It’s a classic family dilemma; everyone wants to use the bathroom at the same time in the morning. Tempers fray, cries of: “What are you doing in there?” and much stomping around, exasperated sighs and slamming of doors are frequent accompaniments to the leaving for work/school cacophony.

Instead of letting the situation continue, it’s time to consider installing an en suite bathroom to ease the pressure on the morning ablutions.

Space considerations

It is wise to carefully consider the possible space available to put in an en suite bathroom. As house configurations can differ so much, taking some time to work out the best possible solution for a particular house design will save potentially serious and expensive problems in the future.

Things are much simpler if there is a suitable room adjacent to the bedroom the new bathroom will serve. There may be a box room that would be big enough to take a shower, toilet and basin when knocked through, or a bigger room that may not be in regular use that would make a larger space to include a bath as well. Weighing up the space to decide what will fit will make the design process run smoothly.

If there is no suitable room next to the bedroom, then if space allows it may be possible to partition a larger bedroom, perhaps with a shower instead of a bath, but if the space is big enough then a corner bath could be appropriate.

One vital thing is to establish early on where the current pipework is and how easy it will be to connect up to the en suite bathroom. If it’s on the other side of the house it will add considerably to the plumbing costs. The ideal is to choose a space very close to the current bathroom so it’s easy to run and connect up new pipes for water, heating and drainage.

Interior design

Any new room in a house offers superb opportunities to be creative with the design and the fixtures and fittings, and an en suite bathroom is the perfect chance to expand the imagination and make a stylistic statement to family and friends.

Flooring comes in a huge range of different materials - water-resistant vinyl is a good choice.  It is designed to look like marble, natural stone or wood, and is very easy to clean.

Ceramic tiles can give a real lift to a bathroom floor but can be cold unless under floor heating is fitted. Wooden floors need to be wiped clear of water as soon as possible, but they produce a wonderful finish that speaks of quality.

Sleek, modern designs for showers, baths, basins and toilets are ideal for a smaller area. Eco-friendly showers and toilets are a good choice to cut down on water use and, if space and budget allows, a Jacuzzi will have everyone clamouring to use it! Glass basins are an attractive option to contribute to the modern touch, and a wall-mounted heated towel rail is a useful addition.

In this article, the designers have used shutters in a bathroom in Torquay to divide the bathroom and bedroom. Using room divider shutters as an entrance from the bedroom to the en suite will give privacy and also look stylish in a simply unique way.

by Aimee Claire

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