Planning Your Dream Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. Careful planning is required to ensure you end up with a bathroom to suit your needs.

GETTING STARTED

Fitting a new bathroom is a chance to review what you want from the room.

Think about who uses the room and how it is used:

Do you prefer to have a quick shower and wash?
Do you like to luxuriate in a bubble bath?
Is a shower over the bath good enough or would you prefer a separate shower and bath?
Do you need storage for all your towels, toiletries and essentials?
Do you need to consider the needs of young children or the elderly?
Get a good idea of what you want from your new bathroom before you start and it will make your planning that bit easier.

DRAWING UP A PLAN

Accurately measure the internal dimensions of your bathroom, taking doors, windows and radiators into account as well as any architectural features such as sloping ceilings.

Draw a scaled plan ideally using graph paper, and mark on existing plumbing points, such as water supply and soil outlet. Re-positioning items is possible, but can be costly if the plumbing needs to be changed, so bear this in mind when planning the room. If in doubt consult a qualified plumber.

Don’t forget about:

The position of doors and the way they open
The position of windows and their height from the floor, also the way they open
The type of water supply system you have and where it is located
Heating and ventilation consider an extractor if your bathroom is small or has no windows
Storage space fitted bathroom furniture can make a bathroom look sophisticated and clutter free whilst covering unsightly pipes
Safety you may want to consider handrails and non-slip surfaces if you have elderly family members
Cut out shapes of the bathroom suite you like and play around with them in the room, you will see how well they fit into the space and it may give you ideas. Make sure you have enough activity space around each item, as a rough guide allow 700mm in front of a toilet and basin and at least 1000mm in front of a bath.

Some bathroom showrooms offer a planning service contact the Bathroom and Shower Information Service to find one in your area.

MAKING MORE OF YOUR SPACE

If you have a small bathroom you may need to think more creatively about your space.

Consider the following tips to help you turn less into more: Move or re-hang the door

If you have an airing cupboard could it be moved into another room?
Move or change the radiator, many different sizes, shapes and styles are available now, from tall and thin to short and wide and even spiral! Another option to consider would be under floor heating
If you find that one bathroom is not enough for your family consider other options, could you install an en-suite shower room in a corner of your bedroom? Or perhaps a cloakroom under the stairs?
Some bathroom suites have been designed to fit into small and awkward areas, the Space range from Ideal Standard includes a corner wc and basin, a specially designed shower bath to give you a larger showering area and even a range of furniture to fit into smaller rooms.

CHOOSING YOUR SUITE

The style of your bathroom will influence your choice of suite, think about your tastes, do you prefer sleek and sophisticated, classic and contemporary, traditional or even something a bit different? Bear in mind the size of your bathroom, suites are available in all sorts of sizes and styles.

Basins for example usually vary from a roomy 65cm to a petite 45cm. They can have a pedestal or semi-pedestal or can be fitted into a countertop. Corner basins are also available. Consider having two basins to cut down on queues for the bathroom!

Baths can be anything from a compact 150 x 70cm to a luxurious 180 x 90cm. They can be rectangular, free standing or fitted into a corner. You can fit a shower over the bath and install a shower screen or curtain. Whirlpool and Airspa versions are available. Showers can be fitted over the bath or if you have the room in a separate enclosure. Wetrooms where the whole room is a wet area for showering in are becoming increasingly popular, but need special installation by professionals.

Wcs can be close-coupled where the bowl and cistern are next to each other and look like one unit back-to-wall where the cistern is hidden behind furniture or ducting or wall-hung where again the cistern is hidden but the wc is actually set off the ground to give a clean look and more floor area. More traditional high and low level cisterns are also available if you want a period look.

STORAGE

Don’t forget to build in space for storage. Think about what you need to store toiletries, towels, cleaning materials. Fitted furniture will provide storage space and hide ugly plumbing. Also consider shelving, boxes, free standing or wall mounted cupboards or even trolleys on wheels.