Important choices to make for your new bathroom

Excited about adding a new bathroom to your home? You'll have a few crucial decisions to make before you get started...

Introduction

The bathroom is, by nature, a very important and frequently used area of the home. With many people beginning and ending their day in this room, you should certainly spend time and effort creating your perfect sanctuary. You want your bathroom to look attractive whilst also being functional at the same time. There are a few essentials that every bathroom needs.

The importance of a good layout

The key to every good bathroom design is having a layout that makes sense and suits your room shape and size. The layout will largely affect the flow of your movement within the bathroom. By having a good bathroom layout, your space will be cohesive and functional.

Some aspects to consider when planning the bathroom flow include how the bathroom will be used, and by how many users, plus whether there are any other features to take into account. This could be whether you need any adaptable facilities or whether children will be using the room. Even factors like how existing features can be reused or worked around should be considered.

Another often overlooked aspect to consider is the ambience of the bathroom. Is it meant for relaxation, or is this a more functional bathroom to be used by visitors? By shifting the fixtures around, a different feel can be created.

Choosing the right basin

When choosing a basin for your bathroom, the size and design of it will affect the overall look and feel of your bathroom. The right basin should fit into the available space while still being functional.

If you have a small bathroom, you may wish to consider a wall-mounted basin. This type of basin, as its name suggests, is hung on the wall. This leaves more visible floor space, which has the effect of making the bathroom look larger—important if you're looking to create a spa-like atmosphere.

Something that people don't always take into account in bathroom design is how the bathroom is the most vital room in the whole home. Bathroom accessories and bathroom lighting are so important that sometimes, even choosing the right toilet paper is crucial to making your room look great. Maximising your floor space by balancing between the bathroom basin, the heated towel rail and the toilet, can help boost your bathroom function. One key principle is first defining how much space you need for a shower head, flooring material, towel rails, hand towels and the like. A seasoned bathroom maintainer and designer knows how to keep a bathroom clean and make a smaller bathroom seem bigger.

Taps can make a statement

Your taps are a good chance for you to make your statement and showcase your personality in the bathroom. With a wide variety of colours and designs available in the market, a lot of it boils down to your taste. For instance, opting for a gold tap will add a hint of luxury to an otherwise minimalist bathroom. A black tap will stand out against a largely white bathroom.

Having considered your basin, it is also good to choose a tap that will go well together with your choice of basin for a more harmonious look. Be sure to also consider functionality. If there will be children or the elderly using the taps, then you should choose one that has a less elaborate design but which is easy to switch on or off. If it is just you and your spouse, more elaborate designs with smaller details would also be okay given that you are more likely to take care when using your taps.

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Vanity choices

One of the main features of any bathroom would be the vanity unit or area. Being a large furniture item, it draws attention to itself. Thus, the vanity must fit well with the look you want to go for.

A consideration you might have will be if the vanity fully utilises the available space. If your bathroom space is limited, it might be good to go for a wall hung vanity unit which will allow for more visible floor space.

If children will be using the bathroom, then it might be wise to opt for a vanity with a basin built in. This would make it child-friendly. If you have children at home, you might also require more storage space for nappies, milk bottles and the like. These are all considerations to account for when choosing a vanity, as it will help you decide if you need one with cupboards or drawers or one with both types of storage.

Shower selections

One of the most used items in a bathroom is the shower so it is important to select the right one. When doing so, some points to ponder about would be if there is sufficient space in the bathroom for the type of shower you intend to have.

Would your shower be located over a bath, or would it be in a separate shower enclosure? Does your ideal shower head have the water flow you like and is the pressure satisfactory?

Another thing to consider would be the shower design. The type of shower screen that you choose will make a huge impact on the overall look and feel of the bathroom. If you have a small bathroom, it may be best to opt for a frameless shower screen. If you want to look trendy and add contrast to your design, then a black-framed shower screen might be better.

If your shower is located separately from the bathtub, or perhaps you don’t have a bathtub at all, consider opting for your floor tiling to be the same as that of the shower area, so the design transitions smoothly and appears seamless.

Will you need a bathtub or not?

Though a bath is often seen as optional nowadays, it does give you more functionality in the bathroom. If you’ve got the space for it, it also gives the bathroom a luxurious feel. If there are children or pets in the household, it may also be a more practical option since it allows you to contain them in one area during shower time. Especially so if you have pets such as cats that are afraid of water and are likely to run off if you use a shower. Indeed, with the recent rise in pet ownership, a pet-friendly bathroom has become even more important.

With a bathtub, there are many different designs available. Go for one that suits your overall decor well. For instance, a traditional roll top bath may look elegant, but might not necessarily fit with an on-trend, contemporary look.

Thoughts about tiling

With tiles, there are many decisions you’ll need to make. Will your bathroom be fully tiled or half tiled? What size of tiles will you choose? What tile colours will fit in with your overall design? In a small bathroom, you will want to avoid choosing small tiles as those can make the place look cluttered. Larger tiles in light colours will reflect light better, making the bathroom appear larger and more spacious.