Many styles are established, at least in part, by the materials you choose for countertops, floor coverings, and wall and ceiling treatments. Also factor in the finishes on cabinets, fixtures, fittings, and accessories.

Just a few years ago, the average vanity top, usually laminate, included a 4-inch lip on the back. Today's higher backsplashes, however, often feature materials that are found there alone. Geometric or handpainted art tiles are popular choices. Seamless backsplash mirrors are popular, too--but can be tough to keep clean.

Floor choices are increasing. Besides time-tested tile and vinyl, we're seeing more stone used in baths--the result of newly affordable stone-tile offerings and the sealers that protect them. Wood and carpeting are also showing up, especially in detached areas away from direct-splash zones.

For painting walls, both standard treatments and faux finishes are familiar. Other wall options include tile, stone, terrazzo, wood, plaster, wallpaper, upholstery, and glass block.

Beyond aesthetic considerations, you should weigh the physical characteristics of surface materials. Most bathrooms take a lot of wear. Is your countertop choice water resistant, durable, and easy to maintain? Is the floor hard to walk on, noisy, or slippery? Are walls easy to clean? A powder room or master suite might be the place to try delicate materials that would be impractical in a family bath.

Any time you have a moist bathroom, it is the ideal environment for mold and mildew growth. Here are some brief tips to help you cope or eliminate the problem.

Well, if you've lived in a home for any length of time, you've probably already encountered a problem with one of your toilets. Replacing them can be confusing as there are many options nowadays. So here are a few things you might want to consider.

Even though they are small spaces, bathrooms are a very important part of a home and should look sparkling clean and up to date. This is particularly true if you are looking to sell your home or if you're a stager working on behalf of your client. Here are some tips for the bath:

Due to the non-porous surface of the finish, there is no need to use abrasive cleansers on refinished bathtubs. Any household liquid detergent will give excellent results.

To remove mineral stains, use a mild acid solution such as a liquid bowl cleaner.

All organic coatings must cure. They start to cure at the time of application and must cure for a total of approximately 30 days.

Top Ten List of Rules For Your Refinished Bathtub:

-DO NOT use the surface for the specified number of days or hours indicated by the refinisher who completed the job.
-DO NOT lay soap or bottles or any objects on the finish at any time!
-DO NOT let a leaky faucet go unrepaired.
-DO NOT use abrasive cleansers. No S-O-S Pads. No Comet. No Soft Scrub.
-DO NOT use loose bath mats with suctions underneath.
-DO NOT pick surface dust off with your finger. Any surface dust will dissipate in 3-4 weeks with normal cleaning and usage.
-The best way to keep your tub clean is to wipe it down with a towel after each use. You don't have to wipe it dry.
-Maintain caulking around the tub.
-Here are some good cleansers to use:
*Lysol Basin and Tile Cleaner
*Mr. Clean
*DOW
*Fantasic
-Wax tubs once every 4 months with a urethane polish (Turtle Wax 2001) You should polish your bathtub five days after it has been refinished.

Personal space is not just about what we have, its also about how we live. Practicalities first – how much order do we need, how much chaos can we take? We take the particular why that we function in our personal space so much this can vary from person to person.

Our organizational habits can be very revealing, and sometimes surprising. Not all surgeons or spacious loft apartments are tidy, any more than artist or family homes are necessarily chaotic. When two people start to share a home, the degree of order and chaos each is prepared to put up with becomes clear within days. Whatever one thought of as normal behaviour (polishing the staps after use, stockpiling food, keeping tights in the fridge) is thrown into relief by the others habits.

But judging others against our own standards is not usually helpful. Who is to say whether it is controlling our simply tidy to insist that towel are left on the towel rail rather than on the radiator? If you let your old newspapers pile up on a corner of the dining table are you easy –going or a slob? It is all subjective. In the end the only opinions that mater in this area are your own and those of the people you live with.

To be happy to your own home, you need to make up your mind how acceptable you find your own organizational habits. If it makes you happier to see your friends having a rowdy time thatit does to see every surface gleaming, than accept that even aspiring to purist lifestyle is a waste of effort. Some people barely notice the toothmarks on the sofa because they love their dogs more than they furniture. If shape, colour and form are in themselves a huge source of pleasure to you, than having beautiful things in your home is an end itself. It comes down to how perfectible you believe your home can and should be.

Is your tidiness – or lack of it – a reaction to another person in your life? Are you still rebilling against your parents by choosing live differently from them? If you still living at home well into adulthood, organizing your room differently to the rest of the space marks it out as a semi – detached household. If your parents is at the opposite end of the order – chaos axis, how much of your behaviour is to prove a point? And are you tidying up after another person because you like things to be tidy or because you do not want them to be there?

Your Place On The Order – Chaos Axis
Look at the kitchens in the picture and choose the one that most reflect the general degree of order in your own home. Write down whether you have choosen the top, middle or bottom picture.
Next read through the following sets of six statements. Copy down the one in each block (A-E) that describes the lifestyle closest to your own.
Look at your five choices as mini-portrait of yourself. Does is sound like you? What is missing? What are you proud of and what would you change?

A.
The laundry basket is usually full
I regularly send clothes to a dry cleaner
My linen cupboard is in good order
I prefer my clothes to dry in the air and sun
I scent my linen drawers
I would rather but new clothes than keep washing them

B.
I cannot bear to see things left on the floor
I have a place for everything
I am always throwing stuff out
I am always rearranging my things attractively
I like to put unexpected things together. If I put something down by chance and it loks good I will leave it there.
I often run out of supplies

C.
I always rinse dishes twice
I wash up before I go to bed
I wash up after every meal
I wash up in emergencies
I do not mind washing up because warm dishes and foam feel good
Washing up is a penance

D.
I always check my bills carefully
I file my bills away
I spend a little time on my bills as possible
I know roughly how big my bills will be
Often I cannot find where I put my bills
I would rather not open my bills, thank you

E.
Open shelves my be easy, but I do not like the way they collect dust
I love cupboards with invisible catches
If you have cupboards you will only fill them with junk
I have special places for special objects
There is nothing more depressing than a wall of fitted cupboards
I do not know what is in my cupboards and drawers