“I remember the ceiling of every bathtub I’ve stretched out in,” wrote Sylvia Plath in The Bell Jar. “I remember the texture of the ceilings and the cracks and the colours and the damp spots…” Though you wouldn’t immediately know it, the passage is a love-letter to the act of bathing – and thus the existence of the indoor bathroom, which was, when the novel was published in 1963, finally on its way to becoming mainstream in the UK. In terms of design history it’s a room that’s had a somewhat chequered development, having variously hosted avocado suites, cerise shag pile, jacuzzis - and five-star-spa-level wet rooms. It’s had its turn at what Patrick O’Donnell terms ‘abattoir chic’ (though quite frankly, ‘chic’ is the better end; many are we who have encountered peeling linoleum and mould spores) and – back to Plath – at “fancy pink marble tubs overlooking indoor lily ponds.”
We’re now at a point where the fairly firmly established view is that a good bathroom is best treated as another room in the house, as originally ordained by the incomparable Nancy Lancaster in the 1930s. This, Joanna Plant explains, means “proper furniture, curtains, pictures, and very probably wallpaper.” Which deals with the looks, and hints at the comfort that can be achieved - but isn’t automatically conferred by the inclusion of an armchair. As this magazine’s Agony Aunt, I’ve had more letters about bathrooms than anything else: “my bath is so narrow there is nowhere to put my arms,” says one reader. “I worry my husband can hear me using the loo in our ensuite,” says another. And “my mother won’t brush her teeth in my guest bathroom since I papered it, in case she harms it,” says a third. Then there are the cracks and damp spots that Plath mentioned, still an all-too regular feature. And yet, with planning, a bathroom can become a veritable refuge of peace and hot water, or as Joanna describes hers, “a sanctum for comfort and recuperation.”
Location and layout
One of the first considerations is an appropriate bedroom to bathroom ratio in your house, for unless you’re blessed with sociopathic traits, it’s quite impossible to have a relaxing bath while a queue forms beyond the door. There is a variety of means of fitting in more bathrooms, and to ensuite or not comes down to personal preference; what is crucial, however, is layout.
The aim is a harmony of sanitary ware, including, importantly, the loo, “which is the hardest item to position in the room as it has the largest waste pipe; sometimes there are only certain spots where it will work,” points out Justin Homewood, founder of The Water Monopoly, the company that has supplied some of the world’s most beautiful bathrooms. At the same time, “the loo, like a telly, should not be the main feature of a room, and not directly opposite the door,” says Olivia Outred. Additionally, Justin reckons it should be “as far away from the bath as possible,” suggesting placing it “on the return of a wall, so you don’t see it as you walk in,” – an alternative being to put the loo in a hut or sub-room, a solution modelled by Pallas Kalamotusis and Buchanan Studio in their own homes. Then, we’d all like a bath with a view, and if possible in reach of a window that opens (Justin, incidentally, has created perhaps the ultimate bathroom – in the treehouse he erected in the garden of his North Devon house during lockdown. “There is nothing quite like sitting in the copper bath with the window wide open, especially on a lovely spring evening. You are up in the tree canopy and can hear all the birds sing.”) Finally, the basin needs to have “as much natural light as possible, as this is normally where the mirrors are positioned,” says Justin.
We’re aware not all bathrooms have windows, in which instance you need to make sure you’ve got excellent ventilation. We’re similarly aware that not all bathrooms have space for a bath and a shower – which we’ll address shortly.
Privacy and storage
In the meantime, privacy is an important aspect, particularly when it comes to a guest bathroom, or sharing your bathroom with guests; to which end, put a lock on the door and ensure that there are curtains or blinds. Frosted glass is an option, and occasionally a useful one, but a near-sheer café curtain is prettier and softer. Sound proofing isn’t always thought about, but is valuable in an ensuite, particularly if you’re sharing the bedroom with a partner. If you’ve ever used the loo in the Chelsea Textiles shop on Pimlico Road, you’ll have noticed the reassuring classical music that comes on as you close the door. “There’s a sensor that starts it playing, our electrician set it up,” reports the Design Director, Jenny Simpson. ‘Tinkle music’, as it’s sometimes referred to, is big in Japan – something else we’ll come back to later.
Storage keeps your things out of view of others, i.e. private (which is often more comfortable for everybody concerned – though please don’t make people look for more loo paper.) It can be beautiful: an antique rosewood cupboard, or a curtained-off area under the vanity unit – and while we’re here, Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham points out that a loo brush is just as happy living in a vintage porcelain pot as it is in a plastic container.
Baths, basins, and other sanitaryware
“Who needs a bath, anyway?” Thought House & Garden’s Deputy Editor, David Nicholls, and sacrificed the bath in his tiny bathroom in favour of a larger shower – a decision he still isn’t entirely at peace with. A recent survey revealed that showers have pipped baths in the popularity stakes in the UK - but, as we all know, there are few more gloriously indulgent practices than a mid-afternoon soak, which many maintain to be an effective cure-all, whether for exhaustion or creative block, making a bath a valuable asset. And there are alternative locations: Francis Sultana has a bath in his dressing room, Benedict Foley is fitting one in a boot room (a surprising solution, but one that proves there is always a solution) while another option – though a controversial one – is the bedroom. But then it comes to choosing a bathtub, and here there is an almost confusing quantity of choice. “I thought a bath was a bath,” continued the writer of the letter who had nowhere to put her arms.
