While bathrooms have, of late, become stylish with architects and interior designers working to combine beauty and utility as desired by clients, careful planning is indispensable in designing them. More so, because bathrooms cannot be altered as frequently as other parts of the house can be refurbished, since plumbing and sanitary facilities are expensive.

Few areas of house calls for greater attention, from an angle of beauty and utility, than the bathroom. Aesthetic appeal and usefulness are of much importance while designing it. Stylish as they are, modern bathrooms are largely seen as a private space to refresh and relax. Architects say the design of a bathroom should be dictated by the needs of its users and available space.

Time was when toilets were located outside the houses. Concepts have also changed with the flooding of advanced sanitary and bathroom fittings in the market. Bathrooms are no longer treated as a less important part of a house. Today, the bathroom is seen as a reflection of its owner's personal taste. Manufacturers of premium-range bathrooms have succeeded in highlighting how it can reflect his or her personality.

Positioning and space utilisation of toilets inside a house require special attention. Unlike other rooms, the toilet has permanent fixtures. An architect should ensure that care is taken to give as much importance to concealed plumbing and sanitary lines as to the designing of the interiors of the bathroom.

Design Tips

Dryness is the most important ingredient that contributes to positive ambience in the washroom. Cleanliness is the other major ingredient here, for which dryness helps. So, try to segregate two areas - a dry area (washbasin and the water closet) and the wet area (the shower) - within your washroom. Plan drops in the floor between dry and wet areas and from the bedroom to the washroom. Wherever possible use a shower cubicle or shower curtain. Length of shower curtain should be up to the level of the drop in the floor.

The minimum area is 35-40 square feet of space, with a minimum width of 5 feet for a good washroom, while a 50-60 square feet space is optimum. For generating a sense of space, locate the washbasin in front of the door and tuck bulkier items like the tub or the shower cubicles towards the interior part of the washroom. The space under the washbasin platform/counter may be used for locating the laundry bin, while the mirror atop the washbasin can be fashioned over a cupboard to house cosmetics and toiletries.

Ventilation

Opt for large windows that can bring in adequate natural light and ventilation allowing you to employ sunlight, heat and air circulation to keep the bathroom dry and odour free. Privacy need not suffer on account of this, if you use curtains, louvers or even Venetian blinds. A few floor mats especially near the basin and shower do wonders for the dry feel and the ambience.

Finishing

For flooring, ceramic tiles or semi-vitrified tiles are by far the best options, what with the almost unlimited range of sizes and design available. However, marble (Indian or Italian) or other natural stones may also be used.

Avoid polished granite or vitrified tiles on the floor as they are very slippery especially when wet. For creating an aesthetic ambience, you could use minimal tiling in the dry areas and substitute it with textured or plain painted surfaces.

Fixtures and fittings

Washbasins may be either a counter or a pedestal type and multiple choices and brands are now available in the market today. Make sure that the tap selected is long enough so that the water falls well into the washbasin.

As for water closets, wall hung closets are ideal for cleanliness and easy maintenance. Choose low water consumption flush tanks and a health faucet for their hygiene value.

Electrical fittings

A mirror light is a must especially when shaving with additional wall lighting for general lighting. A table lamp on a ledge can add ambience.

Opt for waterproof fittings and try to locate the switches including the geyser switch outside the washroom. This may take a little getting used too but is a very good safety practice.

 

Different users

The architects and interior designers call for varied considerations while planning bathrooms for different users: working couple, children and the aged. While safety is an important aspect to be considered while designing and arranging a bathroom for children and the aged, working people, often, prefer the bathroom to be a place to relax and refresh and even to read and listen to music.

The architects and bathroom designers say that sufficient care should be taken while selecting the sanitary fixtures to ensure colour coordination, water-saving, easy-to-clean surface, noise-free flushing, stain-free glaze and smooth contours.

The plumbing consultants add their list of do's and don'ts while setting up a bathroom. For them, plumbing, sanitation and drainage system should be given special care while planning bathrooms. If the system fails, the design meant to give comfort and style is rendered useless. For example, they say, the septic tank and soak pit should be at sufficient depths to allow the smooth gravitational flow of solids and effluents into the tank. The air vents and inspection chambers should be suitably located. Unwanted materials should not be flushed in the water closet, he says, as these will clog the drainage pipes.

Care should also be taken to ensure that soap water does not enter the septic tank. Waste containing excessive detergent or disinfectants should not be led into the septic tank, as they adversely affect anaerobic decomposition.The water and soil piping system should be ventilated for the removal of foul gases. He also calls for care while constructing the septic tank. Construction of a septic tank should be such that direct currents are not established between the inlet and outlet. This is achieved by using submerged pipe-tees or baffle valves near the inlet and outlet ends.

Funky Bath Rooms

Whirlpools, spray jets, steam generators, foot massagers and,  FM radio sets , hands-free telephone receiver  are among the facilities and luxuries that you can have in your bathroom. A multifunctional computer panel helps to set the cubicle lighting. All these come at a price of Rs. 3 lakh, perhaps.

A bath cubicle come in various combinations. It can start with just a tray covered by shower curtains. If curtains do not help to keep the bath dry, perhaps, you can go in for a simple cubicle.

The cost of a cubicle depends on the kind of shower panel you choose. There are shower panels providing options for rain and hand shower, the number of spray jets and other features. As the number of features increase, so does the cost.

Earlier, having a bathtub was an indication of luxury. Now it is the combination of bathtub, cubicle and sauna that makes up a luxury bathroom. A cubicle with a sauna attached again costs around Rs. 2 lakh. While the domestic sanitary-ware products provide the latest designs and features, the demand for imported stuff continues. Many companies try to enter the highly competitive field here. The domestic manufacturers, in tie-ups with foreign sanitary-ware makers, make available some of the products — Italian, for instance, some of which have a designer label too. Some of the top American and other European manufacturers have a few of their production houses in China, which produces some of the most popular pieces in bathroom ware. Water closets have undergone a lot of changes over the years — the most important being the hygienic water outlet. All the modern gadgets are designed for hygienic use. It leaves you happy with not much of a bother of cleaning up the mess with water splashed on the walls and so on. An important item that needs mention here is a pressure pump that helps to provide water through spray jets at the required pressure. In a high-rise building, such a pump will not be needed for the lower floors as the gravitational force would provide enough pressure. However, apartments high up will need pressure pumps if spray jets need to work.

Changing designs

Washbasin designs have gone a change over several times and the companies are making products to suit almost every room. There are large, grand washbasin tops, smaller and sleeker ones and those with shelves and without shelves. Of course, the shape of the basin is constantly changing to suit different styles. The experiment goes on in having shapes such as round, square, boat-like and salad-bowl-type. There are tabletop basins or the ones fixed to walls or with steel stands that provide a towel bar or one on a tripod stand.

Glass bowl washbasins are the most in demand. So much so that people have to wait for the dealer to procure and deliver them. While some prefer the plain glass type, there are other colourful varieties.

One can fix it as a decorative piece of bowl in the dining room as well.

Among one of the options for a urinal, there is one with a sensor that gives a second’s flush just as you stand in front of it and flushes again when you move away from it. Public places such as airports in foreign countries make use of such urinals.

The user does not have to touch any knob to flush.

Among the water closets, there are those built in one piece — both the seat and the water tank fitted with twin flush option. It also has a completely concealed s-trap (waste pipe). Among some of the imported varieties, there are the soft closing seat covers too. Sanitary-ware manufacturers have come out with some designer bathroom accessories.

There are options to pick four to six pieces such as soap/lotion dispenser, soap dish, toothbrush holder, tumbler, toilet brush holder and a tray.