The Tub King Blog - Tub Talk: bathroom accessories

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Form & Function: the “Wright” Stuff

“Form follows function ― that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined

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in a spiritual union.”

Those wise words were spoken by the American architect, interior designer, writer and educator Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was a leader of the “Prairie School” of architecture. For those reading this who are in Tub King’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, our own city hall in downtown Jacksonville was designed in this style (the building was originally one of the first multipurpose department stores ever built in the US in the early 1900s). Wright designed over a thousand structures; more than half of them were completed.

You may recall that late last year, we published a blog entitled, “The ABCDs of Elegance: Accessorized Bathrooms Create Décor.” In it was featured various new bathroom trends such as innovative cabinets; water-saving, dual-flush toilets; smart cabinets and more.

Continuing our ongoing look at new, handsome, functional design features and accessories for the bathroom, without further adieu, here are some of the innovations and trends that are making headway in today’s bathrooms where form follows function.

Bathing Options

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Whether you go about your morning ablutions before starting your day, getting clean after a workout, yard or house work, or sprucing up for an exciting evening, today’s bathrooms offer inhabitants (and guests) a choice on how they prefer to get clean. Unlike the ubiquitous acrylic combo units, today’s bathroom trend is to have a separate, a stand-alone bathtub, such as a cast iron/porcelain tub and a separate, self-contained shower. With Tub King’s various product lines, for example, you can choose to custom-configure a low- or zero-threshold Safety Suite Shower and elsewhere in the bathroom suite, place a cast iron/porcelain or even a Walk-in tub.

Designed with Safety in Mind

Especially for Baby Boomers or anyone who’s concerned about bathroom safety (as well we should all be; read our previous blog, “Shocking CDC Statistics About Bathroom Injuries – and What You Can Do to Prevent Them”), having strategically placed grab bars in various key locations in the bathroom make sense. According the CDC’s study, “adding grab bars both inside and outside the tub or shower might help prevent bathroom injuries to all household residents.”

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Unfortunately, many consumers have resisted installing these critical safety items in their homes because of their overtly clinical and institutional look. Here, however, Safety Suite Showers has devised the perfect solution: stylishly designed grab bars integrated into common bathroom accessories such as towel racks, bathroom shelves and even the toilet paper roll, in addition to providing grab bars in multiple locations within the shower itself. Now you can have a stylish bathroom that’s also safe and user-friendly.

A Tip to the Wise

The tip-out tray is nothing new. These “faux” front trays help you utilize the unused space between the counter edge and the sink bowl inside your cabinets. In fact, they’ve become a standard feature in many kitchens because it’s an ideal spot to stash a sponge (and other products/utensils) near the sink without having a sopping puddle over the granite or marble. A new design trend is the inclusion of the tip-out tray in the bathroom. These provide a convenient spot for hair brushes and combs, hair accessories, commonly used “sharps” such as tweezers and scissors, toothbrushes, etc., virtually anything for which you might need easy access. You may even want to keep a sponge in there as well; after all you do clean and wipe down your bathroom, don’t you? (Read our previous blog, “Battling the Beast in theBathroom”).

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Several firms offer a more modern take on this classic accessory. Nowadays, some tip-out trays are made of stainless steel instead of plastic. Not only are they sturdier, but they also provide a better quality, higher-end look. Importantly, stainless steel is far more hygienic in that it doesn’t harbor bacteria like plastics do.

Make Your Bathroom Really Cook

Many kitchen storage accessories and devices can also be utilized just as efficiently as in the bathroom. Commonly used storage accessories that will work in either room:

Wine storage racks for housing rolled towels
Trash can pull-outs as towel hampers
Appliance garages for an additional storage area to hide away electric toothbrushes, hair dryers, mirrors, facial steamers, epilators, feminine products, razors, bottled products (i.e., hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, mouthwash, etc.)

