Monday 28 January 2013

Today I'm Loving...Wall and Ceiling Stickers

I admit it, I got lost down the rabbit hole of Not on the High Street recently. I don't know about you, but I go on there for one thing, and end up branching off and finding all sorts of things I never knew existed.

I couldn't even tell you what I was originally looking for, however, I ended up buying this:

via Not on the High Street
...with the justification that a) it would look great in our Cyprus flat (and easy to put up - no tools required!), and b) it mentioned gin and tonic.

Anyway, maybe I'm terribly behind the times, but I've never really thought too much about wall stickers before, but I ended up spending a happy half an hour browsing their entire range and mentally sticking all my walls full of them. However, what especially caught my eye was not a wall sticker, but a ceiling sticker. We are lucky enough to have original Victorian ceiling roses in two rooms of our house, but I thought these might be fun for where we didn't, or in a modern house that fancied a bit of ceiling rose grandeur:

via Not on the High Street

Caselio

Are you stuck on stickers?


Monday 21 January 2013

Random Hotel Room of the Week - 20 Nevern Square, London

We recently spent a lovely weekend in London (some more about which I'll blog about separately - got to squeeze more than one post out of it, after all), and I had to share some pictures from our favourite hotel.

This was our third stay at 20 Nevern Square - originally chosen purely by location, due to its proximity to a friend's place.


We were lucky enough to be upgraded to the "Sheherazade Suite", which meant that we did not have to suffer the one major drawback of this hotel, which is that the rooms do tend to be on the small side. However, we've always found that the general atmosphere and attention to detail have made up for the lack of space:


...and the Sheherazade suite didn't disappoint!



...although I'm disappointed to say that the bathroom did contain two out of four of my bathroom pet hates ;-)

Still, I think we'll forgive them...

Monday 14 January 2013

Bathroom design "features" guaranteed to annoy me...

There was a water leak in the local area last Friday that has meant very low water pressure all weekend. A highly frustrating experience when you're trying to take a shower and not much more than a trickle comes out that turns cold at inopportune moments!

While I was shivering in the cubicle with my hair full of shampoo, I decided there was little worse than a pathetic shower, and from there my mind started wandering to what other pet hates I have in the bathroom:

1) Second only to a pathetic dribble of a shower for me is the "Rain Shower". You know the ones? The ones designed for you to stand under to be drenched in something akin to a waterfall?

source
"What?!" I hear you cry - "surely that totally contradicts your previous statement re little dribbles?!" Well, yes, and no. Here's where I have a confession to make - I don't wash my hair every day. I have long hair, it takes a long time to dry, and (more importantly) style into something vaguely presentable and I honestly don't have the time or the inclination to go through the hassle every day. However, confront me with a rain shower and I frankly don't have a choice as to whether I get my head wet or not. I either have to wear an industrial-strength shower cap, or contort myself by trying to hang outside the torrent of water trying to wash my body and keep my hair dry at the same time.

Plus, sometimes you just want to clean certain body parts - your feet, say - and the only way you can do this is by doing a handstand and pointing them at the jets of water coming from the ceiling.

Finally, not having a hand-held attachment must make it incredibly difficult to clean the cubicle?

2) Mixer taps (lack thereof)

A peculiarly British plumbing dilemma, and popular with the more "classic" bathroom design.

source
I like my water a certain temperature. Not scalding hot, not freezing cold, and I don't have the patience to mix it in the sink (which to me always seems slightly unhygienic anyway). Need I say more?

3) Roll top baths

While we're on the subject of "classic" bathroom designs - roll-top baths have no place in the family bathroom. Go on, admit it - I bet you've been seduced by pictures like this in the past:?

source
It looks great, doesn't it? Look closely, however, and you will notice one thing about the position of this bath - it's in the middle of the room. Not squashed up against the wall in a bathroom the size of the one in the average British home.

We have a bath like this. It looks fabulous. Or rather, it probably once did....


Notice the floor? That's what happens when you bath children in a roll-top bath. They splash. Ruins your floor. Granted, that can happen with any bath. Most baths, however, are attached to the wall. You don't get water sploshing down behind the bath. Where it is impossible to clean up. You also don't have to clean underneath it. Which is why roll top baths don't belong in family bathrooms. And nobody can convince me otherwise.

4) Outward opening shower cubicles

So you've managed to find a hand-held shower with decent water pressure. You wash, push open the door, and step onto the mat outside, and promptly have all the water that has accumulated on the door of the shower cubicle pour onto the floor with you.

source 
I understand a door that opens like this is all about ease of access. However, we have the most minute shower cubicle that has a perfectly adequate folding door that keeps all water inside the cubicle where it belongs. Surely it can't be that difficult?

So there you have it, my top bathroom gripes.

Go on - I'd love to hear yours!


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