Design with family in mind

When designing a family bathroom there are many elements that have been developing over the past decade. The room must be practical and child friendly but it need not be like a ‘Disney’ theme park. You can still maintain the feel of an adult room and therefore the value of the room and the house for resale purposes.

Thermostatic shower valves are of course a must and maximum coverage of water resistant, easy wipe, surfaces are important too. These surfaces can make the bathroom look larger if you use large format tiles or glass splashbacks and in addition the room should look more attractive as a result.

Double basins are a big trend of late. These can be quite practical for kids and are also very attractive to potential buyers if you have the space. Storage around the basin is a must to avoid having all of the many bathroom toiletries we use being strewn on top of the surfaces. To this end, under basin drawers, slimline wall cabinets and recesses in the showering and bathing areas all contribute to both the look and the practicality of the family room!

The latest furniture mostly comes with soft close runners and hinges and these are well worth the investment to prevent little fingers from being trapped and to stop the more excitable of young people from slamming doors and drawers.

The latest quick release pins on many of the seats allow for very easy cleaning around the usually hard to reach hinges of the seat. The trend toward soft close and quick release toilet seats is also a family friendly move. Soft closing hydraulic hinges prevent toilet seats smashing as they are dropped and stop body parts being trapped by the falling seat- it’s surprising how many people are involved in toilet related accidents, on average 40,000 Americans are injured each year!

A large bath is sumptuous for adults but also excellent for bathing children especially with central taps or bath overflow fillers so that there are no nasty head bumps at either end when bathing. This ‘double ended’ bath look has become very popular of late and therefore is a good feature from a resale point of view.