Selecting the Right Bath for Your Space

Designing a bathroom for your new or soon to be renovated home is a tough and time consuming task. There are many elements to consider including size and shape of the space, theme, usage, costs, and more. It’s important to not only design the right space, but select the right fittings and fixtures to ensure you enjoy your bathroom in years to come.

Luxury freestanding bath brand Victoria + Albert understand selecting the right bath for your space can be a challenging task, especially if your bathroom is small. To make it easier, they have provided their top five tips to consider before purchasing a bath for your space.

Style it Out

The internet is jam packed full of interiors inspiration, but before you start planning your space, consider what your bathroom is for and which style you’re aiming for. Is it a relaxing, spa-like space for adults, a busy family bathroom, or a compact en suite? Each function will determine product and material choice.

Don’t Discount Freestanding Baths

Homeowners traditionally think of a freestanding bath as the preserve of large, luxury hotel bathrooms. However, freestanding baths are now a popular trend in the domestic bathroom, and they’re here to stay. A wide range of styles and sizes, right from a tiny 1.5m sit tube to over 2m long soaking tubs, means that it’s easy to achieve this look in a home bathroom.

Contrary to popular belief, a freestanding bath opens up the wall and floor, creating a sense of light and space. The majority of homes feature a built-in bathtub, but it makes no sense to box off the space if you can give the illusion of more room, especially given rocketing real estate prices.

Plan Carefully

It’s recommended to always work with a bathroom professional. Many bathroom retailers will offer a design service, and it’s well worth the investment. They’ll help you to plan space, storage and which items you need in your suite. Investing in the bathroom is really worth it- studies have shown that for every $1 spent on renovating the bathroom, you can expect to see a return of $1.50 in resale value.

How do You Like to Bathe?

It’s true that many of us are first drawn to a home purchase through looks alone. Whilst aesthetics are important, you must also consider how you like to bathe. Do you sit up and read, lounge back and soak, enjoy sharing a bath with your partner? There are different bath shapes and styles for each person – from a traditional slipper tub, to a modern sit tub, to sculptural reclining baths. It’s well worth visiting your local bathroom retailer to try a number of different styles and shapes before you buy- after all you’d never purchase a sofa without testing it first!

Material is Everything

There’s a wide range of materials available on the market, so it can be overwhelming when researching the bathroom for the first time. Do some reading around them and get recommendations. Our composite material, QUARRYCAST® is a one of a kind solid surface material made up of Volcanic Limestone and resins. It’s naturally white, strong, warm to the touch and scratch resistant and a popular alternative to cast iron, acrylic, and steel enamel. As there’s no surface paint or coating on the inside of the bath, there’s nothing to chip off or scratch and it maintains its high gloss shine over time. What’s more, the baths can be installed outside as they’re unaffected by UV and thermal shocks. As our QUARRYCAST® baths and basins are cast products, it can both create traditional roll top replicas, and rimless modern baths that are easy to maintain. A 25 year guarantee provides real peace of mind.

Consider Coordinating

Don’t forget about coordinating your bath and brassware. For example if you choose a traditional claw foot tub, consider metal feet finishes to match your brassware and door furniture. Opt for an exterior paint finish if you’d like to pull together your whole space and coordinate with tiles, walls and accessories White is a timeless option, but muted grey and pebble tones are very popular and here to stay. For more information about Victoria + Albert, please visit www.vandabaths.com/aus.