Why a bathroom design for the everyday user should quietly plan for the future.
We've all become so used to bathrooms that work best for when we're fit, healthy, and moving around easily that I think this standard is something worth revisiting.
Statistically, the bathroom is seen as the most dangerous room in the home, and so exploring bathroom safety in more detail during the initial conversation and design phase will likely pay dividends for everyone in the long term.
It's not about viewing bathroom safety from a panic-button, grab-bar-in-every-corner perspective but instead a more common sense approach, designing with the future in mind. In so many homes, bathrooms just aren't serving as many people as they could or should be.
It's not about age or having a disability; it's not even about having an injury or an illness. It's about the reality that every one of us, at some point, will need a bathroom that's just a bit easier to move around in, a bit safer, and a bit more forgiving.
I think that's something worth thinking about.
Aging-in-place, universal-design, accessible-design – Let's not mix them up.
Ageing in place is a goal.
Accessible design is a response.
Universal design is a philosophy.
They're not the same, but they share something important: Intent. And when done right, they all aim to create spaces that work better for everyday people, not just ideal ones.
No bathroom will work for absolutely everyone, as some people will have highly specific medical needs that might require various custom solutions. But we can make a giant leap forward in how a "standard" bathroom can work for far more people, just by thinking a little more carefully.
How can we quietly build in more flexibility from the very beginning, long before any physical challenges arise?
Even if you don't install it now - Plan for later
Budgets are always tight, and not every homeowner is going to give the go-ahead for every single suggestion. But some features are worth prioritising, especially when they are more difficult to install at a later date.
For example:
• Install the highest quality, anti-slip shower tray you can. That's the foundation. It's not
something you want to revisit in five years.
• Reinforce the shower walls behind the tiles or wet-wall. You might not fit a shower seat
or grab bar today, but the day someone needs one, it'll be an easy fix instead of a
complete shower renovation.
• Choose fixtures and layouts that won't need to be ripped out if mobility or eyesight
changes later in life.
Small decisions made early on can quietly shape how well a space works down the line.It's also worth noting that with thoughtful preparation, small changes down the line become far less expensive and a lot less disruptive. For example, wall-hung items like a seat or fold-down handrail can be added in minutes if the wall behind them has been properly framed and reinforced during the initial roughing stage. It's this kind of planning ahead that doesn't add a huge cost now but will definitely save a fortune later on.
Quiet preparation doesn't just help the person living there today; it can help the next person who lives there too. Homes that have been planned with flexibility in mind will likely appeal to a broader range of buyers.
There's also a lot to be said for the idea that many safety-minded features simply make everyone's day-to-day life easier. They don't have to wait for someone to hit retirement age or encounter mobility issues to start being useful. That shower seat might be helpful when recovering from a sports injury, that handheld shower could come in handy when washing the dog, and that low-level motion sensor lighting is always welcome for those 4am visits to the loo, at any age.
If it works for a four-year-old and a 95-year-old, it works for everyone in between.
Designing with this mindset doesn't make a bathroom look clinical. It makes it look thoughtful.
Think about it:
• A step-free or low-level shower tray is easier for children and safer for older adults.
• A wall-hung shower seat can help a pregnant woman just as much as someone recovering from surgery.
• Good lighting and colour contrast around the shower tray or toilet make these spaces easier to use for anyone, regardless of vision or cognition.
Even simple things like choosing taps that are easy to grip or placing shower controls where they don't require you to stretch and twist can make daily life that bit easier for more people.
Designing spaces that reduce effort, rather than requiring more of it, doesn't limit who can use the room. It expands it.
Design is about more than today.
Clients don't always know what to ask for either, or they might be of the opinion that safety is something you deal with when you're older or injured. But those of us who work in the bathroom industry every day know there's a far bigger picture.
Again, it's not about turning a bathroom into a care facility. It's about subtle planning that keeps options open.
Bathrooms are often the smallest rooms in the home, but they can have the biggest consequences when things go wrong. Sometimes, it's just a matter of asking, "What if?" a little earlier in the conversation.
There's also an emotional benefit in addition to the physical one. When a bathroom is easy to use, it can restore confidence. It can help people remain independent, even when their needs change. It offers them dignity. That peace of mind doesn't just help the individual; it helps the entire family.
Confidence is so often overlooked when it comes to design, but feeling steady and in control in any space will affect how people use it. That emotional comfort might be something as small as being able to turn on the light easily at night or as significant as knowing that if a family member with a mobility issue visits, they can still safely use the shower.
The new standard
Small details in layout, product choice, or preparation might help a bathroom work better for more people over time. There's already some fantastic work being done in accessible design and dementia care.
This isn't about doing that work differently; it's about borrowing the same mindset and applying it more widely.
Not everything needs to be installed on day one. But if the structure and the layout are already in place, then you're a few steps ahead if anything ever changes.
The future always arrives quicker than we think, and if a bathroom still feels easy and safe in five, ten, or fifteen years, then that's just a sign of great design.
It doesn't have to look different.
It just has to work better for more people.
This article was originally published in shorter form by KBBFocus Magazine - READ NOW
