25 Step Guide to Designing and Buying a Bathroom
A Professional Designers Guide
Step 6. Bathroom Designing Tips
It is impossible to give advise beyond the basics without showing bathroom design examples and discussing their merits. I have not done so at the moment but will add a design planning section soon. I will provide links to ranges that show merit and have elements of good bathroom design in them. If you want specific help then contact me. There are various catagories for bathroom style statements below that you may find helpful.
Bathroom layout
Clutter
It is useful to get rid of clutter in your bathroom into boxes temporarily, then add up how much storage you have, and if it is enough (be ruthless). You are then able to have a clear picture of your requirements.
Storage
It is useful to have a distinction between items in your bathroom used regularly every day and items used occasionally. If your storage is taken up with items you hardly use, then your existing layout is not working well. Can these items go elsewhere ? With the demand for a more open and clean look storage is always a problem. Open shelving looks great on the brochures but in practice ends up looking cluttered if you have lots of toiletries. Built in units are very practical and have been popular for many years but have started to look dated recently compared with freestanding off-the-floor varieties.
Worktop and shelving areas
It is pretty universal that the more worktop you have the more clutter appears. I would sooner have more tall storage for towels etc, or just space than worktop I don't need. Shelving in glass or high gloss to compliment your units can look stunning if well designed and integrated into the bathroom scheme, rather than just planted on the wall with large brackets for instance.
Shower enclosures
I would choose fixed frameless shower screen type enclosures with hinged doors, or totally walk-in every time if I had the choice. Over the years I have never seen sliding or in-swing folding doors last long in normal family use. Good quality is very important for strength of components and thickness of glass (6mm is good), and will always be a good investment whatever use your shower enclosure gets. Simple hinged doors just have 2 large hinges, so tend to last well. Sliding doors always clog up with limescale, whatever you do to stop it, which puts stress on the runners that tend to break. Extremely small bathrooms can still have a nice large shower if you totally turn it into a wetroom with a glass screen!!
Shower valves and shower systems
Flush recessed valves are always the nicest looking and neatest option. It is not always easy to fit these if your wall is single solid brick or stone for instance, so there are some interesting developements such as valves that can be either recessed or exposed by moving the cover plate in or out. other options are pole ideas with integrated controls. The latest version of the pole idea has a pole that fits flush with the ceiling so that pipework fitting is easy (it is connected up in the loft). Large shower heads need good flow rates so you have to plan for pumped systems and improved water storage ( can be costly).
Baths
Baths are available in so many options it is difficult to decide where to start. If I had a large bathroom then I would actively consider a freestanding flush based bath, or recessed bath into a solid surface for looks and durability. Normal panel sided baths are fine if well integrated rather than with ends poking out to catch your leg on. The latest single curved ended baths solve this problem and help to match other curved details with showers toilets and basins etc. Space saver baths are excellent for gaining about 200mm for vanity units and toilets etc in small areas without compromising the length. 'P' shaped shower baths are excellent for providing a large bath and shower area in 1700mm form. 1500mm baths are a solution I would only use as a last resort if it is your main bathroom.
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Toilets are a serious design problem if you want to re-site them because of the position of your soil stack, It is possible to create a wonderful scheme and end up with dull when the set limits of toilet placement take over. Flexible pipe options and fitted furniture or boxing- in can allow a little flexibility. External soil pipework when extended can look ugly so check with your plumber if he is considering this. Off-the-floor toilets are smart and easy to keep clean, and can look stunning if against a flat feature tiled panel with solid top ( a hidden cistern is required with support frame for the toilet. ) Toilets always look better when not straight infront of you visually when entering a bathroom given a choice. I think that A nice mirror and basin combination infront of you as you enter a bathroom is better.
