A little planning along with a
thoughtful selection of fittings and fixtures can make a big difference.
It's one of the first rooms we see in the morning and one of the last rooms
we see at night. It's certainly among the most private rooms in the house,
and the finishes, fixtures and mechanical equipment required by even a
simple bathroom place it among the most expensive real estate in the house.
Given the intimate nature of bathrooms and the frequency with which they are
used, I think their design and detailing should also impart a measure of
emotional well-being to their users. In this spirit, I offer ten suggestions
for making a good bathroom that can enhance some of your everyday
experiences.
Except for the so-called master bath,
most bathrooms serve several users and need to be placed in a location
central to these users, usually halfway between the private parts of the
house and the more public parts. Don't have a bathroom with multiple-door
access.
Instead, create an entrance with a space outside the door -- maybe an alcove
off the hallway that gives some privacy from the main rooms or circulation
area and with a little room inside the door before reaching the bathroom
fixtures.
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Even a small entry transition, such as this
3-ft. square space just inside the door, changes the feel of the room.
Separate alcoves for different functions around a central space give a
bathroom a room like quality.
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Too many bathrooms are simply hallways
with the fixtures lining one side of the hall. It is hard to make a pleasant
room of that shape. First, a good room is roughly square or rectangular with
length-to-width proportions not exceeding 2:1. In almost every good room,
there is a clear central space, a center with smaller spaces like alcoves
around the edges. A bathroom can be designed using these principles in
miniature. There can easily be a central space that contains the entry, with
some elbow room for washing and drying off and with alcoves around the edges
for the toilet, the shower or the tub.
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Room like proportions add a calming
touch. A bathtub alcove such as this one creates a sense of place that
just can't be achieved in a bath that resembles a hallway. |
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Natural light and a view to the
outside are important in the bathroom. Our first understanding of the
weather and the general look of the day comes in the window. Ideally,
windows are on at least two sides of the room to provide even daylight.
If privacy is an issue, make multiple windows face a courtyard garden,
perhaps with an outdoor shower. If you have room for only one window, place
it where it illuminates the portion of the room that you see when you enter.
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For ventilation and a glimpse of
the world at first light, a good window is a must in a bathroom. Try to
place it in a position that you walk toward. |
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From the least intimate places to the most
intimate places.
Another principle that applies to
residential design in general and to the bathroom in miniature is "the
intimacy gradient." Just as you locate the bedrooms the farthest from the
front door, you should locate the most private part of the bathroom the
greatest distance from the entry to the room. The most private part varies
from family to family, with the toilet being the most private for some and
the bath for others.
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The most intimate portions of a bathroom should
be farthest from the door. In a small bath such as this one,
compartments with doors do the trick.
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In a small space such as a bathroom,
it is difficult to get a direct view to the outside from each space. But it
is possible to borrow the view across another space or another fixture. A
shower is a good example. It needs to be enclosed with water-resistant
materials. So a window in a shower with an exterior wall, particularly a
beautiful wood window, is not an ideal candidate for part of a shower
enclosure. There are a number of positions that the shower can take in the
bathroom that will allow for a good view through a clear-glass shower door.
Pay attention to vertical and horizontal
dimensions
Certain minimum clearances around
bathroom fixtures are required by every building code. My own experience is
that you need about 36 in. of elbow room at the lavatory to use it
comfortably. Its counter is typically between 31 in. and 34 in. high. The
rule: You want the water to run off your wrists, not your elbows. A
double-lavatory arrangement is mostly ornamental unless it has 6 ft. of
counter space.
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Diagonal sight lines enlarge a bathroom. As seen
from the shower, views across the tub and into the lavatory portion of
this bathroom foster a sense of spaciousness.
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Common
heights of bathroom fixtures and fittings above the floor
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Shower head
Shower rod
Soap holder
Towel bars
Toothbrush
holder
Toilet-paper holder
Tub-deck height |
6 ft. 7 in.
6 ft. 6 in.
48 in.
48 in.
48 in.
24 in.
18 in.
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A toilet compartment is tight at the code minimum
of 30 in., about right at 36 in. and a waste of space after that. In fact,
after 40 in., you lose touch with the walls on each side and the sense of
enclosure they provide. Although the minimum dimension for a shower stall is
30 in., it must also have no less than 1,024 sq. in. of finished interior
area. This amount is really minimal, and I wouldn't recommend less than 36
in. square, or a 30-in. by 48-in. rectangular shower if you can find the
room.
The standard length for a tub is 60 in., and many are 66 in. and 72 in.
long. If you get a deep, rounded-back claw-foot type, you can easily be
comfortable with a 54-in. or a 56-in. long tub unless you're taller than 6
ft. I recommend, however, that you make an honest evaluation of whether you
really ever use a tub and consider instead putting money into a nice shower.
Just as any good room benefits from a variety of
ceiling heights, so does a good bathroom. Make the ceiling highest in the
center, and lower it around tubs, showers, toilet alcoves and window seats.
