Do I choose a traditional or contemporary bathroom?

[JoceAndChris]

I'm sorry if this appears a ridiculous, unanswerable question but I am very stuck for inspiration. We have one little bathroom which badly needs updating but we're not sure how. (and a separate tiny room with a pre war loo that we won't be getting rid of, and I know exactly how I'm going to update this after reading this forum, with new lime plaster and paint!)

Can't decide whether to go down the trendy wetroom road or Thomas Crapper repro. At the moment it is B & Q, circa 1984, with some extraordinary peacock tiles. If the rest of the place has an 18th century feel (which it really does), isn't it strange to suddenly arrive into 21st century travertine/glass/chrome? But Thomas Crapper seems equally silly, as it's not a Victorian house. My guess is that our current bathroom was once part of the dining room, in terms of aesthetics, I.M.O. it would look best to put it back to its original use, but that would leave us with no bathroom.

Maybe we should just leave it as it is but get new taps and fresh paint.

Also, do we think that this trend for en-suites will pass? It would be quite a drastic job to create en-suites here, and there are only 2 of us! Apparently ensuites are a must have though, according to all the estate agents who showed me round all the properties I looked at. And one little bathroom without a shower does seem a bit stingy for these hygiene obsessed times; should I have the lean-to converted and create access through the bedroom? (it's not a listed building)

Thanks in anticipation for your ideas.

Joce

 

[biffvernon]

Apparently ensuites are a must have though, according to all the estate agent

Who's going to live in the house, you or your estate agent?

 

[JoceAndChris]

But don't they just reflect the views of the masses?

Should the masses just be ignored? Or do we need to modernise these houses to make them conform to current ideas of cleanliness.

 

[skier-hughes]

As Biff points out, you are to live in the house, and you bought it as it was without the en-suite. Chances are there'll be plenty of others who'll buy it after you without an en-suite.
Traditional bathroom, as you say would no doubt be "no bathroom with a tin bath in front of the open fire??"

My bathroom is going to be a mix of really useful and up to date equipment, whilst retaining as much of it's olde worldy charm as is practical in a wet environment, that's my choice as it's what I want, maybe the next buyer will hate it, who knows, but I'm having my bathroom how I want it and not how they might

Graham

 

[JoceAndChris]

That sounds good. I really really want that tin bath in front of the fire though,no plastic in sight, and a nice maid scrubbing my back...

(better not get too carried away with this fantasy)

 

[Jon Maine]

Contemporary is probably better than fake old which would be probably far newer than the house anyway.

Agreed with others your shout sod the others.

 

[Feltwell]

I am sure that out there somewhere there is someone who would really like an avocado bath suite. I think they're repulsive, but someone must want coloured suites as there is still demand.

http://www.oldcolours.co.uk/bespoke.html

As for en-suites - Personally, I love having an en-suite, but I've got kids. My parents have just moved and don't want to put one in - there's only the 2 of them, the bathrom is 6' from their bedroom, it's their retirement home, why do they need an en-suite? But it also depends on what you're in your house for - if it's to add value and move onto something bigger / nicer in a few years then perhaps worth considering, even if you don't feel the need.

But ultimately if your house isn't listed and you're not doing anything that harms it, destroys it's history (and that's subjective..) or takes away it's character then do what you want to do.

I hate those brown stone-effect tiles that the rest of the world seems to love - must be something to do with growing up in the 70's, I over-dosed on browns and golds. So in my last house I had bright mosaic tiles in my new bathroom. When I came to sell, what did the estate agent say? "Nice to see a bathroom that's bright and not dull brown". And the house sold to the second viewer.

Mind you, by now they're probably ripping out those horrible mosiac tiles and putting some nice trendy brown stone effect ones in! :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

Estate Agents only want to sell houses as quickly, easily and expensively as possible. If that's also your aim regarding your house then their advice may be worth considering. Personally, I don't really understand the modern obsession with having more bathrooms than bedrooms in a family home, especially when they are crammed into a tiny corner with a shower cubicle so small that you bang your elbows on the sides when trying to wash your hair. I'd rather have a tin bath in front of an open fire (well, almost).

As for traditional or contemporary, I'm guessing it's unlikely you really want an authentic 18th century bathroom so the field really is wide open to your personal taste and choice. It's your house and it'll be your bathroom so have what you want.

 

[Feltwell]

But don't they just reflect the views of the masses?

Big Brother still gets lots of viewers. Thousands of people buy Hello magazine every week. Wearing a hoodie and going to McDonalds is a popular combination. Abba's songs are played the world over. Londoners thought that voting for Boris seemed like a good idea.

Now you may like some of those - but do you really want to be just like the masses????

 

[Flyfisher]

Ah, there's nothing I like better than reading Hello while sitting in front of the fire in my hoodie and munching on a Big Mac with the gentle strains of ABBA in the background. Can't stand Big Boris though. :wink:

 

[Jon Maine]

Taste and style are all important

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonmaine/MerchantsHouse02#5271079882649206514

Do what you want and that which you are comfortable with

 

[Feltwell]

Ah, there's nothing I like better than reading Hello while sitting in front of the fire in my hoodie and munching on a Big Mac with the gentle strains of ABBA in the background. Can't stand Big Boris though. :wink:

Well, we had all heard the rumours you know......

