1 bathroom 4 ways
Four designers rework a rundown family bathroom
We asked four designers to modernise this small family bathroom with a budget of
$28,000. Working off the general rule that tradies take up 70% of a bathroom budget, we allocated roughly
$19,600 for trades (tiler, painter, builder, electrician, plumber), leaving a balance
of $8400 for our designers to choose finishes and fixtures. Here’s what they came up with… Bathroom concept 0.1
FAMILY FRIENDLY
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL Small bathrooms are always a challenge, especially when you are working inside an existing footprint. This house has four bedrooms so it’s important that the bathrooms can service a household of this size. The house has an ensuite and a separate toilet next to this main bathroom. In this situation, it makes sense to remove the toilet from the main bathroom and use this space to fit a decentsized shower plus a small bath.
SHOWER SAFE In today’s busy world, showers have long overtaken the bath as the most popular way of washing. That’s why more focus has gone into creating a beautiful showering experience in this case, which includes removing the daily hazard of having to step over the side of a bath to shower.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Bath time is still very important to those with a young family so, if space permits, try to fit both bath and shower. In this bathroom I was able to fit a small freestanding bath where the toilet currently is, as well as a frameless glass shower with sliding door to utilise the original bath waste pipe.
CUSTOM VANITY Concrete slab floors mean you are relatively restricted as to where plumbing can move to, but in this case we can adapt the existing waste pipes to suit. To keep a streamlined look, I have designed a modern, wall-hung vanity that fits the alcove perfectly. Making it slightly narrower than a standard vanity gives more space in the room, but no surface space is lost due to the extra length. A recessed mirror cabinet is a great place to store electric toothbrushes so I have allowed for a power point to be installed inside.
MONOCHROME MATERIALS Using a custommade vanity means you have a greater selection of water-resistant melamines to choose from.
For this bathroom I selected Bestwood’s Southern Oak with an engineered stone top made from Uniquartz White Sand, and a matte iStone round basin from Waterware. Because the vanity is slimmer than usual, the taps are wall-mounted to match the bath tapware, also from Waterware. Black tapware and accessories give a monochromatic look that complements the greys and whites throughout the rest of the house. Towels and personal items like soap and shampoo bottles will add splashes of colour.