Clever bathroom ideas

[Cheerychopsmum]

Hi, we are planning a bathroom renovation. So expanding the bathroom, having a double vanity, wall hung integrated toilet and a walk in shower only - no bath. I want to keep it simple and elegant with as much hidden away as possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas on what I should/shouldn’t include. What’s something unique that you absolutely must have in a new bathroom that you didn’t have before? not just fixtures and fittings but lighting, wall tiles (I want large stone creamy white tiles), bath mats (currently looking at stone mats). I don’t want to get to the end of the renovation and realise I’ve missed something or made a mistake. - help!

Whatever the design. - practical - to avoid leaking, prioritise practical over a flat shower try for example - or fancy shower door that does. Not prevent leaking

Thank you, the shower tray we have picked is on a slight angle and we’ve got a moving lip on the shower screen to prevent splashes. The shower mat will hopefully catch any overspill!

I'm planning to refurb too.
Underfloor heating that will lead to a self drying floor. Didnt need it before teenagers

Storage and more storage to make it look great. Also enough towels rails and storage for towels.

Two different types of lighting that are separately controlled. Good bright lighting for mornings when you want to look your best. Subtle dim lighting for night time when you want to relax.

two electric toothbrush charging points so you can both charge toothbrush at same time

electrical socket just outside bathroom so if you want to use a device in the bathroom you’ve some where to plug it in/recharge it

two rust proof shower caddies - I find I’m using more and more shower products and one isn’t big enough on its own

Things I love in our en-suite bathroom renovation:

A recessed shelf built into the shower

A rainwater fall shower head

We ditched the towel rails as I think there ugly af

By “double vanity”, do you mean two sinks? Because I have two sinks in my en suite and it’s really pointless. Unless you and your husband brush your teeth together! I find we use one sink and then the other becomes a very temporary holding pen for used facecloths awaiting the laundry basket, and used contact lens containers drying out ahead of being brought to the recycling bin downstairs.

(If I’ve understand the term “double vanity” correctly. I accept I may not have.)

We have two bathrooms.

For me and DH we have one sink.

For the teens - we have two pedestals, side by side.

It works incredibly well and arguments have stopped!

This is the bathroom my two boys will be using so 2 sinks (double vanity) is essential! We are having a shelf/niche so no need for shower holders thankfully. Mine rust within days! We have drawers under the vanity and separate back lit mirrors.

good idea re toothbrush chargers! Got the big rainfall shower head and the storage will be over the toilet as we have a niche there too.

not having underfloor heating as I hate hot bathrooms - I’ve got a tall towel rail though going in at the end of the shower (sorry!).

i can’t help but think I am missing something though.

High quality heated towel rails. The towels dry quickly and never smell so need to wash them less often - assuming you can get your boys to hang them up!

If you're getting recesses for shampoo etc. ask your tiler to set the bottom at a slight slope. Not enough to topple bottles over, just a tiny incline to stop water pooling in them.

Do you have a hand-held shower as well as the rainfall head? Useful for cleaning the shower down inside as well as not washing your hair whilst having a shower.

A small raised step at the end, or corner of the shower to support your foot while you shave your legs (if you do). There are various ideas for this online if you image search - best thing I did in my walk in shower.

I need to get them trained! Yes I have a decent tall towel rail on order.

Got that in my brief for my builder.

My bathroom plumber recommended this so that’s included too.

Good idea! I just sit on the floor of my current shower as I love the hot water flowing on me. Can’t do that in this bathroom, but will keep my en-suite closed so I can still sit down.

Another vote for underfloor heating, but don’t put it under the toilet as it makes it ‘sweaty’

Shower controls that are not under the flow of the shower (so you can turn it on without soaking your arm)
lots of storage
we have a storage cupboard that has usb and shaver chargers inside so things can be charged neatly
low level motion sensitive lighting, so you can wee in the night without turning on a light
layered lighting so you can have a bath or shower in soothing light but also bright light for makeup/shaving/plucking

Plan your toilet roll location ahead of time

We've just renovated a derelict house with multiple bathrooms/en-suites. I'm FAR from any design expert and we've not finished, but so far my thoughts:

-Large tiles have less grout, less cleaning and can make a small bathroom seem larger
-NO to metro tiles, textured tiles or anything grey (these were already out 4yrs ago when we started)
-Rimless toilet in addition to the wall hung
-Get a wall hung vanity with drawers like the pic (not my bathroom, but to show what I mean). Nothing worse than having to bend and forage at the back of a bathroom cupboard.
-Changing the door to swing out into the hall (or pocket door) will save 1m2 of floor space within the bathroom, plus, its a safety feature. If someone was to collapse on the back of the door, having the door open out can be a life saver.

Have shower controls outside of shower so you can enter a hot shower.

We have 1 shower with an aqualisa digital system. No taps, just an electronic display and temp control. It has a remote and can be started from outside the room! We love it and partly wished we'd got the same for the other showers, BUT, if you have a black out it doesn't work.

Make sure shower controls are not below shower so you have to be quick to get out of the way of cold water

Do not have any wood/paint door trim internally in bathroom. Tile/trim instead.