Photo Credit: thehardwarehut.com

A great accessory for both the bathroom and kitchen is a drip tray for under sink cabinets. These provide a first line of defense against damage from minor plumbing leaks, tipped over cleaning supplies, or spilled shampoo bottles. The tray protects the bottom of the cabinet by captures these unwanted spills. Their unique design protects the bottom of your cabinet (usually made of wood or particle board) by holding water that the tray actually funnels to the front of your cabinet and onto the tile floor, thus alerting you of a leak. They’re easy to clean up and resistant to most household chemicals, which may also leak out of bottles or containers. Some are made of silver polymer while others are made of similarly functioning materials.

In this article, I discussed some of continuing trends in bathroom décor and accessories, including separate shower and bathtubs in a single bathroom, designer safety bars, tip-out trays, multi-use devices for bath or kitchen and under sink drip trays.

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Thanks again for visiting with us.

Have a question? Feel free to contact me at the number or email listed at the end of this article and I’ll personally get back to you.

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Alan Knight is the owner of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville, Florida. He has many years of experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. His companies not only provide superior products, they are also award winners, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award” four years running. To contact Tub King directly, call (800)843-4231 or email alan@tubking.com.

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The ABCDs of Elegance: Accessorized Bathrooms Create Décor

By Alan Knight

What does one of the world’s leading supermodels think is most important about being a fashionista?

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“It’s all about the accessories,” Alessandra Ambrósio astutely states. This stunning Brazilian beauty should know: the svelte, sexy and wealthy Ms. Ambrosio is best known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's immensely popular "PINK" line. In 2012, she came in sixth on “Forbes” top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $6.6 million in one year.

Oftentimes what pertains to the fashion industry is also germane to the home furnishing industry, as both utilize and celebrate such concepts as design, style, form, function, aesthetics, etc. What better time to discuss bathroom accessories and upgrades than the holidays? Here are some of the latest bathroom trends/accessories you may want to consider for yourself or perhaps someone you love:

Cool Cabinets

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There are lots of ways to upgrade or refurbish your bathroom’s cabinetry (read our previous blog, “Caller Calling Your Bathroom, Part 2”). You can even go high-tech with them.

For example, a company that specializes in modern bathroom cabinets has developed several models that provide USB charging, several outlets, a mirror defogger and night lights. One of its cabinets includes an internal “sub-cabinet” that is refrigerated, ideal for keeping temperature-sensitive medications safe. The fridge also works well for nail polish and various organic skin products (with no preservatives). It'll even hold a couple of bottles of water, beer or a carafe of wine. A relaxing bath, anyone?

Some of the newer, modular wood cabinets actually rotate180-degrees for easy storage access when open and a rotate back for clean and lean look when closed.

Accommodating the Commode

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With the introduction of the U.S. government's WaterSense® initiative (similar to Energy Star®), manufacturers and consumers are getting smart about reducing toilet and water faucet use. As stated on its website: “WaterSense helps people save water with a product label and tips for saving water indoors and out.

Products bearing the WaterSense label have been independently certified to perform well; help save water, energy, and money; and encourage innovation in manufacturing."

WaterSense partners with manufacturers, retailers and distributors, and utilities to bring WaterSense labeled products to the marketplace and make it easy to purchase high-performing, water-efficient products. WaterSense also partners with professional certifying organizations to promote water–efficient landscape irrigation practices.”

Caroma, an Australian company, was one of the first to offer dual flush technology, which allows for two different flushing options: 0.8 and 1.6 gallons per flush, depending upon one’s needs. Caroma now has several different models available.

Today, almost all of the large toilet manufacturers offer dual-flush toilets. Toilets can run (pun intended) from several hundred dollars to several thousand, depending upon its design and features. That’s because, like most things today, commodes have also gone high-tech. In fact, one leading company’s description about its newer models, includes the verbiage “the ultimate in luxury and elegance coupled with unrivaled research and development ... including such features as remote control and nightlight.” Sounds like a royal flush to me.

Photo Credit: trendir.com

Short of building a separate room with its own lockable door for it, another trend is accessories that are designed to hide or at least minimize the visual presence of the commode itself.

