment and like any investment decisions should be carefully considered before work begins as you may find you have made perhaps a poor choice due to running out of patience and picking the first thing you may see or simply choosing products which may not be best suited which could end up a bigger problem further down the line resulting in these rooms being re done or altered due to a change in living situation like a bigger family.

Now when it comes to the bathroom there are two people in this world, the ones that take the idea of a bathroom literally and love to soak in a bath and see it as form of mediation with a glass of wine in one hand and a good book in the other or the ones who prefer to be soaked by a shower washing away the stresses of the day and leave feeling invigorated, I am more of a shower person.  Whatever your bathing preference, the bathroom is no longer just a room to get clean its now becoming a statement piece of the house, an escape from the pressures of life and the way we plan and decorate this room goes beyond plain functionality. Leading brands have noticed this and are now flooding the market with new concepts and designs which encourages us to use the bathroom as a living space taking us far from the clinical and plain practical look of the past. 

The materials, look, textures and colour are now more important than ever when designing a bathroom. We have noticed the noir look has gradually become more popular throughout 2018 and now in to 2019 and the use of raw materials such as slate, Marble and travertine are making a huge comeback partnered with the ever-increasing introduction of technology such as Bluetooth and SMART toilets to the modern bathroom. 

I do believe 2019 will be an exciting year for bathrooms simply based on Kohler’s unveiling of their Numi 2.0 intelligent toilet and a full Bluetooth - WIFI accessible bathroom at the Consumer Electronic show in Las Vegas this January. This unveiling was aimed to show how technology has evolved within the bathroom sector giving the owner full use of running a bath, switching lights on, playing music and even adding items to your online shopping list with The Numi 2.0 which is partnered with Amazon Alexa without touching a thing in the bathroom. This range is due to enter the European market this summer and hopefully Britain soon.  

At Howegate Bathrooms and Kitchens we may be unable to offer you the Numi 2.0 toilet however we have rounded up the best ideas and products on the market at this moment in time from Bluetooth mirrors, Bluetooth showers, infra-red heated mirrors, WIFI enabled underfloor heating, motion detecting taps, whirlpool baths and many more great ideas and products. So pay us a visit and let us create your dream bathroom or kitchen.