Bathroom Design Essentials - What You Should Consider When Designing, Building and Renovating Your Ultimate Bathroom - Part 1

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Bathrooms are expensive to build, and costly to change should you decide to modify them later. It's therefore essential to get the design of your bathroom right before construction starts. A good bathroom can be a valuable addition to your home. Unfortunately, frequently bathrooms are poorly designed, they don’t take account of your family’s needs (or future needs) and they're squeezed into the available space.

Designing a good bathroom is a balance between your available budget, your needs, functionality, what's practically possible (which is often dictated by the location of existing wastewater pipes or the connections to the town sewer system), the available space, and your wish list for the ultimate bathroom. But, even the most expensive bathroom, including all your wish-list items could end up being impractical and a bathroom that you end up hating, if it's not planned properly. By the same token, a well thought out and planned bathroom, that's practical and functional, which doesn't break your budget, can add value to your home and be a bathroom that you and your family enjoy using everyday. 

In designing a bathroom it’s important to consider what should be included, the location and size of windows and the location of doors. Bathroom suppliers can often create 3-D drawings for you which help you better understand what your finished bathroom will look like.

The design of your bathroom should consider the following:

• Ventilation in the bathroom is essential to get rid of odours and to prevent moisture build-up. Bathrooms that are always wet and steamy will result in mould growing on walls and floors, which is unsightly and unhealthy and difficult to clean. In addition, towels won’t dry easily and items in the bathroom cupboards could be spoiled by the continuous moisture. Ventilation could include (preferably both options):
  • Windows that open. Opening windows should take privacy into account.
  • Extractor fans which could be connected to the light switch so they come on automatically when the light is turned on, or fans which have a separate control switch. The extractor fan could be installed in the ceiling where it should be connected by a duct to the outside of the roof. Fans that just blow the air into the roof space will result in moist air accumulating in the roof space, which could cause mould and rot to develop in the roof. Alternatively fans can be in the external walls, or even placed within the glass of the window. Fans should be easily cleanable as they frequently accumulate debris which is unsightly and a fire risk.
• Heating is useful for cold climates. Nobody wants to step out of a nice hot shower or bath into an icy cold bathroom to get dressed. The type of heating may be restricted by local building regulations but it could include:
  • Underfloor heating.
  • Radiators.
  • Heaters. (They would be mounted on walls away from splashes. These should be specifically approved for use in bathrooms.)
  • Heating lights. (These are separate to the normal lights which you would install in the bathroom - after all, you probably won't want the heating lights on in summer.)
  • Heated towel rails. (These don't necessarily heat the room but they do help dry towels.)

It’s important to check that the items installed are suitable for wet areas.

• Good lighting is vital in a bathroom. Lights should be both functional, bright (without appearing like a hospital operating room) decorative, and of course lights must be fit to be installed in wet areas. Lighting should include:
  • General lighting which doesn’t leave dark corners, particularly in showers.
  • Lights over mirrors and wash basins. Poor lighting makes it frustrating to shave and apply makeup.

Individual controls can be used for different lights.

• Functionality and space. There must be sufficient space to step out of baths and showers to dry oneself. Doors must be able to be opened without being restricted by toilets, bathtubs and cabinets, while also leaving space for the person opening the door. (More than one home owner has found that the door in their newly completed bathroom couldn't open fully because it bashed against a toilet or washbasin.) Preferably there should be sufficient space so that one person can use the basin and still allowing another person to pass.
• Privacy. Privacy includes what can be seen and heard from outside the house as well as what can be seen by people in the house walking past the open door. Including a separate toilet cubicle in the bathroom is often a good idea, but it does require more space. However, it allows two people to use the bathroom simultaneously, without getting in each other’s way.
• Don’t make the toilet the first thing you see when you open the door.
• The size of the bathroom depends on what you want in the bathroom. Do you want a shower and a bathtub? Do you want a double basin? Do you want to separate the toilet from the rest of the bathroom? The temptation is often to reduce the area of the shower, but knocking against the shower sides and soap dispenses while you’re showering is irritating, even painful. Try and keep showers at least 800 mm by 800 mm square (31 by 31 inches) (preferably larger – 1000 to 1200 millimetres by 1000 millimetres (39 to 47 inches)) although if space is limited you can consider splaying or rounding one of the corners. 
• Look out for Part 2 for more practical tips for designing your new bathroom.

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​For more valuable house construction, design and renovation tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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