Choosing a Furniture Palette: Tips and Tricks

As a teak furniture lover, you already have items made of this wood both out on your deck, and inside your dining room. Are you ready to take your love of teak wood one step further as you get ready to renovate the smallest room in the house? Teak furniture and furnishings can bring a rustic, natural look to your bathroom, and here are three easy ways to do so.

Towel Storage

Why have a boring towel rack on the wall just like everyone else does? Instead, look at investing in a teak storage ladder for your bathroom. A storage ladder consists of three shelves that get smaller in size as they move up the height of the ladder. The varying shelf sizes mean you can store rolled up towels on the bottom shelf, hand towels rolled up in the middle, and face cloths or ornament bottles on the top shelf.

Caution warning: if you have small children who also use this bathroom, make sure you use anti-tip safety straps to make sure the ladder cannot fall away from the wall. The weight of this teak piece could hurt their fragile little bones. Anti-tip straps can be purchased at your local department and hardware stores.

Once you've got all the towels nicely stacked, you're ready to look at the shower.

Shower Seat

As you get older, you will find that your body appreciates any chance it can get to sit down, and that includes while you are in the shower. You can combine this need with your love of teak by considering shower seating. There are two ways you can include this in your bathroom renovation plans:

• Fold down shower seat. This type of seat is attached to the wall, and the seat portion folds down to provide a small seat when your legs don't want to stand up any more. The benefit of this design is that it does not take up any room in the shower once it is folded back up. This suits smaller shower cubicles where space is a premium.
• Shower bench. For the larger shower, a shower bench means you can sit with more comfort. Look for one that has a slat seat so the water has a chance to drain through rather than to pool on the wood. A bench with a small shelf underneath will give you extra storage space for your favourite shower gels and lotions.

Once you've finished your shower, it's time to step out onto your not-so-average bath mat.

Bath Mat

While having a teak bath mat may seem a little unusual, there is a method to this madness. Teak bath mats have rubber pads on the bottom of them so you need not worry about them slipping on a wet floor. Teak bath mats have two main benefits to them:

• Because the bath mat is raised off the floor, you never need to worry about stepping onto a wet, cold bath mat again when others have showered before you. With a teak bath mat, the water drips through the slats and then dries away by evaporating.
• A teak bath mat massages the nerve endings in your feet. Not only does this help to improve your blood circulation, but it is also a great stress reliever.

Teak is naturally water resistant, and does not rot easily which makes it an ideal choice for use in your bathroom. It won't be affected by the water droplets from the shower, faucets, or steam, but it will bring a natural look into your bathroom. When combined with neutral colours, and stone-topped vanities, teak timber really does make a bathroom feel light and natural. Not only will this add to the resale value of your home in the future, but it will also help you celebrate your love of teak every time you need to head into the bathroom.