Selecting your towel rail
While you can expend many time designing your bathroom, if you’re expecting to install a really classy towel rail, such as one made by a cast iron, then you may want to design your bathroom around this – the signature piece. Designing around a cast iron radiator can give you many scope and breadth to the balance of your design. It can be the tie in that you want to design a more Victorian design, or make an elegant, minimalist look.

Installing your towel rail
When you have decided your towel rail, installing your towel rail should be attempted by a professional plumber, as it can be complicated. If you’re confident of your own abilities, the radiator area needs to be isolated from the water system and your heating system before being installed. All knobs and devices should be tested before installment and it should be clear that your installation works before establishing. If you are not sure that the radiator you are using will work, it’s either conceivable to have it tested or test it yourself. Be sure that you are acquiring no leaks, and ensure that you have got attachments that you need to install it, or it may be hard to get it in place. One of the major troubles with installing towel rails is the attachment fittings – or control knobs – so checking that you have the right number of these will speed the installation.

Cast iron towel rails
One of the easiest ways to get a half adequate cast iron towel rail is to guarantee that you are getting it from a esteemed source – you can have cast iron radiators made into a towel rail by contact the manufacturer and requiring them to do so, or you can have one modified by a qualified blacksmith. Using reclaimed radiators may be difficult for this, due to their size, but it’s potential to pick up particularly sized radiators for your towel rail. These smaller radiators are essentially miniature radiators, with additional framework to make up a towel rail. These are often elegant and beautiful versions of the radiators that fit in well with almost any decor. They can be painted to match the colour scheme of your room and are often designed to be complete units – and look gorgeous whether painted or unpainted.

Plastic flooring
Flexible plastic materials such as vinyl are very practical, especially if there are young children about. Vinyl is waterproof and easy to clean, but rather cold underfoot and slippery when wet. This is available in sheet or tile form; water seepage is less likely with vinyl sheet, but tiles are easier to work with and give you more scope with design. For safety and comfort you should use a rubber-backed bath mat with vinyl floor coverings although cushioned vinyl sheeting has a raised design which helps to reduce accidents. Again, plastic floor coverings must be laid on a sound, even surface and stuck down securely especially at the edges, where the smallest amount of water leaking underneath could loosen the material.

Carpet
A fitted carpet is a good choice if the floor is not going to be subject to constant soaking. It is cosy and soft and provides a safe non-slip surface, which is particularly suitable for elderly or handicapped people to stand on. Also bottles and jars are much less likely to break when dropped on carpet. Synthetic pile with synthetic backing is preferable to a natural wool carpet because it absorbs less moisture, but the use of a thick bath  mat should prevent either getting too wet and being seriously damaged.

Carpet tiles are suitable for bathroom because they are easier to cut around awkward fittings and you can lift them out to dryif they do get soaked. Because the room is comparatively small, it need not be expensive to carpet. You may even be able to do with offcuts from other rooms.

Tiles
Cork is one of the best choices in terms of looks, warmth and practicality. You can buy easy-to-lay tiles sealed with vinyl or seal them after they have been laid. It is wise to renew the seal every year or two to keep it waterproof.

Other tiles such as ceramic, quarry or slate are durable and impervious to water; but they are also very hard, chilly to walk on with bare feet and dangerously slippery. They also need a strong solid floor to support them and are only totally satisfactory when combined with an underfloor heating system. A thick bath mat with rubber backing provides an extra precaution againts slipping or sliding on a damp floor.

Studded rubber
This is becoming increasingly used because it is tough, quite, safe, easy to clean and totally water-resistant. It is not cheap, but the total cost for a small area will not be that much. It is often used on areas surrounding swimming pools and is available in several gauges and six bright colours, plus black. The tinnest and cheapest gauge rubber will be quite suitable for domestic use and you should have little difficulty finding a colour to blend in with your existing colour scheme. This rubber flooring is sold in metre squares (39in sq) and should be stuck down with an epoxy resin adhesive.

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Before you start decorating make sure all your bathroom walls are free from damp penetration, otherwise you may ruin your new coverings, even though you may cover the damp for a while. If you choose to paint most of this area, be sure you use a good quality vinyl matt or silk emulsion. Gloss paint is impervious to moisture but shows up every bead of consideration in a room that is subject to considerable changes in temperature.

Ceramic or vinyl tiles
Area around the basin, bath and shower need extra protection and ceramic or vinyl tiles here are ideal. They have waterproof, easy to clean, hard-wearing and come in enormous range of styles, quality, sizes and price. If you can afford it, and your walls are strong enough, tile the whole room, except for the ceiling, since this can provide a potential hazard if these heavy tiles ever fall off. Plain tiles are cheaper and also give you more freedom to change your scheme than other more sophisticated patterns. You can make them look less clinical by choosing different shapes than the usual square, such as rectangles or tiny mosaics.

If you do not want to cover the paint or wallpaper with tiles in the ’splash’ areas (such as round basins or baths), protect these parts with a glass or perspex panel. If you do, remember to round off the edges to avoid the possibility of getting cut. Small metal tiles, often with their own self-adhesive backing, are available and do the same job as ceramicones.
Warning Before fixing any tiles, make sure your wall is clean and dry and free from flaking paint or plaster, old tiles make an excellent base as long as they are sound and securely fixed.

Wallpaper
Many modern wallpapers are suitable for the bathroom, but always choose one with a vinyl or washable coating. If you are uncertain about the paper you have bought, and if the room is particularly small and steamy, give the paper a protective coat of a special sealer or varnish to make it moisture resistant and easy to clean. Hang it with a heavy-duty waterproof adhesive containing a fungicidal ingredient to prevent mould forming underneath.

One range of wallpaper has a raised design which looks like ceramic tiling but costs much less. You can scrub it and, because it is soft and warm to the touch, it is less subject to condensation than ceramic tiles, even in heavy wear areas such as showers.

Wood panels
Wood cladding or panelling is expensive but very warm looking. It is suitable for bathrooms if you seal it with several coats of polyurethane lacquer to keep out moisture. This type of covering is fixed either directly to the wall or on timber battens and has the added advantage of enabling you to hide unsightly pipes and plumbing. You can lower a high ceiling by fixing tongued and grooved cladding horizontally.

Mirror glass
Huge pieces of mirror glass will give a luxury look to any bathroom and visually increase the size of the smallest room. But make sure the edges are sealed to prevent moisture damaging the silvering and giving a mottled effect.

Cork tiles
These are a good insulator in a chilly bathroom and a pleasantly warm to touch although fairly expensive. They come in a variety of shades and textures and must be sealed.

Laminated panels
If your walls in poor condition you can install specially made moulded panels faced with laminate which give a smooth, hardwearing continous surface. Before committing yourself to this type of covering, check whether there is enough room to manoeuvre the panels through the door.