Four Tips For Planning A Stunning Contemporary Bathroom

The bathroom is now so much more than a practical space for our daily ablutions. It is a place where we relax and refresh our bodies and minds, and for many of us, it’s worth investing some time and effort into creating beautiful and contemporary surroundings. Here are some tips for planning your perfect bathroom.

Work out your dimensions

It’s important to measure up accurately before thinking about anything else. The bathroom is often the smallest room in the house, so it’s important to make sure that everything in it has enough clearance to be used safely and comfortably. Any careless errors now could lead to some time consuming and expensive remedial work later on. 

Remember to include everything that will affect the way the fittings and fixtures will be used, including doors, cupboards, windows, vents, sloping ceilings, and so on.

What are your requirements for a bathroom?

A lot of the design of your bathroom will depend on who will be using it. A young family will prioritise space for a bath, whereas more senior people may prefer a walk-in shower or even a wet room for accessibility, or just to future proof the home for later life. 

Space for storage is essential for a family bathroom, whereas a singleton may prefer to use the extra space to install a luxury freestanding roll top bath. Work out your priorities for which features you want most and will fit into the space available.

If you are replacing a dated bathroom suite, remember that contemporary suites are usually more compact than older styles, so you may have more room to play with than you think.

Experiment with layouts

Your layouts may be constrained by the existing plumbing arrangements and electrical fittings. It may be possible to have these altered if you really want a completely different layout, but bear in mind that this may add a considerable amount to the overall cost of the project. However it may be worth the effort to make the best possible use of space.

A well designed contemporary bathroom can add as much as 10% to the overall value of the house, so factor this into the overall cost as well. It may help to draw up your plans on paper, or to make cardboard models of fittings to give you a visual idea of how they will look. 

If you find this stage challenging, you may want to consider employing the services of a professional bathroom designer. 

Decide on colours and styling

Now that you have done the hard work, it is time to move on to the fun part, choosing the overall style and colour scheme of your bathroom. Until recently, the trends have been towards white or muted neutral colours. However recently, bolder shades such as inky blue and sage green have become popular.

There is a wealth of choice when it comes to tiling and flooring, from ceramics in bold geometric patterns, to beautiful natural stone or marble tiling with grey or blue veining.