Is the humble bathroom the most important room in the home?

Interview by architectural journalist Stephen Crafti 2023 with Here Studio Directors

Most architects don’t want to get involved in bathroom renovations. They’re generally fiddly, quite complicated and take a considerable amount of effort to pull off. However. Here Studio is more than happy to field calls from those wanting a new kitchen and bathroom as well as simply bathrooms.

Here Studio approaches the bathroom, an ensuite or a guest powder room with the same diligence and level of service as it does with larger renovations

“It might be a relatively small job compared to, say a complete renovation of a house, but we put in the same effort to find out what’s needed and how a family, a couple or a single person operates,” says architect Ammon Beyerle, Principal Director of Here Studio, who works closely with Senior Architect and Associate Director, Jamie Cave.

While the bathroom may be the overall term used for a client’s brief, it encapsulates a myriad of smaller items, with each one needing to be addressed before any schematics are produced. Should there be a bath or are the clients, approaching older age, more comfortable only having a shower (getting in and out of a bath can be problematic with age). Should there be a separate toilet? And where should a guest bathroom be ideally placed?

Here Studio works with numerous older and period-style homes, with many bathrooms located at the end of a long corridor and a considerable distance from both the main and ancillary bedrooms. No one, even the young and spritely, are keen to take a considerable walk in the middle of the night to relieve themselves. Likewise, guests staying over would find it challenging to reach a bathroom, walking through a maze of rooms. While relocating an existing bathroom may come at a cost, it’s well worth the investment for those wanting a new bathroom.

When architects rework kitchens and living areas, their thoughts are usually on creating a light-filled space that’s preferably orientated to the North. However, when it comes to siting bathrooms, there’s the tendency to not think about the orientation, both in terms of light, and often, views or aspects to a garden. But at Here Studio, the location of bathrooms is important, preferring an easterly aspect and an outlook that offers an experience first thing in the morning (depending on the client). The other concern is for having cross-ventilation in a bathroom even if an area has vents and the electrics to automatically purge warm air.

Here Studio also understands the importance of having mobility in a bathroom, particularly for older or disabled people – avoiding the need to step over raised tiles to enter a shower. The same visibility extends to enclosing showers, with a general preference for large frameless glass. However, Cave has noticed a gradual shift to framing these large glass screens with brass or matt-finished frames that compliment the bathroom accessories – adding both structural strength to the shower screen as well as creating a clean and crisp edge to a bathroom scheme. Both Beyerle and Cave agree that irrespective of whether or not a fine edge is used, bathroom fittings need to be of a high quality. A fitting such as a brushed brass tap on display in a showroom may appear tempting to purchase, but it must last 10 or more years (warranties on materials rarely include labour). Other suggestions include using tiles up to a 2100-millimetre datum point in areas such as showers or in other areas of a bathroom where water spillage may occur. And to avoid slippage in areas such as showers, the floor tiles need to be textured rather than smooth, as may be the case for walls. Other hints include concealing power points in vanities rather than having electrical cords exposed and, in certain cases, such as vanities prone to water, using timber laminates rather than timber in its natural state.

Bathrooms are places to luxuriate in rather than simply move in and out of – unless it’s in an ensuite with a shower that’s designed for a busy person or couple needing to head out the door first thing in the morning. And if it’s a shower, does a couple require two shower heads so they can catch up with things before they head out? In the same vein, are two vanities preferred in the ensuite or is a shared vanity sufficient? Other smaller items, but considered to be no less important, are matters such as the positioning of towel hooks (ideally within reach of a shower) and the location of hot towel rails. Many designers make the mistake of thinking that the bathtub should be found in an ensuite to a main bedroom. However according to Here Studio, if a person only uses a bath once a month, is it not better to place this in a guest bathroom that can be used by those staying over as well as the owners who can benefit from the experience of a less frequently used, larger bathroom?

So, bathrooms don’t have to be seen as just an add on, something that is lesser than kitchens and living areas. They’re places that should be treated with the same methodical approach as any other room within a house.

Do you have a bathroom project you need thoughtful input on? Want to talk to us about your dream bathroom?

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