Layouts and tricks for bathrooms!
Where to start!
For this week’s blog, we are focusing on the different layouts and tricks for bathrooms. The bathroom is such a crucial room in the home. It always astounds me how much time this one space takes to get right.
Bathrooms are one of our favourite rooms to design. We love the challenges that this room can throw at us, combing this with our talents to find unique design ideas to make your room look incredible. We have also, very proudly designed accessible bathrooms, where we have combined the extra needs for our client whilst producing a beautiful aesthetic. If you would like to join our community and share our inspiration, then join our instagram followers!
The layout is the principle focus for this room and how clever and space effective you need to be, will obviously be dependent on how big the area is.
Realising the restrictions for your room is a good place to start. There are three very clear options for how to use the space, which are very much dependant on the room size!
Size dependant layouts!
The tiny room!
Let’s start with the tiny space, often the left over room to carve out as an ensuite. For this size room it has to be a wet room. This is where the room is tanked so that water can’t penetrate the floors and walls. The shower end floor is created with a fall to encourage the water to drain and then the entire floor is tiled over the top.
The reason why the wet room is essential, opposed to just fitting a shower tray is because it gives it a much more beautiful and streamline aesthetics. A clunky shower tray in a tiny space interrupts the eye line and accentuates the lack of space!
The medium sized room!
The medium sized bathroom is often found in family homes. In the case of families with small children a bath is often essential but with the flexibility of having a shower with it. If you are designing this space yourself, then begin by drawing out the room to scale on some graph paper. Then cut out the right size bath, toilet and sink and move them around the space until you have found the right positioning.
The larger space!
For the larger bathroom, here you have the luxury of housing a separate bath and shower unit. If the room is big enough double sinks is another must have. Providing additional storage and the luxury of not having to share! The free standing bath is a fantastic feature but where you position it is incredibly important. I have seen some catastrophic mistakes, where they have been fitted off to one side or at a strange angle. They are the centre piece of the room so position them accordingly. For example if you have a large, picture window then position it centrally below.
The tricks!
Trick one!
The first huge recommendation I make to anyone with the tiny to mid-sized room, is make the sink and toilet wall hung. Allowing floor space to be seen under these units creates a larger sense of space and flow.
Trick two!
If you are taking the room back to the stud work in the walls or creating new walls, then the internal shelf is another must have! The space between the stud work in the walls allows you to carve out clever little cubby holes that are perfect for shelving. Use them in your showers, either side of the sink and above the bath. It is free space that doesn’t eat into the room!
Trick three!
For medium bathrooms under the bath storage is fantastic. Particularly for the family bathroom, where kids plastic, fantastic cluttering your space can really destroy the aesthetics!
Trick four!
Large mirrors, whether it’s above the sink vanity or on a wall of it’s own, go big and bold and it will bounce the light around and increase the sense of scale!
Trick five!
Tiles can be a huge cost, if budget is an issue go bold on the floors and simple on the walls. For the simple reason the square metre of your floor will be far less than your walls! If you want to make your wall tiles more unique, then you can always use different coloured grout to add the wow factor!
Trick six!
Lighting is so important in this room, use down lighters to light particular areas, ie shower, bath etc. LED lighting behind mirrors or wall lights either side of mirrors is a flattering light. Dimmer switches allow you to change your light levels depending on mood and usage.
Trick seven!
Small, windowless rooms look fantastic dark! If you have a small room, with no natural light then trying to make the room lighter with paint and tile choices is pointless. If you embrace the dark and create a moody, striking space it will be aesthetically fantastic!
I hope you have found these tips helpful with your bathroom design. if you would like us to help you with your design, then please get in touch!