Bathrooms are one of the largest investments in a home when building or renovating and designed well will add much more than their equivalent value. Here are 5 key steps to ensure you maximize your return on your investment:
1. Form Follows Function
Equal consideration needs to be given to what you would like your bathroom to do functionally, as well as how you would like it to look, as a good design outcome must exhibit both creativity and functionality. However, starting the process by writing yourself a checklist of all your functional requirements is the best way to start, as there is always many design solutions but if locked in too early, may compromise functionality. For example what do you need to store, what grooming appliances do you use, how many people use the bathroom at the same time? There is no point spending money on a beautiful new bathroom if you still have the same old storage problems, so give some thought to your projects requirements before moving onto your aesthetics.
2.Planning Your Layout
Once you have a checklist of your functional requirements and some conceptual ideas, start to begin planning your layout. Bathrooms need to be very well planned, as there is a lot going on in a relatively small footprint. So before you rush out to purchase a freestanding bath that you have fallen in love with, you need to survey your available space to determine what will fit (especially if you are considering installing a bath!). So start with a quick survey of your available space and block it out with the approximate sizes of each item from your checklist and minimum circulation clearances you require for each of these elements. It does not matter how pretty it is, but make sure it is to scale!
3.Planning Your Services
Planning of your services is a very important part of the design process, if you wish for your bathroom to be built on-time and within budget early provision is the key factor. Service inclusions are elements such as ventilation, heating, lighting and electrical. The location and specification of these elements must be well documented. Some key points to consider:
- Natural & Mechanical Ventilation: Ideally your bathroom will have both natural and mechanical ventilation, to assist with eliminating moisture build-up. Try to give your bathroom that extra designer touch with a great view for natural ventilation but keep mechanical ventilation discreet.
