Get Up to Date With Modern Bathroom Suites

Buying a new bathroom suite isn't something we all do every year. A bathroom refurbishment is costly and we rightly expect it to last for many years before the style or technology becomes outdated and in need of renewal once more.

This does tend to mean that when we come to invest in our next bathroom, we're all a little out of touch with precisely what's available. Modern bathrooms suites have evolved over centuries and reached a point where the basics don't seem that different from year to year - but styles and technology do still move on, sometimes dramatically.

A contemporary bathroom is filled with sleek lines. Both curving shapes and straight lines and angles can be styled in a completely contemporary fashion, so there's plenty of room for personal preference - the key point is that a modern bathroom should not be fussy. Avoid too much ornamentation on your bathroom suite, as it will date your bathroom very quickly.

Wall hung designs are a case in point. Simple and straightforward in design, they lend an uncluttered appearance to a bathroom and keep the floor clear, which helps to make the room seem larger overall. A simple wall hung basin or vanity unit and WC can have a wonderfully contemporary appeal.

Modern basins don't have to be wall hung, though: sleek styling is what is important and it comes in many forms. The modern take on a traditional pedestal basin is a solid block which rises from the floor, seamlessly incorporating the basin at the top.

It is the use of new materials and technologies that has allowed the contemporary bathroom 'look' to develop in this way. Use of cast stone resin and new forms of acrylic moulding allow bathroom designers to let loose their imaginations in a way that wasn't possible with yesterday's more restrictive manufacturing technologies. This has increased the scope for designers of modern freestanding baths, which are now available in a wide range of shapes, and has resulted in the creation of such items as a contemporary pedestal basin modelled on the form of a calla lily.

It is not only in terms of style that bathrooms and bathroom suites have moved forward. Bathroom technology has also advanced in order to cater to demand. Our attention is increasingly caught by environmental concerns, and water-saving technology is developing to keep pace with the need to save water in the bathroom, traditionally the room with the highest water usage in the home.

The area of greatest concern has been the toilet, which is singlehandedly responsible for up to 50% of domestic water usage each day. 'Eco flush' toilets, which use as little as 1.6 gallons of water per flush, have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, and toilets which use recycled waste water from the bathroom basin for flushing are increasingly prevalent, though not yet mainstream.

Water saving is an ongoing theme in showers, bath taps and basin taps. The use of ceramic disc technology in taps has made modern taps more durable and reliable, and reduced water loss through leakage. Adding air into the flow of water, meanwhile, increases the apparent volume and intensity of the water while allowing actual water usage to be reduced. This is an ideal method of water saving for today's consumer, as our improved comfort has long been a deciding factor in bathroom development.

Technology to pamper us in the bathroom is much in demand for the modern home. Mood-enhancing LED-lit showers with iPod docks, the increasing availability and reduced cost of home steam cabins, and technology which allows us to control our showers remotely - from another room, even - have done much to transform the modern bathroom from the purely functional arena of the past into a luxurious pampering space.

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