Two people, one bathroom: facing the challenge

June 24th, 2008

Sharing a bathroom is always a challenge and it doesn’t matter whether you have to queue for taking a shower when it’s high time for you to leave for work or you simply cannot relax properly because somebody is persistently knocking at the door and saying that half an hour is too much. If money were not the matter, people would definitely each have their own private bathroom. But the truth is that almost always the bathroom is shared by both halves of a couple. It’s a difficult job when you have to allocate the daily personal-hygiene activities of two people in a very limited area. The given article provides some advice on how to plan a double-use bath that functions efficiently.

More bathroom space. Lack of bathroom space is always a substantial restraint. However, even if your space is tiny, there are several design tricks that can help you to make the bathroom feel roomier.

-       Magic mirrors: The best way to expand bathroom space is to use mirrors. Beyond just intensifying bathroom lighting, full wall-to-wall and wainscot-to-ceiling mirroring visually doubles space, turning tight premise into a spacious master bath.

-       The sky is the limit: Arched ceilings release more vertical space that makes a cramped layout feel open.

-       Add some scenery: A window installed over the toilet or between double sinks breaks up the ordinary setting of a small bathroom.

Let the sunshine and fresh air in!  Creating a sense of openness is particularly vital in a space that has the all the potential to feel cramped. Here you’ll find two basic universal tools for turning a function-stuffed bathroom space into a pleasant place to use.

-       Ventilation: On the whole, bathrooms are exposed to the most radical microclimate changes than any other room in the house. Regular hot showers make the temperature and humidity go up to tropical levels, and because the room is shut tight in the matter of privacy, steam and odors cannot escape easily. That’s why if your bathroom is used by two people, proper ventilation is a necessity. When the weather is fine functioning windows help clear and blend the air. Nevertheless, windows need high-tech assistance. For that reason consider installing two exhaust fans: one for the toilet area, the other near the shower.

-       Lighting: There is a general rule for every room in the house: the more natural light, the better. In general the best bathroom lighting is produced by the skylights and comes from the ceiling. Wall-to-wall mirrors are very good at enhancing the impact of natural light. Windows placed above the eye-level enjoy a couple of advantages. First of all, they provide privacy and secondly, maximize the effect of light by mirroring it of the ceiling.

-       In case the use of windows or skylights is not the most successful solution, go on with artificial bathroom lighting. While the overhead lighting produces really unflattering shadows the best artificial light solution for grooming at a mirror is in front of you.