My Dream House... #2

Since we moved into our current home I can't help thinking about bathroom finishes; in particular wall tiles, since there are at least three different tiles in our bathroom I'd dearly LOVE to tear them all out and replace them. Being a rental property that we're unlikely to stay in for another 12 months though, I'm not about to go to all that effort (nor the expense.) Especially the expense, since the owner of the house did the tiling himself and considers it a wonderful job, mismatched tiles, broken tiles and all.

The current trend in bathrooms seems to be for tiles between 20 and 30cm square with pebble or small tile feature strips (usually vertically.) I'm not much one for trends though and something I loath even more than worrying about trends is cleaning, surely all those little, little tiles are harder to clean than bigger ones?

I'll take my bathroom tiles in a large size please.

All this thinking tiles lead me to "wouldn't it be great if your bathroom walls could be glass; like a kitchen splash back, except the whole wall" so easy to clean. Then today over at Apartment Therapy I read about a house that had a kitchen with Vitrolite walls, go and have a look. I'd never heard of Vitrolite before, as it turns out it's a glass product which is no longer made, the people that own the featured house were lucky enough to gain the vitrolite already in place, I was very glad to read that they have no plans to replace it. Vitrolite production was discontinued due to it being known for breaking easily and it becoming obsolete due to the emergence of cheaper and stronger materials.

Vitrolite panelling (upper section of walls.)
(Photo from Apartment Therapy.)

Whilst I love the look of glass splash backs I imagine they must get quite expensive the larger the space you want to cover and expense if something that most people can do without, I know I definitely can. There are alternatives of course, such as plexiglass and acrylics. These products are already widely used in kitchen applications but I really struggled to find some pictures of them in use in bathrooms. Without further ado...

Before: Tiles as typically seen in a shower recess.

After: Tiles removed and an acrylic splash back installed.

Acrylic shower recess and vanity splash back.

According to Ozzie Splashbacks; acrylic splashbacks are the ideal modern alternative to glass or tiles. 

They are:

• Safe – No more glass or tile breakages.
• Clean – No more grout or scum.
• Stylish – Choose from a range of elegant, modern colours.
• Durable – Scratch-resistant and shatter-proof.
• Cost-effective – Save up to 38%.
• Easy to install – It usually takes only 2 hours, and we clean up afterwards!
• Convenient – We can simply install over the top of your existing tiles for glass.

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for or know anyone from Ozzie Splashbacks, nor have they sponsored this post. I also cannot endorse the quality of workmanship undertaken by Ozzie Splashbacks. They were one of the few companies on the website of which I could find pictures of splashbacks used in bathrooms. If you're interested you can google to find them and see the photos they have of acrylic splashbacks in laundries and kitchens as well as bathrooms.)


This list was inspired by dodgy bathroom tiles.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