The Australian bathroom has come a long way from the floral tiles and deco style that spruced up the utilitarian bathroom of the fifties. Now, with features such as open double showers, beautiful composite finishes, space age toilets and exotic (even alloy) tiles, bathrooms can, for not too much money, appear luxuriant and stylish.

Designing your Australian bathroom: the basics

Does the bathroom needs a re-design?

What to do with a bathroom really depends on how much the bathroom is used. An entire family using one bathroom warrants more upgrade and facilities (like double showers, basins) than a one person bathroom. See DIY home design for an example on design considerations when designing a bathroom or an entire house.

The first question to ask is whether the bathroom needs a re-design. Careful re-design can make a bathroom more spacious, provide more storage and be user friendly however changing the configuration costs money because it usually means new plumbing, and possibly alteration to wall construction, windows and doors. If the room doesn't benefit from reconfiguration there is no point in a full renovation.

If your bathroom is to incorporate laundry facilities, it may require additional power and plumbing outlets. Also, consider a skylight if the bathroom is dark or positioned away from northern or eastern sun.

Designing Tools

To see whether your DIY bathroom should be reconfigured to make it more practical, you can buy one of the many simple computer programs for creating house plans and play with different layouts. Alternatively, download our cutouts file (1:100 scale) and place them on a scaled drawing of your bathroom plan and play with your bathroom layout options. Once done, draw up elevations with wall dimensions and positions of existing windows and doors etc.

Designing your Australian bathroom: the specifics

Whether you do a complete renovation to your Australian bathroom, or just a make over, there are many considerations when making design decisions. The following offers some general points but you will need to devote plenty of time to researching PC item for both appearance and suitability.

Ventilation

Building codes don't require bathrooms to have a window, but natural ventilation is best. Placing your windows near the ceiling will free up wall space for your storage needs. A big operable window out onto a garden is always a nice touch.

If you have to rely on an extractor fan for ventilation, make sure it ducts outside the house rather than into a ceiling cavity, and place the noisy fan as far away as possible from the air intake. (Don't forget to have a power point installed for it.)

Doors

Make sure your shower screens, bathroom and toilet doors comply with minimum door clearances for bathrooms. (If the door into bathroom opens inwards, it must be no closer than 1400mm from open position to the toilet seat edge. Otherwise the door will need to be specially hinged to allow vertical removal (so that if someone collapses the door can still be opened).

Doors opening out are ergonomically and visual uncomfortable but are an option if clearances are not obtainable.

Sliding doors, especially when hidden in an in-wall cavity take up less space than a hinged door. However a hinge (solid core) door is usually more sound proof If you are using a hinged door, don't clutter your walls with towel racks. Hang them on the back of the door instead.

Colour

Walls, floors and cabinetry from light colours (pastel tones, neutrals or whites) will make a room feel larger.

Only ever use three (complimentary) colours in any room. If the room is small use two. Also think about how your colours will work with those in adjacent rooms because at door thresholds, both rooms will be seen at once.

See our design tips page for more tips on colour.

Cabinetry

• Floating cubboards: When the entire floor is visible there is a great feeling of space. Cabinetry is best floated- raised off the floor with thin steel legs or screwed firmly off the wall.
• Reducing angles: While storage is essential in a bathroom, cabinetry is best hidden or blended into walls to create a clean look and of space. As much as possible make cabinetry recessed, flush with corners or to reduce the number of angles. The vanity mirror offers a perfect place to conceal a narrow cupboard. Keep the cabinetry simple with clean edges and avoid using too much timber which will make it look heavy.
• Simplicity: Unless you want a rustic or old fashioned look, avoid painted timber especially with busy decorative and relief design. Cabinetry like this dates a bathroom. While cabinetry should be as discrete as possible, it is also very useful to have some simple exposed shelving near basins, bath, and shower.

