Separate Toilet and Bathroom

With open plan layouts all the rage in interiors, is there a place for a separate toilet and bathroom in your house? Or should a separate toilet and bathroom always be combined for a lighter, airier bathroom? What are the issues and how you can decide what to do in your house?

As with many decisions that need to be taken when you are revamping or renovating a house, there’s no right or wrong answer. The solution will differ depending on how the house is used, how your family live in it as well as the practical aspects. So it really comes down to assessing how your family lives and making the decision that’s right for you.

What Will a Modern Property Have?

So what is the trend in modern houses then? It has to be said that few modern houses have separate toilets and bathrooms. You’ll still find a cloakroom downstairs, if there’s space, but the bathrooms will nearly always be in one room with the bath, sink, shower (if there is one) and toilet all in one room.

So does that mean that developers have decided that an all-in-one bathroom is the best options? Or does it just mean that they can save money another wall, another door, frame and furniture and another window?

Should you Convert?

Assuming you have an older property with a split bathroom and toilet at the moment the temptation to convert them to one larger space is hard to resist. And why should you resist? You’ll get more floor space and often a second window in the new bathroom.

But don’t underestimate the usefulness of walls. They are really handy for mounting radiators, carrying cables and pipes and mounting sinks too, let alone putting pictures, mirrors and shelves up.

Layout Options

Take a good look at the layout before you take the plunge and make sure the new bathroom will have the right proportions. Which door will you keep, the bathroom door or the toilet door? And can you close off the redundant door without making the landing layout look messy?

Should you keep each window separate or take them both out and install a new, larger window? Blocking one window up is an option but then rather spoils the idea of increasing the light in the room. It’s expensive to move bathroom fittings, toilets in particular.

One major aspect is that the separate toilet may be beneficial to you, particularly if it has a basin as well. If you have growing children in the family then at least one person can be using the toilet or cleaning their teeth while the bathroom is occupied, making the morning routine easier to cope with.. This is a particular problem as children get older, into their teenage years, and start spending more time in the bathroom.

Activities that Generate Aromas

There’s just one other aspect that’s worth considering, although it is a little delicate. Many people have converted the downstairs of their property into a modern open plan area only to realise that the cooking smells permeate the whole room.

Well, there’s a similar problem with a combined bathroom and toilet, in that the smells from some activities can render a bathroom almost unusable for long periods. Take a look round at you family members – maybe keeping a separate room in the property for those activities could be a blessing for the rest of the family?