One product, the Bench Toilet, from Julien, provides an aesthetic solution for camouflaging the toilet by incorporating an exotic, sliding wood panel that conceals the fixture as it also doubles as a powder room bench.

Even though these products seek to minimize its visual “footprint” in the bathroom, they still allow for a commodious commode when it’s actually in use.

A Fairer Faucet

As mentioned above, WaterSense® technology applies to sink and shower faucets, minimizing the use of water while also reducing homeowners’ water bills. The WaterSense website points out: “Replacing old, inefficient faucets and aerators with WaterSense labeled models can save the average family 700 gallons of water per year, equal to the amount of water needed to take 40 showers.”

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Homeowners can easily and affordably save water by installing low-flow aerators on new and existing

faucets. Upgrading to new faucet systems on sinks and in the shower (or handheld models on bathtubs) can save even more water and thus on consumers' water bills.

Another trend for bathroom (and kitchen) faucets is to go touch-free. These provide convenience and health benefits. Some microorganisms last for a very long time and can survive on almost every surface around your home. If you touch a surface with germs, you may become contaminated. Yet, if you don’t have to touch a particular surface to use an object, the cross-infection problem is eliminated.

Applause for Hand Rails

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Another accessory that’s becoming ever more popular with aging baby boomers and seniors are designer hand grips, which can easily installed near hazard zones for added convenience. The inclusion of handrails in and around the bath/shower and commode is now recommended by the Center for Disease Control (see our previous blog, “Shocking CDC Statistics About Bathroom Injuries – and What You Can Do to Prevent Them.”) Manufacturers make these grab bars in a variety of metals and wood, so they can be easily integrated into most bathroom decors.

Gratuitous Grout

While not an accessory per se, some people are using colored grout as a design element to help accentuate patterns and emphasize symmetry of materials. For example, if your bathroom tiles are white or off-white, you could use a darker shade of grout around them that would emphasize their layout.

The Tub’s the Rub

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There are other ways to accessorize and/or upgrade your bathroom as well. For example, you can replace your existing bathtub with a safety-featured, Walk-in Tub, complete with hydrotherapeutic water and air jets with an in-line heater. Now you have your own private Jacuzzi in the bathroom that’s bubbling over with innovative features (see our previous blog, “The Danger of Bathtubs – Falling is a Family Matter”).

If you’re looking to add a splash of elegance to your bathroom, consider our well-appointed cast iron, porcelain Clawfoot tubs. There are a variety of shapes to choose from, including the Double Slipper, Roll-Top and others (see our previous blogs, “Building a New Home? Add Beauty with a Clawfoot Tub” and “Today’s New Cast Iron, Porcelain Clawfoot Tubs are Better Than the Originals”).

Photo Credit: tubking.com

You can also replace your former bathtub/shower with a European-inspired Safety Suite Shower. These feature low or no ingress/egress, different types of built-in seats, multiple handrails, and other custom-configuration options (see our previous blog, “What’s New in Showers? Sophistication Today, Safety Tomorrow”). You can also add some of the matching safety rail-accessories such as shelves, paper roll handle, towel bar, etc.

There are many ways to accessorize and/or upgrade your bathroom. From dabbing on a dash of color, to adding designer towels, to installing high-tech toilets and medicine cabinets, to replacing your existing faucets, to upgrading your bath/shower and more. Why not make this most private room in your home a safety-featured environment within which to pamper yourself for hours on end? After all, “it’s all about the accessories.”

In this article, I discussed numerous ways in which people can accessorize and/or upgrade their existing bathrooms. I shared some of the new, innovative products and trends in the marketplace, as well as provided information on Walk-in Tubs, Clawfoot Tubs, Safety Suite Showers, and more.

If you found this article useful, please share it with your family, friends and co-workers. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it in the Comment section of this blog.

Thanks again for visiting with us.

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Alan and Kerry Knight are the owners of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville, Florida. Together they have many years of experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. Their companies not only provide superior products, they are also award winners, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award” four years running. If you’d like to contact them, call (800) 409-3375 or (800) 843-4231; or send an email to Alan@tubking.com.

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