melinda's ideas
Where to save: the shower If you want a wet-room look, but your budget won’t stretch to tanking the walls and floor of your bathroom, a low-profile shower tray should do the trick. Team it with a framed shower enclosure, which is likely to be cheaper than frameless models but still look super stylish.
Coloured grout. A black or dark grey grout would jar against the natural look of the timber walls and shelves in this kitchen, while simple white grout might lack bite. A soft-brown grout is the solution, continuing the earthy notes from the wall above while beautifully framing these off-white tiles.
Set it back This slickly designed small kitchen feels spacious particularly because of the clever placement of the units. White walls and pale flooring help the base cabinets to melt into the background, while the dark tiling above creates depth, and setting the tall, wooden-fronted wall cupboards into the recess keep them from ‘intruding’ into the space. Smart.
Divide and conquer In an open-plan kitchen/living space, the risk is that you’ll spend long evenings gazing at the dishes you aren’t intending to wash-up until the morning. Hide them away with a raised wall behind your worktop; it’ll double as a splashback, too (especially good when there’s a sofa directly below on the other side!).
Design in any dwarf walls Something that requires thought from the construction phase of the project is the dwarf wall. Dwarf – or mid-height – walls are one of the best ways to separate areas in an open-plan space.
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