BATHROOM

Turn your garden into an extension of your house, with expert tips and inspiring ideas

Turn the most relaxing space in your home into a tropical greenhouse. ‘The bathroom is the perfect location for growing plants that thrive in humidity,’ Chongue writes. Choose creeper plants, or ones that clamber across shelves or down from high windowsills – such as devil’s ivy – and pot them in vessels made from natural fibres to bring some warmth to sterile sanitaryware. Marry form and function with an aloe vera plant, whose sculptural spikes can be snapped to provide an instant, organic soothing lotion to apply after showering – the plant is also extremely resilient, so is ideal for the room that is often the smallest and darkest in the house.

Bi-fold doors offer a classic way to integrate your home and garden – but what should you know before you call in the builders? Firstly, there are four main materials to choose from. ‘Most popular is powder-coated aluminium, which is low maintenance, strong, light and allows for slim frames that give a modern feel and an almost uninterrupted view,’ advises Matt Higgs, sales director and co-owner of Klöeber (kloeber.co.uk). ‘Sturdy and secure, engineered timber is also a good choice as it doesn’t transfer cold from the exterior to the interior, and therefore provides great insulation.’ Offering the best of both worlds, composite doors combine a strong, heatretaining timber inside with a durable powder-coated aluminium exterior – the downside being that they are considerably more expensive. Finally, UPVC doors are cheaper, but frames are thicker and colour options limited. They’re also susceptible to movement, meaning the doors can stick or become draughty. Aluminium, composite and timber doors can be matched to any colour, with a different shade inside and out. Timber is the only option that can be repainted.

Bi-fold doors also need to comply with thermal performance regulations, known as a U Value (the lower the value, the better insulated the doors are). These rules are more stringent in extensions and alterations than in new builds – a manufacturer will be able to advise. With large panels of glass, where heat loss is potentially an issue, triple glazing may be a wise choice.

The maximum width of individual panels will depend on the height of your doors, their weight and what the frames are made of, but on average an aluminium or timber panel can be up to 1,200mm wide.

Of course, bi-folds aren’t the only option. Turn over for more daring door designs. ➤