Bathroom Design
When designing a bathroom, we like to have at least one key element to stand out among the rest. Whether that be a unique tile, a freestanding tub, or a conflicting “floating” marble sink, there should be a feature of the bathroom.
Not only does it make your daily routine more exciting, but it also becomes a distinguishing factor of the bathroom. 'If you need me, I'll be in the marble bath!'
Dani Harttraft
Architecture & Interior Design Manager
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Interior
Natural Light in Spaces
Bathroom design, like any good design, starts with gathering inspiration. Whether it be a renovation or new build, finding inspiration is a crucial first step to an exciting design. Creating or finding ideas in this early stage of the design process allows for plenty of time to plan and construct it well.
In a bathroom, you might not only want the essentials (toilet, tub, sink). You might want a linen closet or open shelves next to the shower. You’ll have to plan for that. You might want a medicine cabinet. You’ll have to plan for that. You might want a bench or niche in your shower. You’ll need to plan for that too.
Discovering the things you want to include in your bathroom design at this stage allows for the most flexibility in making them work well. In a renovation, if you want to make your shower bigger, you might need to move some walls to accommodate the extra space. Almost anything can be moved or redone during construction, but you might incur extra costs for additional materials and labor. That’s why, planning the design well from the beginning is the most cost effective way to get everything that you want included in your bathroom.
Once you have some ideas of what YOUR essentials are for your bathroom, that’s a good time to start planning your space. If you plan to have a freestanding tub and a shower, instead of a shower-tub combination, you might want to plan out where the freestanding tub will go first. That element can be made the showpiece of the room, so you’ll want that in a good location for both when you’re using it, and when you’re not.
When designing a bathroom, we like to have at least one key element to stand out among the rest. In the above example, the tub is the key element of the bathroom. In the bathroom below, we wanted the key element to be the tile. As a result, we toned down the floor and vanity with neutral colors, to let the blue tile lead.
Another good tip that these bathrooms feature is including natural light. This is a good tip for any design, really. Although you’ll want privacy, there are plenty of ways to let in natural light, while maintaining privacy. Include a frosted glass window in a shower, a picturesque window above the tub with shades, or even behind the vanity with a mirror in front, that hangs down from the ceiling.
There are plenty of creative ways to design your bathroom, to make it a more exciting space for its users. But, not just how it looks. Design is about how a space looks AND how it functions.
To maintain a usable bathroom for the long run, think about the accessibility factors.
Accessible design features like wide doorways and curb-less showers are challenging to retrofit, but easy to accomplish on new construction projects. Consider these when designing; thinking about what you want in the future and building it in today will make your investment go further.
