Bathroom Design Ideas

The bathroom is the place where we go to relax, to forget the travails of modern society, an oasis of calm in a frenetic, confusing world.

Unfortunately, especially for those with children, it is also a potential safety hazard.

Small children love to run around, anywhere and at all times. This is as true in the bathroom as it is in the kitchen. Thinking of this, you may well decide to remove the glass toothbrush holder and your favourite glass knick-knacks from the shelf and side of the sink. Ceramic soap dishes are also something you may well choose to throw out.

Why children are so fascinated by keys is one of life’s mysteries. Having the key in the lock, inside the bathroom door, is courting disaster. If it is not swallowed, it will be turned, leaving the child either choking or cheerfully running a bath to splash around in; with you on the outside.

Bathroom floors, for fairly obvious reasons, tend to be wet, which means slippery. Ceramic tiles are a particular concern, turning into a skating rink after every bath time. Rubberised bath mats, strategically scattered over the floor is a good idea.

If a child does manage to turn on a tap, it will be the hot one, so regulate the temperature on the boiler. This may be a nuisance, but will cut down on potential scalding.

Finally, we come to hairdryers. You may be running late for an appointment, having to quickly style your hair in front of the bathroom mirror, become distracted and leave the hairdryer on the side of the sink. Result – disaster.

Many accidents happen in the bathroom due to the proximity of water and electricity. If you have elderly family members or children, then you need to ensure that your bathroom is as safe as possible. Using bathmats will prevent people from slipping when stepping out of the bath and grab-rails should be installed to assist disabled or elderly people.

If there are electric appliances in the bathroom, they should be kept well away from water. If you enjoy listening to music whilst taking a bath, be sure to place the radio as far away from the bath as possible, so that it does not come into contact with water. If you have a plug just outside the bathroom door, use that for your radio rather than one inside the bathroom, in order to avoid getting the plug wet.

If you are not experienced at installing lights or heaters, have the job done professionally, so that everything will be wired-up safely. It may also be a good idea to avoid having electric heaters in the bathroom at all. Use pull cords for lights as opposed to light switches, so if you have any light switches in the room, remove them and have a pull cord fitted instead.

Whilst glass objects, such as shelves or screens look good, they may not be safe, especially if you have small children running around. Medicine cabinets should also be locked or placed high up, to prevent easy access to bottles or tablets.

Water can get very hot, so it is important that adults should be in charge of running baths for children and should remain with them at all times.

Many people like to have a rug in the bathroom, particularly if they have a tiled floor, because they feel it gives a feeling of warmth that tiles alone don’t provide. However, it is worth bearing in mind that any rug used in the bathroom should be safe for purpose and the risk of slipping on it should be assessed prior to purchase.

The best type of rug to buy is one that has been designed specifically for use in a bathroom. These are manufactured and crafted in such a way that they will resist the dampness that is created in a bathroom and will be long lasting. This is important because when the fibres in the rug are worn the risk of slipping increases. These products are also woven in such a way that they will dry quickly, so you won’t have to stand on a wet rug.

Mats made from chenille or cotton are the most popular types of bathroom rugs and they are quite durable. You should try to secure the rug so that it cannot slip on the floor, particularly if you have a very large bathroom.

Rugs are also available in other materials, such as bamboo and whilst these will not offer the same comfy feeling to your feet, they can look very stylish. 

If you do buy a standard rug for use in the bathroom, remember that the thicker it is, the longer it will take to dry out. 

Fitting a bath mat inside your bath or shower, to prevent you from slipping, may not seem very appealing to anyone who is concerned with their bathroom looking very chic and stylish. Yet the humble bath mat has evolved in terms of design and now you can have something that is stylish, but with the slip resistant qualities afforded by the traditional bath mat.

Due to the combination of water and soap, the floor of your bath or shower can very easily become slippery, but the risk is increased if you also use sensual oils or luxurious bath/shower products. It is always better to be safe than sorry, since any knock or fall can be quite dangerous, particularly in the confined space of a bath or shower.

To avoid these potentially dangerous situations, you can now fit an anti slip bathmat with suction grips that will keep it stuck to the floor and which will prevent you from slipping. Mats are available in frosted glass style, with little ‘bubbles’ blown in or wooden type slat ‘bath ducks’ that look extremely stylish in a very modern, minimalist bathroom. In a more traditional bathroom, it would perhaps, be more appropriate to fit the older style of bath mat, perhaps a clear mat or something quite plain.

Whichever style you choose, you can then add another, matching mat, for you to stand on when you get out of the bath or shower, so once again, you have a look that is harmonious and exudes understated chic.

Having a bathroom that is child friendly makes obvious sense. Children will invariably find all sorts of things to knock their heads on and whilst you don’t want to wrap your little one in cotton wool, you do want to make sure that your bathroom is as safe as it can be.

First of all you should make sure that none of your countertops, surfaces and vanity units, have very sharp angles. If they do, can you replace them or at least position them so the risk of a child knocking into them is minimised.

Next you need to think about dealing with clutter in the bathroom. Children’s toys are a great way to make bath time fun and ensure your bathroom is child friendly, but toys left on the floor pose a real risk to everyone, since it is easy to slip on one and lose your balance. Therefore, after every bath, toys should be tidied away in either a toy box or bag so that you know the floor is safe.

Bathroom rugs should be securely fastened in place or your child may be tempted to slide across the floor on it. This may be fun until they bang into something and hurt themselves.

Taps should be fitted with a thermostatic valve so that the water is never hot enough to scald a child. Whilst you may assume that the taps are too high for children to reach, they do have an amazing capacity to reach the unreachable, especially if they are in the mood to explore, so err on the side of caution.