Family bathrooms (CALMING THE BATHTIME CHAOS)
Kick your busiest bathroom into touch with our guide to creating the perfect kid-cleaning venue that’s easy to hose down afterwards…
Usually the biggest bathroom in the house, if only by a few inches, the family bathroom can make or break the morning rush and/or bedtime routine. It needs to be loaded with storage, suitable for sharing (if only for toothbrushing and face-washing) and easy to clean. Oh, and it’s also the bathroom most likely to be used by overnight guests, if you’ve no guest en suite – damp towels and Dad’s underwear on the floor is not an option. In short, this isn’t a room you can simply tart up with some fresh paint and fancy towels, although you should do that, too.
If your off-spring are still wee, or yet to be conceived, there are a few practical child-friendly pointers to consider. Choose flooring that can’t be stained by urine (not always the kids at fault here). Forget posh but stain-prone encaustic tiles and natural stone: you need porcelain or ceramic tiles. And go for slip-resistant matt finishes rather than glossy. Underfloor heating can help in the battle to mop up splashes. Soft-close toilet seats and vanity drawers/doors will protect little fingers, not to mention your eardrums. Always opt for a thermostatically controlled shower to prevent scalding.
Also, opt for thermostatic bath fillers and basin taps with temperature regulators that prevent them from operating at dangerous levels. Accidents do happen.
On a lighter note, in time your children get old enough to maintain their own personal hygiene. Possibly not up to your standards, but at least you won’t be dealing with ‘there’s soap in my eyeeees’ any more. Many teens prefer a shower, so if you’re dusting the tub more often than scrubbing tidemarks, it might be time to swap it out. Don’t go for a fancy raincloud-style showerhead, though, unless you enjoy watching your water meter/finances spinning out of control. Seek out a water-saving showerhead that injects air into the spray to boost pressure using less water (look at Hansgrohe’s Airpower technology). Also, invest in a shower timer and dock their allowance/screen time for every minute it’s ignored.
Finally, make it pretty. Buy towels you like, since it’ll be you picking up/cleaning them, and let your plant addiction go wild – orchids, aloes and ferns all thrive in high humidity.
Buying bathroom fittings can be daunting, especially as you must take into account the type of hot-water system your home has for some purchases. Many taps and showers are only suitable for high-pressure systems, producing merely a trickle if your house is gravity fed. Raincloud-style showers needs serious volumes of hot water. Even getting a toilet can involve knowing the sort of inlet pipe you have. Your plumber can advise on the basics, but for more complex concerns that include design elements, go to a bathroom retailer.
Never underestimate the impact of lighting on both functionality and looks. Tackle your lighting plan in a similar way to the kitchen by including task lights over key areas – the shower tray, basin and loo. Then add ambient lighting around the bath and in storage niches (on a separate switch) to create a more relaxing mood. Wall lights either side of the mirror will provide a more flattering reflection than those positioned above. To ensure safe nocturnal toilet trips without waking the whole family, consider including a low-watt night light on a movement sensor.
Adding a large rooflight can transform a dark and dingy bathroom, waking the family up in the morning with a blast of sunlight. Perfect for loft conversions, pitched roof windows or flat rooflights can also be used to brighten up any bathroom with no void between ceiling and roof, such as extensions with flat roofs and mansard roofs. Provided you have decent extraction, a simple non-opening skylight is the least expensive option. Do invest in self-cleaning glass, especially if your rooflight is hard to access from outside.
The most family-friendly bath is double-ended, which can easily hold two toddlers. Opt for an overflow style filler to avoid heads hitting a protruding bath spout. Bath mixer taps with thermostatic controls and temperature restrictor will help prevent scalding. Push-button wastes look neater than chained plugs, but pop-up wastes with twist handle (often at the overflow) may avoid water being accidentally let out. Freestanding baths look great, but if you’re worried about splashing, go for a fitted bath with a watertight seal to the wall.
A double basin unit comes into its own at bedtime, whistling the kids through toothbrushing in record time. Make sure there’s enough space around the basin for two or more to gather, and for you to monitor their brushwork. A seamless design where the countertop and basins are formed without joints will prove easiest to clean. Ceramic is less stain-prone than composite/resin models and generally less expensive. A double vanity with storage below is a better use of space than an open frame or pedestal.
White sanitaryware is still the safest and cheapest choice, but if you need pattern, make tiles your go-to. Inexpensive ones can be given an upmarket look by installing in dynamic ways. Simple metro tiles set on an angle will create an eye-catching zigzag pattern. Hexagonal tiles are brilliant for connecting two tile styles, one patterned and one plain, for a fluid injection of colour and interest that draws the eye through the room. If you’re worried about OTT pattern, keep it below eye level, underfoot and go plain on vertical surfaces.
Storage is central to maintaining order. A vanity unit with deep drawers can hold towels, while a mirrored cabinet above the basin can conceal toothbrushes and toiletries to keep the wash area free of clutter. Include niches in the shower so shampoo is at hand. Fitted furniture will usually provide larger volumes of storage than freestanding, but it costs more to install. Head to dedicated storage companies, like A Place for Everything, to find smart ideas – such as over-bath racks and slimline cabinets that slot neatly between sanitaryware.
A fully tanked wet room takes the worry out of splashy kids, but to save pennies, only tank where you need it, like the shower area. A flush-fit tray is the simplest set-up that makes it easy to achieve perfect draining gradients and a tight seal. Make sure the sub-floor is level so the shower tray sits flat. Tank the walls around the tray, inside the shower area and also half a metre or so outside. A simple shower screen controls the spray while keeping the wet room feel.
Lifting the WC and vanity unit off the floor is easier than ever thanks to special frame systems that can be concealed by stud walls or inside furniture. Wallhung fittings make the room appear bigger because there’s more visible flooring. They’re also easier to clean under. It’s essential to leave an access point for maintenance: some flush-plates are designed to be removable for cistern repairs. When planning your layout, you must allow for the extra depth of the frame system, so this may not suit narrow rooms.
Forget what estate agents say, if you want to ditch the only bath in your house, go right ahead. Not having a bath is no longer a deal breaker for today’s reno-savvy buyers.
For many families, the bath becomes redundant once the kids hit their teens and would rather stand for hours in the shower than lie down in a tub. Swapping yours for a large shower is pretty easy if you choose a walk-in enclosure designed to fit the same
170cm} -long space. If you’re} lucky, you won’t even have to install new flooring.
Shearan the Sheep toilet roll holder, £25,
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