What is hot, cool and trendy in loo seats?

[hester]

I have an opinion on almost everything, but not on loo seats (except novelty ones, obviously).

So tell me, sage ladies: I am trying to do up my new place on a tighter-than-tight budget. The toilets both have battered, gently rotting orangey varnished wood loo seats. I want rid. But what to replace with? Cheap black? Cheap white? Cheap wood?

Expensive is not an option, I'm afraid. Unless and until David Cameron gives me my job back.

why not just paint the toilet seat you have? You could even do a decoupage one really cheaply and it would look funky as! Don't forget to varnish it well though! And don't forget that you've just painted/varnished your loo seat and sit on it or you might get hairs on it.

I hesitate to set myself up an arbiter of taste, but I suspect that - now that the all-white spa bathroom is in vogue - the wooden loo seat has had its day. So of your options, I think cheap white is the one to go for. But then, what's the rest of the bathroom like? If (say) it has chequerboard black and white flooring, then a black loo seat might be just the thing for that art deco monochrome look.

Decisions, decisions.

Clean is the only word necessary in loo seats as far as I'm concerned!

get one of those padded loo seats! They come in all sorts of pretty pastel colours and have lovely embroidered flowers on them. They are dead cheap in discount stores. And they keep your bum warm.

I can't believe how many overnight posts I got on the subject of loo seats! Hooray and a tube of smarties for you all.

auntyfash - painting the loo seat is a genius idea; why didn't that occur to me? What would you use - F&B floor paint perchance? And I'm loving the idea of my hairy bottom leaving a permanent memorial...

As for padded loo seats, have you been at the whisky? I've never in my life seen such thing as a loo seat with embroidered flowers on. Is this a local specialty in your part ofo the world?

CITGM - my bathroom is not currently a place of beauty. It has a big corner bath with a warped and rotting bath panel, beige tiles, and an orange varnished wooden floor. I am planning on replacing the rotted bit of bath panel, painting it white (it is currently also orange varnished wood), putting cheap vinyl tiles (grey or retro white with black diamonds) over the floor. The beige travertine tiles are not a disgrace - I know many people like them, but I don't and would love to replace with white metro tiles but can't afford right now.

CaptainNancy - you'd have enjoyed the urine crystals coating the underside of the loo seats when we moved in...

::Munches thoughtfully on a handful of smarties::

Clearly, there is no better outlet for one's latent interior designer than pontificating late at night on matters as momentous as loo seats!

We live ina rented house that has a black and white floor in the bathroom, we replaced the cheap plastic seat that pinched my bum with a black wood one and it was pretty cheap. Looks good too

How old are your kids? Family loo seats seem to be en vogue amongst all my aquaintances right now - Stops you getting pee on your shoes while you hunt around for that padded Thomas the Tank Engine thing you know you left somewhere.

White, white, definitely white for loo seats. Either paint the existing one or buy cheap plastic one. Personally I think I'd buy a cheap plastic one since I'm not sure how well paint would last on a loo seat - they take a lot of abuse!

Re the rest - are you up for a bit of sanding and painting? If so, I think you should sand and paint the wooden floor as well as the bath panel. A painted wooden floor will look ever so much nicer than cheap vinyl tiles. And you could even paint on a diamond pattern effect if that is what you want (I know of a v stylish Scandi shop with pale grey and dark grey diamonds painted onto its flooboards - looks lovely). You could choose stone colours to go with the travertine...

I agree with minipie about the floor, white or pale grey painted boards look great in a bathroom IMO.
And yes to a white loo seat, like this
www.plumbworld.co.uk/architeckt-white-mdf-wooden-2094-17675

Same website sells a soft close one for £25 which would be even nicer.

So white seats are the way to go, then - MN has spoken [gavel]

Pannacotta, thank you for the link. I think even my meagre budget can stretch to one of those - and I don't really need the soft close model because I live in an all-female household [smug emoticon]

minipie, you're right, a painted floor would look way better. But how long does it put your bathroom out of action for?

NANN - what the frick is a family loo seat? I'm very intrigued...

Looky here, this is MUMSNET.

There is only one possibility:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIRBRUSHED-BLUE-EYED-GREY-WOLF-TOILET-SEAT-/110718179344

Hester - will your budget run to that gem of interior decor? We could probably organise a whip-round for you.

I am hosting a coffee morning for the posh local mums next week. I swear I would pay good money to see their faces if they entered my manky bathroom to be confronted with THAT.

Still wanting to know what a family loo seat is...

That is one special loo seat!

i have got through so many loo seats - it's a joke

i've had some really lovely ones too, one was clear blue with solar system in gold (chavtastic) but they all break as the connections are crappy

go for good sturdy connections. slow close lids are best

is speak from bitter experience

I'm rather tempted by the mystic eye...

www.primrosebathrooms.co.uk/products/Novelty-Toilet-Seats/BT16/

I could maybe complete the look with a beaded curtain, and some purple unicorns on the walls?

There are no words.

::imagines Posh Local Mums keeling over at the sight of Hester's, ahem, unique bathroom::

Cheap white seat. Non-gimmicky. Will match whatever you might later decide to do to your bathroom walls etc.

But spend a bit of time, money and energy fixing it on. A wobbly loo seat is far worse than any tacky one.

And sit on it when choosing. A shopping trip to do in leggings or similar!

PMSL at the wolf loo seat!
This is a family seat hester
www.plumbworld.co.uk/childs-toilet-seats-3613-0000

Oh, one of them!

I'm a mean mum - I force my kids to balance...

Sorry, didn't mean to post and run. Yes, I meant one of those seats Pannacotta has linked to, not a toilet seat that you can fit the whole family on it at once