Any small room like a bathroom can benefit from the
visually expansive effects of horizontal lines. This is often seen in
traditional bathrooms as a strong cap on top of wainscoting. The lower part
of the wall is done in a water-resistant finish such as tile or enamel paint
and is capped by a strong horizontal band with plaster or wallpaper above.
This horizontal band combined with a baseboard and sometimes a crown molding
at the ceiling adds horizontal lines that visually enlarge the perimeter of
the room.
Two vertical dimensions are often the subject of
discussion and sometimes construction changes. The first is the height of
sconces. I prefer a framed mirror above a lavatory with sconces on the side
because they give the best light to the sides of the face and fewer shadows
in the facial recesses than light from above the face. The height I use for
sconces is the height of my client.
The last vertical dimension is one of those little
details that gives me problems near the end of a project: the water supply
to the toilet. Place it high enough, including the escutcheon, to be out of
the baseboard. I've found that 10-1/2 in. is enough to clear all but the
tallest baseboards and still leaves room for a flexible connection to the
toilet tank.
There is probably nothing nicer than
ceramic tile in a bathroom. Properly installed, it is a cleanable,
water-resistant surface for floors, walls and shower enclosures. If a whole
wall need not be water resistant, ceramic tile can also make a beautiful
wainscot. On floors, it can be colder on the feet than other materials, such
as wood, but a simple area rug or a more expensive heat pad under the tile
can easily solve this objection. Too much tile can change the acoustics of a
room, and you should keep to softer materials on the ceiling and a portion
of the walls (or have lots of bars for big fluffy towels).
I have used wood floors in many bathrooms, and
with today's tough floor varnishes, they can hold up well to a modest amount
of water as long as it is not allowed to sit on the floor for a long period
of time. It seems a little uncomfortable putting a toilet directly on a wood
floor, so I use a transition pad made of a scrap of granite or marble for
toilets on wood floors.
Another attractive, traditional bathroom-floor material is linoleum. It is
nothing like today's vinyl plastics. Again, proper installation is important
for resistance to water.
The only wall surfaces that truly need to be water resistant are the shower
walls. There are a variety of useful materials ranging from one-piece molded
enclosures to wall-size sheets of materials to individual pieces such as
tile. In every instance, installation is critical, particularly at joints,
to the ultimate success of the material.
It is helpful to have an easily cleanable surface around the lavatory on the
countertop and on the walls immediately around the sink. Ceramic tile is a
good choice. Natural stone, polished and sealed concrete, and other
nonabsorbent materials work well on both surfaces. On walls, a good-quality
enamel paint on smooth plaster makes a cleanable, water-resistant finish.
Fixtures that really work
To me, good-quality bathroom fixtures mean enameled cast iron
for tubs and china for lavatories. I recently remodeled the two bathrooms in
my 1929 cottage. After 70 years, it was finally time to replace the original
enameled cast-iron tubs. Cast iron and china are still so commonly used that
the price difference between these quality fixtures and bargain fixtures is
modest.
Good fittings such as faucets and tub/ shower valves, however, are
noticeably more expensive than run-of-the-mill fittings, sometimes as much
as triple the cost. I use them, however, whenever I can afford to put them
in the budget because over their life, they are still a bargain when
compared with average fittings that last a far shorter period of time. For
finishes, stay with tried-and-true nickel or chrome without the plastic
coatings. Someone's going to have these faucets in 50 years if you make the
correct choice.
One piece of equipment that has improved during the past few years is the
exhaust fan. They are clearly quieter than five years ago. Companies such as
Broan and NuTone have ceiling-mounted, barely audible exhaust fans.
Speaking of noise reduction, the newer "coexcel" ABS plastic drain pipe
seems to be quieter than the older ABS. But nothing can replace cast iron
for quietness in a drain pipe that comes down the wall of a first-floor
living space. The slight increase in material cost is more than offset in
the long run of the life of the house.
Important accessories
Light fixtures, towel bars, medicine cabinets, furniture,
switch-plate covers, shower doors -- there are hundreds of opportunities to
make decisions about these kinds of details in a bathroom. My advice: Keep
them simple and straightforward. Buy good quality that will last a long
time. Keep them related to each other in design and materials, except for
the occasional humorous surprise. Look for timeless qualities. Choose things
that you want to live with. There is no reason you can't enjoy even the most
mundane item in your bathroom.
The lost art of bathing
The previous suggestions will help you to make the ordinary
bathroom that you use several times each day a pleasant, enjoyable place.
Sometimes, though, you want to go beyond that and experience the real
pleasure of bathing. The deep relaxation of hot water, the peaceful pleasure
of bathing with family or friends, and the therapy of quiet immersion in
water are all aspects of the art of bathing. The oversize master bathrooms
in the of the late 20th century only hint at this fundamental human
need. The essence has been lost in the cheap materials typically used to
build them.
To re-create this experience requires a deep, profound examination of the
history and tradition of bathing and the environment needed to support it
fully. My sense is that the quality of the room as a space--with places to
sit around the perimeter, with good natural light and with good connections
to a private outdoor space -- are paramount to creating this experience.
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