5 steps to design your dream bathroom

Designing your bathroom is not just about choosing fixtures and tiles; it’s about creating a space that reflects your style, meets your needs as a household, and provides a sanctuary for self care and relaxation. In this article, we’ll walk you through the essential steps to help you design a bathroom that combines functionality with aesthetics.

Step 1: Explore your vision

As a first step, it’s essential to establish what you want to gain from the room. What do you have currently that works well and what would you like to add to the space? Do you want more storage or do you want to make the room feel as big as possible? Do you want a space that’s easier to keep clean with a busy work or family life? 

This step is where you need to be as creative as possible and envision your dream bathroom. What sort of style would it be? How would it make you feel? For example, would you sacrifice storage space in favour of a more minimalist look? Would you prefer to focus on a unique design and style or practicality? 

Take time to consider what would be best for your home. 

Step 2: Find the layout

Many bathrooms are at the mercy of soil pipework so sometimes in this step compromise is needed. For example, you will need to design the room around the toilet. At this point you need to establish whether you need an open back or a fully back to wall toilet. Can you change the location of your toilet? Do you also have space for a concealed cistern should you want a wall hung or Back To Wall WC? More often than not, the toilet either can’t be moved or you’re limited as to where you can put it, so the final layout of the room is at the mercy of the toilet location.

It’s also important to consider other aspects of the layout such as, if you’re adding an enclosed shower, where will this go? Would you prefer a freestanding bath? Do you want a shower enclosure that’s separate to the bath? Is there space for a double vanity unit? You also need to ensure that there’s enough space for your heated towel rail/radiator.

Once you’ve explored all of the options, you can see how your original vision and dream will work with the layout you have available.

Step 3: Choose your style

When it comes to bathrooms, there are a variety of styles and designs depending on the aesthetic of your home and your personal preferences. Do you want a classic and traditional bathroom or would you opt for a more modern and contemporary look? 

What would your dominant colour be? Would you choose classic neutrals or perhaps prefer a feature colour? What colour brassware will you choose? 

Explore our latest blog on the design trends of 2023 for some inspiration!

Step 4: Consider the materials

When designing your bathroom there are four key elements to keep in mind, flooring, heating, ceiling and lighting. 

Flooring

Flooring is one of the most, if not the most, important features of your bathroom. You need to consider if you would want a darker wood style flooring for the warm and cosy aesthetic or lighter flooring for a more open and bright space.

Vinyl flooring is becoming more popular in bathrooms, it offers a warm and comfortable solution and is also a sustainable and easy to maintain option. Our luxury vinyl flooring provides a luxury style at a fraction of the cost of hardwood flooring. It is also easy to install and comes in a variety of finishes to compliment any design you’ve chosen for your room. Explore our luxury vinyl flooring.

Heating

A well designed bathroom will always have sufficient heating, no one wants to step out of a warm bath into the cold! To ensure that you achieve this, you must work out the British Thermal Units (BTUs) of your room so you can install a heated towel rail/radiator that will give you sufficient heat output for your space. You can work this out using the following; width x length x height of the room x 50. Our expert team can help with this. 

Ceiling

It is also important to consider what materials you want for your ceiling. If ease of clean is your priority, then a PVC cladding is a fantastic option. It also creates a clean and modern look. However, if mould or moisture doesn’t readily settle in your room, then a skimmed and painted ceiling can work in both a modern and traditional bathroom.

Lighting

It is important to ensure your bathroom is well lit and that the lighting complements the style of the space. If you’re going down the more traditional route, then a featured centre ceiling light may be a better option than spotlights. Spotlights or downlights are a cleaner, more minimalistic look, which certainly caters more to the modern aesthetic. You can also achieve really impactful lighting through illuminated mirrors and with sensors hidden in a vanity unit underneath your washbasin.

Step 5: Work with the experts

It seems like there is a lot to consider here, but luckily for you our expert team designs bathrooms every day! We will work with you every step of the way to find the perfect layout, design and materials for your home.

Get in touch with us today and let’s discuss how we can create your perfect relaxation haven!