Whether you're a large family or living on your own, having a bathroom that functions properly can make a big difference to your morning and evening routing. A well functioning bathroom starts with a properly designed and thought out layout that makes the most of the available space. And to help you create the perfect bathroom layout, I have put together some tips below:
1 | Clearance
Leaving enough clearance in front of all joinery, fittings and fixtures is vital to ensure the bathroom is comfortable and safe to use. For example, make sure you have enough space in front of your vanity to comfortably open all the doors/drawers and reach inside them. You need a minimum of 900mm width inside a shower and around a toilet (with the toilet centred to the 900mm space) to make them comfortable to use. If you are having a hinged door, consider the door size and door swing into the space. The same goes for a hinged shower door, as you want to be able to open these fully without them hitting anything.
2 | Consider your priorities
If you're working with limited space, it's usually not possible to fit a double vanity, a bath, a double shower and a toilet. In that case, I recommend that you really think about how the space will be used and who will be using the space to come up with a list of priorities. Again, I suggest to think about clearances in point 1, as it is best to make sure all areas of the bathroom work well than to cram everything you want in there!
3 | Group things
To make the bathroom as functional as possible, make sure you place things that make sense together. This includes obvious things like towel rails right next to the shower, but also consider things like adding a switch for the vanity lights at the vanity instead of at the door! Another very popular grouping is the putting the bath within the shower area to create a 'wet room'.
4 | Focal Point
It's important to think about what you see from the doorway, as what you see as you walk in will become the focal point for the space. For example, I always try place the toilet so that it is not very visible from the doorway as we don't want this to be featured. If possible, I like to make either the vanity or a freestanding bath the first thing you see as you walk in, and make them exciting as a focal point. The wall you see as you walk in is also usually where it is best to put any feature walls!
5 | Consider window locations
Most bathrooms will have one external wall, and that wall will hopefully have a window to let in natural light. Whereas internal doors can usually be easily moved (always check with your builder first!), moving windows are a harder and more expensive task which usually requires a permit. For this reason, I generally like to keep windows where they are if possible, which means taking that into consideration when planning the layout. I usually like to place either baths or towel rails onto the window wall, especially for windows that are fairly large. For smaller windows that sit higher on the wall, you may be able to fit a vanity below as long as the mirror is able to fit at a height that is comfortable for most people. If you have an aluminium or steel window, you may also be able to put this within the shower space (but just make sure it's frosted if you have neighbours nearby!)
I hope these tips has been helpful for you! If you are planning to build or renovate and want to get in contact with us, you can do so by filling out the client contact questionnaire below,
Hope you have a wonderful week,
Nina xx