Your bathroom is the place for 'me time': plan it well

A bathroom is a place that provides relief and rest, and enables one to reconnect with themselves, away from the rest of the world. And a tastefully furnished bathroom offers more than just great me time; creative and vivid décor triggers ecstatic emotions in the brain, making for maximum relaxation.

If, on the other hand, the room is squeezed, stuffy, slimy or has a dull, uninspiring design, these benefits may well be a long shot. While cabin fever is worse than actual illness, being in such an environment leaves you bored, and perhaps even worse off.

Have you ever wondered why most bathrooms tend to be small and generally claustrophobic?

Ms Sylvia Uchi of PD Interiors blames it on poor planning.

“Space planning is a key component of interior design, but which is often overlooked. Despite helping to maintain practical and proportional sizes of all the rooms in a building, it’s regrettable that most architects skip this critical procedure,”  she says.

Architects use CAD (Computer Aided Design) to generate illustrations and drawings of the final structure. This enables designers to perceive the proportions of all the rooms before construction begins.

“Sketches are an exact reflection of the final layout. They offer you the opportunity to execute the necessary adjustments in case of imbalance in the sizes of your rooms,” Ms Uchi offers, adding that   things such as furniture, plumbing features (water closet, wash basin, bathtubs, and bidets) should be included in the drawing to give a clear picture of how much space will remain after all the fittings have been installed.

“However, commercial property always seeks to maximise on the number of units. They, therefore, intentionally downsize some rooms to have more floor space. And the first victim is usually the washroom,” she notes.

Easy movement

Before construction begins, Ms Uchi recommends, a study of the general traffic flow into the bathroom should be conducted during the planning process.

“Naturally after using the water closet, one will have to wash their hands. The position of the wash basin and the water closet must,  herefore, be accurately studied before they are installed,” she says.

Aeration

You must have stepped into a restroom and had your nostrils assailed by an unpleasant smell. The kind of facility where the window, usually a single, tiny opening, is placed so high that it almost touches the ceiling.

“The idea of a pigeonhole for a bathroom window is ancient. With the introduction of various translucent glass and perspex material, it’s possible to install large windows and vents and still achieve privacy,” Ms Uchi says.

“Intermittent extraction is the movement of air at intervals which helps to relieve the space of the mist and stuffiness that occurs after a shower. There are various extractors, automatic and manual, available in the market,” she adds.

Colour and lighting

In case you have a small bathroom, there are imaginative ways to use colour and lighting to make it appear bigger

 “Use light colours which give the illusion of more space. The best option is to have 80 per cent white tiles accentuated with borders of different colours of tiles. Some textures lend your space a Ms Uchi says natural light makes a room appear larger and, therefore, advises that a bathroom be positioned in the outer sections of the building to allow maximum light inside. 

Layout

In most instances, people are tempted to go for smaller plumbing fixtures than the recommended sizes as they seek to have more free space, but Ms Uchi has a different opinion. “Always adhere to building codes and dimension clearances to ensure safety and efficiency,”  she says.

Standalone sinks hog a lot of space, unlike wash basins and wall sinks. “If you need cabinets or vanities, have them directly under the sink. Then, the closer the toilet is to the wall, the less the space is occupied,” she says. Also round toilet bowls with cisterns hidden in the wall as opposed to elongated ones and sinks and toilet cistern fastened to the wall help to free more space.

Plain bathrooms are a common feature, but should this be the case?

 “Absolutely not,” says Ms Uchi. “If you have a penchant for relics, why not bring your collection of  choice to the bathroom? Have whatever boosts your mood in the room. It’s your space.”

Adhering to these measures before building will cushion you from excessive expenses in case you need to refurbish your bathroom in future. Follow these simple tips and they will make taking a bath an enjoyable and relaxing experience.