Bidets
Bidets are an area of micky taking and endless fun, but are very practical for many reasons. We have used ours as a low-level sink aswell as back up for the toilet for many years. We have washed feet, cats, small dogs, and everything you can imagine in them. The other most relevant consideration is the simple fact that you use less toilet paper so help the enviroment. It brings to mind a friend of mine many years ago who used to deplete a whole roll of toilet paper after a dump until he had thoroughly cleaned his lower bowel and spent 15 minutes doing so. I am sorry to be so graphic but It is important to weigh up the advantages with clarity. It is usually impossible to include a bidet in most bathrooms and also fit that large shower and bath, but if there is room then ignore your mates!!
Basins
My favourite basin option at the moment is the modern wall hung type for looks, quickly followed by large flush bottomed sit-on type. The planning problems for sit-on sinks are that they need a lot of depth (550 -600mm ). Wall hung sinks have pipework that has to be lost into a wall or behind a panel. Semi-recessed basins are well used, but a good compromise if you need storage and space. Recessed sinks with a lip are not very popular but undermounted sinks are still popular and covetted by the traditional bespoke market with granite or stone tops.
Towel Radiators
Towel radiators can be a style statement or purely functional addition to your bathroom. it is important to get the size that keeps your bathroom warm aswell as dry your towels. If you have four wet towels sitting on your radiator in the morning then it will not work very effectively to warm your room so this has to be taken into account.
Furniture planning
Off-the-ground type furniture is my favourite option at the moment for practical reasons and for looks. It solves the storage problems, and if in compact form looks good with freestanding toilets, when close by. Built in furniture is good for hiding pipework for basins and toilets, but can look dated and shabby after heavy usage. Laminate tops are my pet hate in bathrooms and I would sooner loose an order than have to use them. There are good well priced solid tops available if you keep it simple with one straight run. Too much furniture looks dated and heavy so be careful to choose wisely. Freestanding bespoke furniture can be a solution to getting exactly what you want in the right size and material so can be a good investment for single items.
Bathroom styles
Modern bathroom design
I have already talked about the advancement of modern bathroom design and the recent receptiveness of my customers to trying something new, especially with high gloss or exotic veneers and vinyls. Is it easy to use these finishes and design a stunning bathroom for yourself ? The answer is yes, if you see a combination in a brochure that works for you, and are comfortable with, then put it into your own scheme.
If you are designing from scratch, with strong colour contrast furniture and tiles, then I would say take care and get advise. There are 5 wrong combinations for 1 right one, and even I have to stand back and spend a lot of time simplifying and rationalising this type of scheme. Add the clients opinion to the design mix and there are many visuals in the bin before we are both happy!
Transitional bathroom design
I use this category to describe bathroom styles that are popular and middle of the road but updated versions. A good example for furniture is oak in a shaker style . It can look traditional or modern depending on how you display it. Another is bevel edged vinyl doors in colour or wood grain. Both are popular and easy on the eye. It is probably the easiest category to design your own bathroom in.
Traditional bathroom design
Traditional bathrooms are another area where I think you could have a go with reasonable results, or stunning results with good groundwork. There are plenty of known conventions to traditional design, and many ideas have, I'm sorry to say, been done to death. I do still think, as a designer, that I am pushed hard with bespoke traditional design, and have many avenues of adventure. I have few new avenues with conventional ready made bathroom furniture, so my bespoke customers can rest easy that their schemes will remain individual and mostly unique!
Minimalism
Another bathroom category to tread carefully with. I think this is a category for designers with lots of experience. extreme caution!!
Retro 20s, 30s,50s and 60s etc
This can be fun and very personal, but tends to attract people with a design bent and bags of ideas.Use of a professional designer is desirable wherever possible to get all the additional detailing right if you are looking for period accuracy.
Keep it simple and buy quality
I would say at the moment if you are unsure about design, and unadventurous ,that my advise would be keep your design modern and uncluttered and devote more money to good furniture, worktops and equipment. If you can stretch to composite tops instead of laminate you will not regret it. if you can stretch to a frameless glass shower enclosure, then do so because it will be easier to maintain and clean. If you can stretch to porcelain tiles instead of transfer print tiles then the quality will show through. I hope you get my point because water and limescale are pretty ruthless with cheap furniture and equipment.
