How to design a practical bath
Sometimes I wonder why we ever moved the toilet indoors. Are you the one who gets to clean this item? That’s those occasions I’m talking about.
A practical bathroom design will look good, be easy to clean, and provide out-of-sight storage for all your bathroom stuff.
The first indoor bathrooms were poorly designed – understandably, people were happy to not have to freeze their parts off in the winter, and let’s face it, outhouses weren’t pretty either. So those first bathrooms had a lavatory sink and a free-standing tub rather haphazardly placed in a good-sized room. The toilet was located in a separate cubicle, which is how the term “water closet” originated.
Practical design planning:
- Don’t locate the lavatory cabinet next to the tub. If you do, this will create a small, narrow space that will trap water and crud, and be hard to clean. Besides, visually, it makes the room look unbalanced. Too many large shapes next to each other. If you haven’t thought about it (and who has?) the common practise is this arrangement: lavatory – toilet – tub.
- Integral lavatory bowls molded into the countertop are the easiest to clean – so we highly recommend them. If you really like undermount, that is a good second choice for ease of cleaning. However, if high style is your thing, forget what I just said and go with that clear glass vessel sink! Don’t be a slave to practicality, you only live once.
- Building codes require that you have an operable window or an exhaust fan in every bathroom. However, do not rely on an operable window. You need a good quality exhaust fan, with a minimum cfm of 80, preferably more if the bathroom is large.
To see some samples of our bathroom remodels, click here!
