Stylish kitchens: Design style, space and flooring

ABOVE (click on gallery image to view larger picture): This bathroom was originally two seperate rooms. Read more about this renovated bathroom…

If you’re thinking of updating or remodelling your space, follow the expert advice of Real Homes’ Editor-in-Chief and experienced renovator Michael Holmes.

You don’t necessarily need to make your bathroom any larger to create the look you want – the key is good layout design. Create a scale floorplan on squared paper with scale cut-outs for the bath, WC, basin and shower tray to explore different layouts. You can download a free planner and scale templates for sanitaryware from armitage-shanks.co.uk. Free CAD software is also available from several sanitaryware manufacturers – Villeroy & Boch offers a free online design tool (villeroy-boch.com).

Planning permission isn’t required to alter the layout, but any changes to the plumbing or electrics or structural alterations or additions must comply with the Building Regulations. The regulations also require ventilation in a bathroom, typically in the form of an extractor fan. For details of the regulations, visit planningportal.co.uk.

Don’t try to fit too much into a new layout. Minimum practical distances either side of a WC or basin are 40-45cm from the centre line, plus you need at least 50-60cm clear space in front. A shower cubicle must be at least 80cm wide for comfort. A standard bath measures 70x160cm and needs at least 40cm space in front of it for ease of access. Together with the space for access, the door should open outwards or be able to swing in freely without obstacles.

Consider the plumbing

Make sure you match the shower and tap fittings to the water pressure in your home. Modern mixer taps and showers require good water pressure of 3 bar and a plentiful supply of hot water. Gravity-fed systems (with header tank) need a pump to achieve good pressure, as they provide 1 bar or less. Combi boilers must have an output of at least nine litres of hot water per minute for a good shower and larger showerheads need up to 20 litres per minute at 3 bar of pressure, so a mains pressure hot water cylinder is the best option to achieve this.

Updating hot and cold plumbing to suit a new layout is unlikely to be a challenge, as pipes can be run between or notched over the floor joists to any point and concealed within the floor void.

Changing the position of or putting in waste and soil pipes can be more complicated, although you can often run the pipes within the floor void between the joists, but only if they run in the right direction and there is sufficient fall for the waste to flow away. Where this is not possible you can conceal pipework by boxing it in against the walls. An alternative is to raise the floor level to create space for the plumbing. The latter solution is often necessary where a walk-in shower tray is to be fitted, as a waste trap is below floor level. A raised floor can be made into an attractive feature, but avoid too many changes in level and make sure a good ceiling height is retained.

For a walk-in shower on a timber joisted floor, it is always worth using a pre-formed tray (e.g. Wedi, Marmox or Impey) with a sealed sub-floor trap that can be completely waterproofed. As well as waterproofing the shower enclosure walls, the entire bathroom floor should be tanked and the tanking dressed up the walls by 10-15cm, so any water that escapes from the shower has nowhere to go except down the waste.

Small bathroom layouts

Use space-efficient bathroom fittings if space is limited. A space-saving bath can be as small as 120x69cm. For bath shape ideas, visit qssupplies.co.uk. In a small bathroom, a shower may be more practical than a bath – a (W)170x(D)80cm walk-in tray surrounded by tanked and tiled walls to three sides, with a 110cm fixed frameless screen can replace the same space occupied by a standard bath.

Where space is tight, a concealed cistern can reduce the projection of a WC by 15-20cm if the cistern is within a stud wall. A corner WC and basin can also reduce the projection to free up space.

Large bathroom layouts

A spa bath adds luxury, especially with jet and whirlpool features, or choose a freestanding design such as a roll-top, but it needs space around it to make the most of it.

Freestanding island walls, built using steel studwork (Grohe, Geberit or Livinghouse) and waterproof tile backing board can create interesting designs. An informal screen wall can be used with a wall-mounted basin and mirror on one side, and a semi-enclosed cubicle area to the other, either for a walk-in shower, or a discreet WC. Walls for a shower enclosure can be formed using building board such as Wedi, or Marmox in widths up to 10cm. Curved and flexible patterns are available for creating interesting shower enclosures, like the Fundo Spiral from Wedi.

The right lighting

Plenty of strong ambient lighting is essential, but consider adding task and mood lighting to create atmosphere.

Recess spotlights are a great choice for ambient lighting in modern bathrooms, with discreet floor or wall-mounted washes or baffled lights behind mirrors or under units for atmosphere. LED lights are a good idea too, but it’s best not to mix LED and incandescent lights as the shades of white can clash with each other.

For traditional bathrooms, choose fixed ceiling lights with wall washes and sconces for atmosphere – you could include a chandelier too if you want an opulent look. All electrics must comply with Building Regulations Part P. Each circuit should be controlled independently, ideally with dimmer switches so you can adjust the mood.

Good heating

Underfloor heating (UFH) is ideal for a bathroom – electric UFH mats can be laid below wooden flooring or tiles and are inexpensive. The floor area in a small bathroom may not be sufficient to use UFH on its own, so it will need to be backed up by a radiator or a heated towel rail.