Please help me with my family bathroom! L-shaped shower bath or straight?

[GoingRogue]

Hello

I've been trying to get a new family bathroom sorted for years, and we have finally got a plumber sorted for Feb. Hurrah!

It is the main family bathroom (dh and I have an en-suite) in a 4-bed 1930's semi. It is approx 2.5m long by 2m wide.

I have attached photos of how it looks now which should help you help me?! We are going to have the floorboards sanded and re-varnished, and are looking for some pale cream matte wall tiles. Walls will be kept white, as I want the walls and floor neutral.

Now here's the thing I'm struggling with. We are getting a matching back-to-wall WC and vanity basin unit from Bathstore (Vermont grey avola). We could get a matching bath panel, which I think would help the room "flow", but me and the children (aged 4 and 7, and have a teenage stepson too) have got so used to a lovely big p-shaped bath that I want to keep a big bath! But you can't get matching panels for them

So would you go for a straight bath with panels, or an L-shaped bath for the comfort/size factor (boys love sharing a bath...though I know that won't be forever. I figure they'd like more space to shower in as they grow though).

Thanks for any help or advice!

Photos of the furniture we've chosen...

Bath options...

Can you get panels for an extra wide straight bath (not P / L shaped)?

I'd go for a shaped bath every time. I think it would probably look fine to have an all white bath with the units you've chosen, but otherwise personally I'd pick a shaped bath and choose different units!

I do, however, much prefer the P-shape that you have now to the L-shape. The L shape is great when using it as a shower but they aren't as good to bath in. The "extra" bit just becomes an extra area to fill with water rather than really adding more space to the bath, if you get what I mean. If an good large bath is part of the aim rather than just more space when showering, the P-shape definitely wins.

Gah! You can't confuse me further with talk of a new p-shaped bath

So I need to decide whether the focus is a lovely big comfy bath, or a normal bath with matching panels/coloured furniture. Hmmm, it's taken us 10 months to decide on the Vermont grey Avola furniture so dh won't want to start looking at other ideas now.

I just don't want to fit a straight bath then regret it...

FluffyWuffy100 I'm pretty sure you could get panels for a longer bath (1800mm) but then we wouldn't be able to fit the 800mm basin in. The maximum width is about 750mm I think? But will do some research as it might be the perfect compromise- thank you!

I prefer the look of a straight bath. In the ensuite we've got one of those and showering is very comfy despite both of us being very big people (I'm just shy of 6ft and DH is 6ft4). One of the bathrooms had a P bath and we didn't find it any more convenient.

you will probably be unable to get a replacement L-shaped bath panel in future. If it comes with a thin plastic one it will soon break.

www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/brooklyn-grey-avola-offset-mdf-front-bath-panel-mpd535

What's wrong with this one?

You can get a 1700 x 800 bath and panels.

www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/taranto-textured-base-keyhole-shower-bath-1700x800

This is a straight edge shower bath. I much prefer them to p and L shapes. Dh tried a similar one in a local shop and it was very comfortable

Thanks for everyone's input.

PigletJohn why do you say that about the L-shaped panels Please? Are straight ones more robust?

GreenTulips ooh thanks for that! Problem is, my sister had the Brooklyn grey avola suite from Victorian Plumbing fitted this year, and I wasn't 100% sold on the quality tbh. So we've decided to go with Bathstore's version for the 800mm floor-standjbg basin which feels a more sturdy, and has a deeper/longer projection basin which we prefer (my sister's isn't great; you get soaked when you wash your hands).

WeAllHaveWings ooh, not even heard of keyhole shaped baths - thank you! Might be the perfect compromise? As could get Bathstore's panels. Will show dh tonight

To add my view (but it's your bathroom!)

1. L shaped bath. Teenagers shower. For days. A glass screen around the shower is what I'd do.

1. I hate plastic bath panels. They can be flimsy, thye look cheap, break and they always seem like horrendous value (the one sold with our bath was half the cost of the bath). I'd make up MDF panels instead. You can even put in a magnetic clasp hidden door to hide cleaning stuff. Then you paint the MDF whatever you like.

OP. I would switch your bath around and have it along the back wall. Will make room look much bigger.

I wouldn't have a plastic bath panel at all - we've used very large format tiles and tiled the bath panel - obviously cant do that with a P shaped bath but would work with L shaped or straight.

didireallysaythat dss is 18 so I know what you mean about them spending forever in the shower! He currently uses our en-suite cubicle, as the one over the bath sprays everywhere....the screen for the new bath - should we get one of those hinged ones that goes across the bath, forming a sort of cubicle too then do you think?