Tiling & walls

• Tile size: Larger tiles create a greater sense of space than small tiles. This is an important consideration in a small bathroom. However they are harder for tilers because they require more precise cutting and laying to accommodate angles and drainage holes. Wall tiles that extend to the ceiling can make a small bathroom feel larger by drawing the eye upwardsIf you use a mix of tiles, (of similar tone) lay the larger on the floor and the smaller higher up the wall, or use very small tiles as a mosaic or border.
  
  
• Grouting lines: Try and keep the grouting lines of tiles lining up with walls and other angles. The less lines, the less busy and more spacious the bathroom will feel. If you use two different sized tiles makes sure that the smaller ones are half the size of the larger, so the grout lines can match up. Rectified porcelain tiles are identically-shaped and allow narrower and less obvious grout lines to be used. This also helps create a sense of space.
  
  
• Tile design: Tiles go out of fashion very quickly so if you want your bathroom to appear classic and dateless use plain white tiles on all surfaces. Avoid heavily patterned and floral tiles. They signal no style.
  
  

Designing your Australian bathroom: selecting PC items

(Note: See our bathroom cost calculator for a complete set of PC items and a rough costing.)

Showers

The shower is both a place to wash and a place to relax and pamper yourself. You might consider showers with multiple heads to create a spa like wash, horizontal arms, extension hoses and double showers for couples.

Frameless shower screens and clear glass create a greater feeling of space. Avoid shower with designs on them - they date the room and reduce the feeling of space. Try to include a set down of 10mm into the shower floor to control water.

Basin & tubs

While many wash basins are internally rounded, if their outside shape is geometrically square they will look better in square edged cabinetry.

Freestanding or pedestal wash basin are great for bathrooms with little space but they offer no possibility for cabinet storage (try a bank mirror cabinets to compensate).

Acrylic bathtubs are cheaper and warmer to the touch compared to cast-steel tubs (that can chip easily revealing dark cast steel underneath) but they can scratch easily - repair is simple with "wet & dry" sandpaper - unlike steel that will need professional renovation. If you want a bath tub and space is limited, find one that is small but deep and center a modern ceiling mounted shower head over.

Your bathroom will age better if you pick classic PC items such as a plain white free standing bath and pedestal basin.

Floor structure

The type of floor structure can vary depending on bathroom plan, PC items and their locations.

If you have a tiled bath surround (tiled hob) the hob will need to be supported by a masonry structure. If a brick hob structure is used the weight of materials will warrant a concrete slab floor structure but if a hebel hob is used it can be supported by a timber framed floor - the lighter the hob structure the less solid the floor structure underneath will need to be to support it. Concrete slabs offer no better waterproofing base than timber floor structures - it usually comes down to material preference and budget.

Toilets

Toilets can be :

• Wall mounted
• Floor mounted
• Built in or separate hide in wall cavities.

Where possible the last option is best when space is limited but don't forget access for repairs. Make sure the builder or contractors know the configuration of your toilet earlier in the renovation process. (Wall mounted toilets may require wall reinforcement). Placing the toilet in an alcove will also save space. A shelf above the toilet may also be a handy.

Taps

There is a huge array of taps and bathroom accessories available. Styles vary according to taste, budget and function. The all-in-one, single tap appeals to many for its easy use and streamlined appearance. Similarly there is a huge array of shower heads, many with adjustable nozzles and with sliding rails or extension hoses.

Make sure that the placement of a tap is not directly over the sink waste, otherwise the water will never swirl around the basin and it will drive you nuts. If the base of the basin is flat, ensure that it slopes a little towards the drain hole so that water will readily drain out. If it dosen't this will also drive you nuts. And avoid gold taps- they have cheap and nasty connotations.

The Australian Government has implemented important new water-efficient plumbing guidelines. Check for details.

Designing a bathroom can be a highly satisfying and rewarding experience. While there may be one best way for practical matters (like the layout of a bathroom), there is often no best way to resolve aesthetic choices, like the best shape for a tap, or the best colour for walls. More than one shape or selection of colours might work. Aesthetic decisions are subjective and for that reason not everyone will agree with you. But part of designing your bathroom, or your home. The decisions you make are a reflection of you and your taste.