When designing a home, a lot of effort goes into the look and layout of bathrooms. While your bathroom may be a perfect fit for your lifestyle today, it would be a good idea to factor in your future needs and integrate features that you may require a few years down the road.

Design experts at Caroma advise homeowners to invest some thought into how the bathroom space may be used in the future as well as now. For instance, if your family is still growing or you foresee grandchildren in the future, you’ll save time, money and hassle later by considering these factors in your bathroom design now.

Caroma’s top tips for future-proofing your bathroom:

Bath

Space-saving designs for bathrooms often omit the bath from the mix. However, a bath can be a great design feature in your bathroom, and is very useful when there are children or grandchildren involved. A bath is also the perfect place to relax and unwind at home. What’s more, a bath adds to the value of a home.

If space is an issue, consider a back-to-wall or island design, instead of a freestanding bath, which usually requires more room.

Double basins

Sharing bathroom space with your partner or family doesn’t mean queuing up every morning to use the washbasin. Double basins in the main bathroom will save you precious time when everyone’s rushing off to work and school.

If you have the room, double basins are also excellent for ensuites.

Multiple bathrooms

When you are building a home, include multiple bathrooms in the plan. Extra bathrooms are handy not only for a growing family but also when you have guests. Very importantly, multiple bathrooms add to the value of your home.

For those who don’t have the space for a second full-sized bathroom, consider a powder room as a handy alternative. Usually only containing a toilet and basin, this little room might be your saviour when someone’s having a long soak in the bath in the main bathroom.

Care bathrooms

When designing a bathroom for an individual that requires care due to age or disability, choose from a range of stylish and practical solutions that comply with Australian Standards. These include easy height toilet suites, lever mixer taps, shower rails and hand rails.

These products are designed with both practicality and design in mind and many styles can be discreetly retrofitted into existing bathrooms.