Balance Fun and Maturity
A bathroom designed for kids and guests should feel comfortable to both. You don’t want to overwhelm guests with too many childish elements (save the mermaid- or sports-themed stuff for the bedroom). At the same time, an overly luxurious bathroom isn’t suitable for kids and will probably have you worried about them breaking something. A design that’s clean, simple, bold and bright, with elements of fun sprinkled in, is the way to go. Play up lightheartedness with fanciful art, offbeat or colored drawer pulls, wall stencils or small accents with childlike whimsy, like a yellow rubber ducky.
Don’t install a reduced height vanity unit, kids grow fast! Install your basin at the standard height and keep a stool for kids. As they struggle to get their hands to the wash basin, they can easily step up on the stool to keep themselves safe. This will enable them to reach things without over-stretching and climbing up on unsafe surfaces. If there are a few children, have multiple step-stools to prevent accidents.
Transitional Toilet Seat
Let you bathroom grow with your kids.
Parents and children love this convenient, innovatively designed toilet seat created for enhancing the potty training experience of your child. This seat can be used by both children and adults which is perfect for a shared bathroom. You may also want to consider a touchless toilet with a motion sensing flush feature to keep germs to a minimum.
Towel Hooks
The key to creating a kid-friendly space is making everything easy for them to use. A perfectly folded towel elegantly draped over a towel bar may be the pinnacle of bath linen sophistication, but it’s safe to say most kids (and many adults) aren’t interested in folding towels with military precision. While it is really lovely to use heated towel rails, they can prove a bit of a risk should your children touch them as they reach for a towel. Try using coat hooks; they can be vintage style, named, brightly coloured. Individual robe hooks bring a more laid-back vibe to the bathroom without looking sloppy. A bonus is that more towels fit on hooks than rods—a key consideration when your shared bathroom is on the smaller side. Hooks are also great for hanging small bins of bath toys, loofahs or bathrobes. Additionally, you will greatly increase the chance of towels being hung up properly if you give your kids a designated hook (and its respective towel) to each child by displaying your favorite portrait of them above their hook.
This decision will be based on the space you have available.
Bath time is a lovely family ritual and is often seen as a relaxing way to end your day, and although it’s not an essential feature, it really does make family life a little easier. Having a separate shower is great if you have both young and older children, but can only work if you have the space. Think carefully about the bath design — hauling young children out of certain bath types can prove a little tiresome. If you’ve decided that a bathtub would be the choice for you, then all that is now needed is for you to decide on what you and your family will need from a bath before you settle on the right product. If your children are young and you often bathe them while seated on the floor to the side of the bath, then the height of your freestanding bath will need to reflect this. If you have more than one young child, then getting a double ended bath with a centrally located tap means you can bathe both children comfortably at the same time.
One of the most dangerous things for children to come into contact with in the bathroom is probably hot water. All taps and showers in child-friendly bathrooms should have thermostatic features to regulate the water temperature, or parents should be prepared to calibrate their water heater so that it does not reach scalding temperatures. This is very easily done, and can help prevent inquisitive children from receiving nasty injuries when it comes to hot taps. Installing mixer taps can also prevent this problem; if the cold tap is always turned on first, there is less of a risk of scalding from hot water. The best way to ensure that you have the right temperature is to install a thermostatic bath tap or thermostatic shower valve. The thermostatic technology in these taps and valves ensures that the water comes out at the precise temperature that you set, so you can always be sure that you’ve run the perfect bath. Many thermostatic valves also have safety features in them that shut off the water should the hot or cold water supply to the valve fail as well as a maximum temperature setting.
Flooring
A bathroom used by young children will require a floor that is able to withstand frequent splashes and pools of water, and also offer slip resistance. Rubber, vinyl, linoleum and marmoleum are warm underfoot, affordable, waterproof and easy to keep clean. Clever digital photography reproduction means that there are limitless design options, while textured finishes help with slip resistance and emulate the feel of stone or wood. Alternatively if you choose a cermic tile, ensure that it is non slip and consider installing underfloor heating. I think we can all agree: stepping out of a hot shower or bath onto freezing cold tiles is a horrible experience, especially during the winter months. Underfloor heating will keep your bathroom tiles warm and toasty; you’ll never have to complain about cold floors again. It also has the benefit of helping to keep the floor dry and reduce the risk of accidents from slipping.
Storage
Organization is the biggest challenge in a bathroom shared by multiple people. Each person has their own needs, products and even styling tools.
Try putting toys in one basket or box that matches your décor which will sit on a window ledge or could be fixed to the wall as an indoor hanging basket. Why not invest in personalised tooth brush holders or vanity baskets, one for each member of the household. This is the simplest solution to “where’s my….?” Or “who took my….?” Or even “That’s mine!” Each basket, pot or box can be personalised to suit each individual’s personality and offers a little personal space in a shared environment. You can purchase some bright and colourful soap dispensers and bathroom accessories that are designed with children in mind.
. If your bathroom is big enough, why not opt for an ottoman? It’ll provide additional storage for baskets full of bath toys as well as a place to tuck away any cleaning products you may need. You’ll also be able to use is as a place for the kids to sit or stand while they dry off or brush their teeth, rather than dripping water all over your floors. If you don’t have the space for an ottoman, get creative.
An inexpensive yet practical storage solution in the bathroom is a recess. Recesses are an open box or shelf built into the wall used to place everyday essentials such as shower gel, shampoo, soap and towels. They may already exist within the structure of your bathroom. Or you may have to build out walls to hide pipework and a concealed cistern. If so this provides a great opportunity to use the space for storing these items either in a shower, above a bath, toilet or basin. Recesses can also be used for placing elegant looking ornaments or candles to bring your bathroom to life. Incorporating a spot light, LED strip or mirror back within the recesses can really add a unique glow to the bathroom.
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