The matching bath panel from Bathstore is made from MFC. A quick Google tells me it's a sort of MDF, which is better than plastic, yes?

namechangedtoday15 We're not changing the layout. Feel it's unnecessary and wouldn't want the toilet near the door (we don't have a downstairs loo, so it's the one everyone uses. And I wouldn't want it next to the door).

Will look into tiling, but sounds expensive?

I actually loathe p/l shaped baths. Either settle for a straight bath or buy a proper tub.

Also you may be able to squeeze in bitha bath and a shower of you put your bath against the wall with the shower directly next to it effectively dividing the room into a wet area and a dry area with a shower screen. The first time I saw time was in a hotel in Paris-i thought it was wonderfully clever!

Personally I think a grey modern vanity unit will look odd with your floor. And cream tiles? Ummm! Not really. P bath is a no too.

An 800 mm wise sink is vast for a small bathroom. This needs to be smaller. You only have one tap so it’s not even dual use. It is taking up valuable space.

Just get a well made wide 800/850 mm Bath x 1800 long from a decent manufacturer. No to a flimsy panel. Very outdated anyway.

The window surely gets in the way of the shower and I agree with the pp that the bath should be along the other wall. What difference does a loo near a door make? Don’t you just close the door and the sink is handy if it’s rearranged? I think you are spending money for not much improvement.

L-shaped panels are no weaker than other shapes, but thin plastic panels are easily broken.

It's easy to buy or make a straight rectangular panel as a replacement, but odd shapes may be difficult to source in future years, when your bath has been discontinued.

Oh no. I'm getting more confused than anything now

BubblesBuddy we want maximum storage. We were originally going to have a large wall-hung tall boy on the back wall, between the WC and the bath, but it's quite deep and would mean the shower screen would be blocked (meaning we wouldn't be able to swing it out to get to bath taps, if they were on the end of the bath).

We have the quote for the refurb now. We've already had it changed once. Would moving the bath/WC/basin change the cost? I don't like the thought of the loo right next to the door, at the top of the stairs. Prefer it on the back wall, just me probably but feels more quiet and private. It's a busy house and there's always people up and down the stairs/outside the bathroom door waiting to use the loo.

Just cooking dinner, will come back again later.

Oh, what's a decent supplier for a good quality straight bath then?

Sorry, was going to say one of the reasons we want the 800mm wide vanity basin is for storage. I want lots of storage, and now we can't fit a tall boy I'll only have that and a mirrored cabinet above to put all the cleaning products, bubble bath, make-up etc (going to get some of those magnetic locks to child-proof).

I was told not to go for white units as they look cheap, and I do want it to look different.

Why wouldn't the furniture go with the floor? And I was initially looking at grey tiles but came to the conclusion that light/cool grey can look blue, and warm greys can look brown I would like to keep the walls and floors neutral so can change the colour easily.

I have a Carronite one, they have a wide variety of sizes but not many styles. It is a "reinforced" bath with some kind of thick hard plastic coating applied to the outside, they are rather heavy, and said to be particularly strong, and to retain heat well. They are more expensive than standard baths from Carron.

Some older houses have non-standard sized bathrooms so the usual metric sizes don't fit, that's why I chose them. It is too heavy for one person to carry.

We have white Roca sink cabinets. Definately not cheap but not cheap looking. Also a German enamel bath 1800 x 800 kaldewei saniform bath. They are not that expensive and gorgeously smooth and rounded. If you were going to use a shower you would need the Non slip floor and I don't know how that would feel on the behind! We decided our main bathroom would feature the bath and not have a shower above. This is because our teenagers can spend hours in the bath. Also we have a large shower in our ensuite. I know if they wanted a shower, they would keep using that one as the one above a bath could never be as spacious/ easy to get in and out of.

Kakdewei Puro Duo 1800 x 800. Duravit are also excellent baths.

I am just not sure a very modern grey cabinet goes with the sanded down floor board look. I think white is a much cleaner look. I have a white sink and cupboard under and it is far from cheap. Look at Duravit for inspiration.

Do you have a towel radiator? This helps with towel storage. You can also get a shallow mirrored cupboard above the sink to take all your shower gels, shampoos etc.

We have two wall hung tall cupboards in our en suite bathroom and they are brilliant. They take quite a lot more than the under sink cupboard as there are no drainage pipes either.

Also you can get a loo that sits against the wall that is 400 wise, so why have the big box that makes it 600 wide in your small space? If you had a smaller loo, you could possibly fit in a wall cupboard? Ours from Duravit is 360 deep.

We have the Duravit Seadream L shaped bath. It is the envy of my family and friends as it is so wide the shower area is non splashy and very comfy for a long soak.

We did not like the bath panels so had an aquaboard fitted which was then tiled to match the rest of the bathroom.

www.stylepark.com/en/duravit/seadream