“I would advise sitting in it before you buy it, if you can,” suggests Justin. He recommends The Water Monopoly’s Rockwell bath as the ultimate, for “I modelled the inside around a body builder – I thought that if he could be comfortable, then so could most others. It is quite wide across the point where your shoulders meet the bath, which to me is very important.” Other things to think about include tap placement: would you like to be able to add more hot water without sitting up? Or, can you turn the tap with your toe – and do you prefer the heat to start at your feet? There are space-related circumstances: would your floors need reinforcing for a much-coveted cast iron freestanding bath? In which instance, Mary Graham moots steel as an alternative, which, she says, is also less costly. If you do choose freestanding, is there sufficient space between the bath and the wall or window to clean it easily? Or should you opt for built-in, and “open up a wonderful world of options for surrounds and splashbacks – tiles, marble, glass, antique mirror glass, slate, timber, etc.,” describes Mary – which is probably preferred if you’re going to be sharing use of the tub with small children. And you do need to think about your water supply, for there’s no point in a vast bath that you cannot properly fill.
But generosity of space is certainly a consideration, and it’s as important for showers and basins, too. Family toothbrushing time is uncomfortably akin to a game of competitive darts if the sink you’re aiming for is too compact for comfort, and it needs a good splashback (especially if there’s wallpaper) and either shelving or surrounds. Nobody wants to have to turn the shower off to shampoo their hair – or, worse, turn the shower off and bend down; the shower needs a shelf. And, asks Emma Burns, Joint Managing Director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, “are the taps for your shower somewhere you can reach them without getting wet?”
Then, “comfort begins with what you are sitting on,” states Veere Grenney (though admittedly in relation to sofas.) The traditional loo is 15 inches high, but there’s recently been a reported increase in requests for what are termed ‘comfort height toilets’, which stand at 17 or 19 inches. And Brandon Schubert is “about to purchase a Japanese wonder-loo. It will bidet, sanitise and air dry on command.”
Textiles and wallpaper
At their genesis, waterproofing was the overriding feature of an indoor bathroom – until Nancy Lancaster, in her own words, “put down good rugs” in the bathrooms of Ditchley Court in the 1930s. She went further when she moved into the flat on Avery Row in 1957, continuing the cream wall-to-wall carpeting from her bedroom right into her bathroom. It’s another contentious choice – and far from everybody’s preference when it comes to bathroom flooring. But Emma Burns has carpeted her bathroom ever since she’s had her own house, saying “psychologically the sight of wall-to-wall cut pile, or better yet, Brussels Weave, makes my shoulders relax: people think it unhygienic, but I will risk that for the joy of padding barefoot over deliciously warm and luxurious carpet.” What we would say on carpeted bathrooms is that it depends on how many people and who you are sharing it with – and execution. There still needs to be waterproofing underneath, and the ventilation and heating need to be such that it doesn’t stay damp (and, almost worse, start smelling damp.) Worth noting too is that linoleum has come a long way in recent years, cork is soft and warm underfoot - to which end, if you are tiling, do remember the virtues of underfloor heating (I didn’t, and I regret it.)
Ventilation and heating are equally important for curtains and wallpaper, which can increase the beauty of any room, and are absolutely suitable for use in a wide range of bathrooms. “Unless you have a very cold house and very hot water, you shouldn't have a problem with the steam,” says Rita Konig. At the same time, few are going to feel comfortable about the prospect of a tweenage boy with a hand-held shower in a wallpapered room, even if wallpaper is more resilient than many imagine. There is wallpaper varnish (patch test it first) but if it is a guest bathroom that you’re wallpapering, it’s an idea to ensure that there is sufficient in the way of tiling and splashbacks that nobody panics.
Everything else: lighting, towel rails, a radio, and more
Nothing is more miserable than getting out of the bath or shower and attempting to dry yourself with a damp towel. The ideal is an electric heated towel rail so that it can run independently of the central heating, and you also want it of a generous size (so many seem only to fit one towel) and in easy reach of the bath or shower. An additional step up is a working fireplace, which Justin has in North Devon.
Lighting is important – remember this is a room in which you’re going to be naked, and there are likely to be mirrors. “I like good – by which I mean adjustable and flattering – lighting, preferably with two circuits, i.e. wall lights and a ceiling light. That way, whether it’s late at night or I’m feeling sub-par, it never feels aggressive,” says Joanna.
And then, it’s the accessories: the pretty soap dish that might come from an antiques market, or from Villa Bologna. The stool that you can rest your laptop on so as to watch The Crown from the bath. The armchair where you can sit and chat to your children as they bathe. The paintings you gaze at, that lull you into a soporific state with their familiarity. “Candles, music, and a glass of something lovely,” says Justin. “A small radio tuned to Radio 4,” says Joanna - “and liberal quantities of Santa Maria Novella pomegranate bath salts that fill the whole house with clouds of heavenly scented steam.”