So long as you don't like Big Brother or "I'm a non-entity get me out of here" you'll be OK. :wink:

 

[skier-hughes]

Taste and style are all important

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonmaine/MerchantsHouse02#5271079882649206514

Do what you want and that which you are comfortable with

Who's not closed the toilet :roll:

 

[Jon Maine]

Taste and style are all important

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonmaine/MerchantsHouse02#5271079882649206514

Do what you want and that which you are comfortable with

Who's not closed the toilet :roll:

I had to let it air

 

[Lime]

Personally, I don't really understand the modern obsession with having more bathrooms than bedrooms in a family home, especially when they are crammed into a tiny corner with a shower cubicle so small that you bang your elbows on the sides when trying to wash your hair.

Neither do I understand it.
Specifically I won't buy a house with an en-suite installed.
I've seen too many thrown in, occupying valuable bedroom space, ruining a room, damp, smelly and with crap plumbing.
Some houses are little warrens of en-suites grubby with the occupants abluted droppings created by an almost obsessional wish to save walking a few steps to the bathroom.
I notice all the imperfect joints in the skirting and bodge blobs of plaster, wallpaper stretched over past structures not removed, doors opening awkwardly and no space.
I don't like them.

 

[Cloudscape]

Personally, I would go for 'classic' or 'timeless'. The repro T. Crapper look is just a pastiche. Wetrooms with giant marble travetine tiles are very 'now'. A really simple classic or timeless look, not tying in particularly with any current fashion, shouldn't date. A very 'now' bathroom will look naff in a few years time. That's just my personal take.

 

[biffvernon]

From Tony Wrench's 'Building a Low-Impact Roundhouse'

People say 'How can you go to the loo through the rain in the middles of the night?' etc, but it's fine. really. It is about 20 metres from the back door to the loo. If it is pitch dark, we take a torch. If it is freezing, we wear a poncho. If it is pouring with rain, we take an umbrella (Grei Halliwells actually - she left it here when she did that TV programme. I suppose I should send it back to her but...) If it is a bright new morning, which it often is, the little walk in the fresh air is a great contact with the outdoors. Anyway, how many other animals defecate in their own dens?

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

Joce,

As many others have said, you have to go with what you like and what you'll be comfortable living with. When you eventually sell up your buyer will either love your choice, not be bothered, or (if a bathroom obsessive) will arrive with the expectation of having to gut the room and refit with their personal version of perfection anyway. So no point worrying about what anybody else thinks.

I feel that contemporary bathrooms sit rather uncomfortably in older houses. Something a bit grating about the shiny surfaces, clean lines and hard angles. You know that with a few years of wear, soap scum and limescale it'll look a bit tired. Personally I think the 'timeless classic' is the look to go for. Somehow 'old' without slipping into Victorian Gothic madness, nicely detailed without being fussy, maybe some reclaimed elements alongside new, the odd quirk (a fireplace perhaps?!). Ultimately it's the colour palette and detailing which will set the feel of the room as much as the choice of sanitaryware.

Knowing the history of my own house we reckoned it probably didn't get a proper bathroom until the inter-war years, so we started looking for fittings from that era. Which gave us scope to play with late Edwardian through to high concept modernist taking in Art Nouveau and Art Deco along the way. So that didn't help at all. In the end we just looked at loads of bathroom catalogues etc. until we found something we liked. It's an amalgam of many influences, probably a hideous pastiche if you ask the right people, but we like it.

More pics of this bathroom on my website.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thank you so much for shedding light on this murky matter! I see now that T. Crapper repro and wet rooms are equally silly in this context. "Timeless classic" is a wonderful aim but very hard to achieve as what's in the shops reflects passing fashions. That's a great idea to go round some salvage yards. Can't believe I let the previous owner sell the original bath under my nose ( it had been in the shed a long time, and was filthy, and owner said his hips got stuck in it.)

This has been so useful; I now feel much more equipped to make some choices.

It's great to read views on en-suites too, I agree, so often they are just ridiculous. Unless I suddenly produce triplets I think I'll leave this well alone.

Jon, your bathroom is absolute perfection, even if you do reveal disgusting manly habits. :wink:

 

[AMc]

FWIW - we're refitting the oldest bathroom in the house and rejigging the two modern ones installed about 15 years ago. This will create our master ensuite (actually the oldest bathroom) an ensuite for our daughter and a slightly odd 'family bathroom' for the remaining 'guest bedrooms' which is actually the smallest. Estate agents seem to think that a master ensuite is important and 3 bathrooms for 5 bedrooms is a reasonable mix for 'marketability' (puke) not that we're looking to move.

We've decided to go with modern, simple toilets, sinks etc. rather than a reproduction Victorian/Edwardian in most rooms with a (horrifically expensive) reconditioned 1870s cast iron bath in 'our' bathroom. The taps are 'traditional-ish' topaz from hudson reed which work with both the new sanitaryware and the old bath and don't cost the earth.

You can still buy 'new' Thomas Crapper http://www.thomas-crapper.com/introduction.asp if you want.

I would avoid 'wet room' as I understand it can be very difficult to get a really permanent waterproof fit and slow leaks and old houses seems like a very bad combination to me.