designing your own bathroom? here’s how to sketch it out

Karen Haller 01
Karen Haller

Are you thinking of designing your own bathroom? Wondering how to go about it? Who better to ask to share their approach than Reed Harris, the Tile Specialists.  And there’s a special offer on their amazing range of tiles at the end of this article.

The early stages of any bathroom project are always steeped with the unknown. For some people it can be extremely daunting, whilst others find the idea of a new project really exciting. As there are many things to consider when tiling any new area, it’s best to be organised – So where do you start?

First of all you need to decide if the fixtures and fittings are ‘coming or going’! If your budget allows, the best way forward is to strip the room back to basics and start again.  Either way, a simple drawing is often enough to get your creative juices flowing.

It needn’t be a da Vinci or something you would expect to see at Tate Modern, a simple sketch outlining a bird’s eye view of the floor plan will suffice. Mark doors and windows on the outline and any other structural features the room might have.

Designing your own bathroom - sketch it out 1 and 2.

Marking out doors, windows & any other structural features of the room.

To help you plan the wall coverings and placement of sanitary ware, you need to expand on the initial plan. Draw the outline of the room again, slightly larger this time and centered around the first drawing. Join the matching corners together with a straight line e.g. connect the top left corner of the inner drawing with the top left corner of the outer drawing. Once all the corners have been joined, your sketch should start looking like an Ariel view of your room.

Designing your own bathroom - sketch it out 3 and 4.

Now you can add in the doors, windows and any other permanent features within the room, to create the basic room shell. If you don’t want to sketch out the basic room shape again, now would be a good time to take some copies, just in case you need them later.

Now the fun part begins! Your drawing will give you a much better idea of how your finished space will look, so you can start to add fixtures and fittings and decide where to place things. Scribble away to your heart’s content and don’t be afraid to try out various different versions. Mark out any feature walls or panels and plan how they relate to the furniture. You can have as much fun as you like at this stage, nothing is set in stone.

Designing your own bathroom - sketch it out 5and 6.

Working out placement of fixtures & fittings & playing with colour!

The obvious advantage of planning out your ideas in this way is that you will be able to tell what either will or won’t work, thus avoiding potential mistakes and hopefully save time and money with expensive fit-out costs. Another reason to be prepared is that you will have something tangible to help you describe your vision to your tradesman, which will help everyone understand what you expect and avoid unnecessary disappointment.

Thanks to Reed Harris for this great article. Having a step by step guide to follow makes it all that much easier. It’s also a great time to play with colour and see what colour combinations and proportions work within the space and with the natural and artifical light sources.

If it all seems overwhelming or your simply don’t have the time, bring in an interior designer that you know and trust to take all the hassle off you, freeing up your time to do the things you enjoy…

And now for the Special Offer
Just for my readers Reed Harris have generously given a huge 20% discount off the retail (ex Vat) price on all tile orders placed in July and August 2011. This offer does not apply to fixing materials and all orders must be placed and paid for in full by 31st August 2011.  Don’t forget to give the discount code of ‘Karen Haller’ at the time of placing the order.

All images with kind permission of Reed Harris

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