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Original poster

Does a main family bathroom have to have a bath?

40 replies

truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 10:28

We're renovating a property. It's rather quirky.
The main bathroom is a slightly odd shape with several windows. Our original plan was to have a bath, separate shower, loo & double sinks but on plan it looks very squashed.

The room will primarily be used by DC (teens) who never bathe, only shower. I'm wondering now whether to just put in a big walk in shower, loo and basins. I'd prefer not to have a shower over the bath as my DP are not very mobile and will hopefully stay with us regularly.

There is another bathroom, albeit much smaller along the corridor, that could just have a bath, loo and basin. This wouldn't be done for some time due to funds.

We're doing this house to live in, not to sell. But would it be odd to have a main bathroom without a bath?

OP posts:
AlpacaLypse · 13/03/2014 10:31

No, like you we no longer use the bath regularly now that all the children are teenagers. I'd much rather have a lovely roomy shower than a cramped one and a bath gathering dust. If you've got a second bathroom which can accommodate your parent's needs when they come to stay, that will be fine.

Bonsoir · 13/03/2014 10:34

I don't think that it is wise not to have a bath at all, but for teenagers a large walk-in shower is greatly preferable - that is what our DC have.

LadyMacmuff · 13/03/2014 10:36

No, I think as long as you've got one bath in the property for when you do want to sell or if you do have a hankering for a long soak then putting a nice big walk in shower into the main bathroom is much better. We still need a bath as have a toddler but most of the time everyone showers. Bath is big waste of space if you don't really use one!

SpringyReframed · 13/03/2014 10:37

You never know when you might need to have bath even for sports strains/medical reasons.

On all the property shows they say that not having a bath is a real no no.

Chopchopbusybusy · 13/03/2014 10:39

Not a problem unless you plan to sell it soon.

deelite72 · 13/03/2014 10:42

For the value of your property, I'd really try and install a bath. We had a shower/no bath in our main BR (we were renting) and it was actually fine for us, but a bit off-putting for people who came to view the property when we were moving out. I think if you can have at least a bath in one of the bathrooms, this is better than no bath in the house at all. And if you go with shower only in the main, make sure it's an awesome shower; big, roomy, on the deluxe side. A puny shower in a main BR with no bath is not going to go down well if you plan on renting the property or selling it down the line.

Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 10:54

Thanks for the comments.
I was worried that a main bathroom should have a bath in but I can see that a big shower would be more useful.
In time I think the smaller bathroom with bath in could be made quite attractive.

OP posts:
ToFollowJulie · 13/03/2014 11:04

Is the other bathroom an en-suite, or available to anyone? If it's accessible from the corridor I think it's fine not to have a bath in the main bathroom, but if it's an en-suite I think that's a bit of a problem. I'm thinking that if you had toddlers you'd want to be able to bathe them in a house bathroom rather than in an en-suite, which you might want to be a more private space.

LondonGirl83 · 13/03/2014 11:18

A family house needs a bath somewhere. If there is only one bath, it should be in a room accessible to everyone in the house, rather than an ensuite. The room it is in also needs to be large enough that people can bathe their kids easily in it-- ie place to sit down, place to store stuff etc. If you can get that in your secondary bathroom, I think it will be fine. However, if you can't, it will put off most family buyers. However, if you aren't looking to sell anytime soon, they just do what's best for your family.

Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 11:23

I've just measured the plans, the small bathroom in 2.6m x 2m. It's on the same floor on the other side of the landing so not en suite.
The main bathroom is 3.6 x 2.2 so not a lot bigger.

OP posts:
CeliaFate · 13/03/2014 11:25

I'd lose one of the sinks. No need to have 2 sinks imvho. I don't want to brush my teeth side by side with anyone. It would put me off buying a property. As long as there was a bath in one of the bathrooms, a huge walk in shower would be more flexible for multi generational living.

specialsubject · 13/03/2014 11:27

why do you want two sinks in one bathroom? Genuine question!

Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 11:30

Yes, you're probably right Celia, I've been looking at Pinterest/houzz too much. Probably better off having decent storage.

OP posts:
Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 11:34

special, in my fantasy world my teen DSs would harmoniously use the bathroom together and avoid all morning friction.
Using this
www.firedearth.com/bathrooms/type/furniture/washstand-1470-ivory-top.

One sink, alone is reality Grin

OP posts:
titchy · 13/03/2014 11:35

Why don't you stay with convention and have the bath in the larger of the bathrooms, with shower over if both your teens want to shower at the same time, and have just a shower in the smaller one? And yes lose the double sinks! Fine in an en-suite but nor a family bathroom.

Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 11:39

My skewed reasoning is that then the main bathroom would rarely be used because no one has baths really.

OP posts:
LondonGirl83 · 13/03/2014 11:55

We have a double sink in our ensuite so my husband can have and I can still wash my hands / brush my teeth. However, I think they only make sense in an ensuite really as siblings rarely use the bathroom together the way a couple do.

SaltyGoodness · 13/03/2014 14:45

No, bath not necessary at all - and I don't know where you are, but if in London then one dayd when you sell, your eventual buyers are as likely as not to be forrin (like me) and not bothered about a bath. In most other countries baths are a nice extra touch but not by any means necessary, the shower is far more important. I've lived in lots of places without baths and never given it a thought other than when I wanted to indulge in a wine-and-candles bath night from time to time Smile

JessieJayne · 13/03/2014 15:30

We don't have a bath in our main bathroom - we have a lovely big shower. My elderly parents and PIL don't have a bath either. None of us thinks the situation is odd.

whereisshe · 13/03/2014 16:00

I'd be perfectly happy with no bath in the main bathroom, DH and I only ever shower. As long as there was a bath somewhere then DD (10 weeks) would be fine. I hate showers over baths with a passion, they make both bathing and showering unpleasant. And I agree with the pp - don't overcrowd the bathroom. One sink is plenty Smile.

Original poster
truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 16:06

Thanks very much, you've helped me sort it in my head.

Main bathroom; big walk in shower, loo, single basin, storage
2nd bathroom; (when funds permit) bath, loo, single basin.

OP posts:
maillotjaune · 13/03/2014 16:14

We have no bath and have coped with babies, sports injuries etc. But we don't plan to sell - if we did I'd out a bath in to make it more attractive to more people.

I love my big shower upstairs and wetroom downstairs.

TheElementsSong · 14/03/2014 11:27

I have a similar-but-different bathroom dilemma.

House is 3 storeys. Ground floor, obviously, has reception rooms and kitchen - no cloakroom. On the middle floor, we have 2 bedrooms, small study room and large family bathroom (has shower and bath). On the top floor (sloping ceilings), there is 1 bedroom and equally large bathroom (also with shower and bath) - we call it the "guest suite" ^^ Grin and it is only used by visitors. So in total we have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Problem is, we would one day like to reconfigure the house to get 4 bedrooms, but still keep 2 bath/shower rooms. In terms of minimising building work, it seems like the simplest thing to do would be to swap the middle floor bathroom with the study, leaving the top floor guest suite unchanged. But this would mean that the "main" bathroom (ex-study) could really only be a shower room, as I just can't see how we could squeeze a bathtub into that space.

Would that be considered strange - to have a main shower room for all to use, while leaving enormous bathroom kind of gathering dust upstairs?

offblackeggshell · 14/03/2014 11:32

A late comment. I totally agree with your latest plan, but if you can fit in a double sink (ours is about 1.2m long) with two mixer taps, they can all brush their teeth at the same time. That has saved a lot of arguing and bloodshed in our house...

JessieJayne · 15/03/2014 00:18

I can't understand why anyone would have a double sink. We've had in places we've rented and have felt bemused by them. Who really wants to take up space so that two people can wash their faces/clean their teeth at the same time?? Bonkers.