Out-there bathroom design
Is it important to make a statement with your bathroom ? No, but it would be boring if sometimes we did not take a risk. I would be very bored if customers did not test me and ask me to look again with a more radical approach. It does not happen very often, only when I have scared the last customer to death with lime green gloss, and had to tone down my approach! I am always "up for it" and so it should be. I have waited many years to have the design options available to me that I have today. Can this be a double edged sword ? yes, my idea of radical compared to my average client demands is probably slightly extreme, and if not addressed, can lead to lost bathroom business and confusion. This is the part that is least understood by my clients ie where do the ideas come from? well the simple answer is that I have a tendancy towards sculpture and fine art where most of the modern ideas come from, and are then rationalised and adapted to the commercial industry. In Britain we have one of the most creative enviroments for ideas in art , music and design. Industry has found it very hard to embrace this talent, more often it is tamed and destroyed by commercial interest. It is only possible to explore real unique design by ignoring read -made bathroom furniture and designing from scratch. Most bathroom companies do not have the facilities to build or alter furniture so it is a difficult path without professional advise.
Bathrooms on a budget
Is it possible to design your bathroom on a tight budget ? Yes if you put the money in the right places. The latest machined vinyl edging techniques should mean that no one buys poor carcases or doors with peeling edges. Small manufacturers in particular still persist with poor carcase fabrication because edging machinery is expensive so check what spec you are being offered. Composite waterproof tops are available at competative prices. Frameless and walk- in showers are now available more widely and cheaply and are more practical for cleaning and use. Sanitary ware is available in good plain styles with most of the top manufacturers so it is not necessary to buy unknown low grade pot. Good tiles are always on offer, or are end- of- line in designer styles, if you take your time and plan ahead.
Old hat
Are there designs that are dead and destined for the skip ? Yes, I have a long list and will use it at will! Can you work out what is no longer popular and guaranteed to put off friends and family? I would say that, as a designer, I would be very unhappy presenting a cathedral arch vinyl door in antique oak to anyone who wanted bathroom furniture and still had a pulse !!It is Important if you want to be fashionable, and make a statement, to not listen too hard to conventional bathroom furniture suppliers, they are constrained by what they can easily make or supply, and prone to follow the crowd and produce cheap copies of anything new and radical. we have tended to follow Europe and this is still the case for new designs in the more mass produced market. It is only the bespoke modern/traditional bathroom market or top end European bathroom companies that are more individual and exciting at the moment, and I am open to your comments on that one.
Re-cycled bathrooms
I am in an area where I will have to research and report later. there appears to be very little to get my teeth into that is worthy of design merit.
Adding value to your property?
Does a well designed and good quality bathroom add value to a house ? In other words is your new bathroom a good investment ? I would say yes and yes. I am tired of seeing sane and experienced buyers, rationalise paying peanuts for bathroom equipment, and feeling proud about their bargains until the first problems appear. I have seen many mistakes, and the main one is taking too small a budget to buy a cheap copy of what is required. The final bathroom is often without the detail and durability that differenciate a quality bathroom from the ordinary. I have filled many a skip with these bathrooms after the next owners have moved in. Some times they have got away with it, but mostly the purchaser has demanded a discount on the house value to pay for a refit.
Iin- frame bathroom doors or unframed doors ?
This is down to personal taste for people who have a preference, and If not then it is whether their budget will buy an expensive mass produced bathroom cabinet, reproduced all over, or something unique for similar or slightly more money? Most of my high budget clients, at the moment, decide between bespoke handbuilt and gloss laquered doors when faced with this question. If they require a modern bespoke handpainted look, then I reduce the detail and play with sprayed colour combinations awell as wood, also other finishes such as glass and silestone are good fun.
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