Dealing With Awkward Bathroom Layouts

If you have an awkwardly shaped bathroom, you will need to work extra hard to make it feel light, open and spacious. You may have to deal with low or sloping ceilings, slanted walls, lots of corners and tricky alcoves. It is a huge challenge, but the end result doesn't have to be an awkward looking bathroom.

If you have a sloping ceiling, arrange your fixtures to suit. Place the shower and basic in the tall section of the room where you can stand upright, and position the foot end of the bath where the ceiling is lowest, or, depending on the incline, place the bath under the slope.

Make the most of the limitations. Although a sloping ceiling creates an odd-shaped room, it offers fantastic potential for natural light by fitting a skylight. A skylight lets in five times as much light as a window the same size.

Fix lights flush to the ceiling to increase the feeling of height in the room, and prevent hanging light fittings from becoming a dangerous obstruction. Bathrooms with sloping ceilings are generally quite small. Compensate with bright soft colors, or neutral shades to open out the space. Often it can be difficult to decide where the walls end and the ceiling starts. If this is the case you may end up using the same color on the entire room so it is very important to keep it light. Place mirrors at strategic angles to increase the perceived size of the room, or use mirrors and mirrored tiles to open up awkward recesses.

Be clever when planning and use the awkward shapes to the greatest advantage. Consider fitting a large walk-in shower or built-in storage unit in a difficult corner or larger recess.


Common problem: The room's awkward shape makes it impossible to fit either a full-sized bath or shower.

Solution:

• Fit a compact shower in the recessed area. Consider using frosted glass or glass blocks to section this area off from the room next door, and allow lots of light through for a pleasant effect when showering.
• A corner basin is a compact option and accentuates the natural curve of the wall.
• Despite the room's small dimensions, careful planning means there is enough space to fit both a toilet and bidet. This is a luxurious touch if you are using this room as your main bathroom. Or you could do without the bidet and fit a larger basin instead.
• A sliding or folding door in the curved wall for entry into the room is both an excellent space-saving idea and an attractive feature in the smaller bathroom.