BATHROOM PLANNING

"Combining function and beauty effortlessly in your bathroom design will ensure the optimal result..."

The bathroom is one of the busiest rooms in the house and one of the most complex rooms and expensive rooms to renovate. Planning is essential to ensuring that your bathroom or ensuite is not only practical and functional but relaxing and comfortable. Combining function and beauty effortlessly in your bathroom design will ensure the optimum result and create a space that indulges your mind, body and soul.

Bathroom design and renovation is a specialist field and there is no doubt that it requires calling in the experts for both design and installation. To assist you in preparing yourself for a design consultation we have prepared the following points for your consideration:

Budget:

How much will my new bathroom cost? Apart from the kitchen, the bathroom is the most expensive room in the home to renovate. In addition to requiring permanent fixtures and fittings, bathrooms require a minimum of five different specialist trades to ensure it all comes together: Plumber, electrician, water proofer, carpenter, floor and wall tiler.

Today's consumers have plenty of choices when it comes to fittings, fixtures and finishes for their bathrooms and this means almost every budget can be accommodated. A variety of factors will affect your final budget including:

Size of roomAddition or extension that requires structural workType of tiles chosen, such as ceramic or marbleExtent of tiling (Floor to the ceiling or only skirting and wet area)Choice of fittings Choice of fixturesChoice of vanity units (size, custom, stone benchtops)Choice of finishes and look, such as hidden cistern systemsExtent of plumbing works Extent of electrical works

Setting the budget?

Setting the budget is the first item that should be addressed when planning a new bathroom or bathroom renovation. This will act as a guide throughout the selection process and will ensure your designer is able to maximize your budget.

Functional Requirements:

It is important to consider how you will use the bathroom on a daily basis.

What is the main reason you want to renovate? Are you looking for more space or perhaps a more functional floor plan? Do you just want a new look and modern fixtures? Perhaps there are issues with leaks or hazards you need to address?

Who uses the bathroom? This information is useful when establishing your specific functional requirements and determines what kind of features and materials you may need to incorporate. For example a child's bathroom will have different needs to a couple's ensuite.

What are the user's special requirements? Consider the user's specific needs in that room e.g. do you require extra storage due to the number of the users? Or do you need a separate toilet due to privacy issues? Or perhaps the shower in the bathtub will make it difficult for an elderly member of the family to hop in and out?

Look and Feel:

Equally important to consider is how you want your bathroom to look and feel. The bathroom interior should reflect your taste and general style of the home.

What style is your home? It is important that the look of your bathroom complements the rest of the home as this will ensure continuity as your move from one space to another, so think about the style of your home.

What styles and colours do you like? Think about your personal style – what you like and love – and ensure this incorporated into the design. Draw inspiration from magazines, websites, articles and collect pictures, notes or articles on things you like or that interest you.

Compile a wish list? List all the things you would like to have included in your new bathroom...

Remember it's the responsibility of the designer to deliver a bathroom design that reflects your personal style and taste as well as your individual and family's functional requirements. Therefore there is no need to go to great in an effort to gather this information. It's simply a starting point.