How To Design Your Master Bathroom (part 1)
A bathroom I designed Avenue Henri Martin, Paris XVI, (photo Marc Ancelle)
If you’re renovating an apartment in Paris, the design of the master bathroom can be a bit of a ‘prise de tête’ - literally ‘take your head’ or in other words, a headache! This is because often bathrooms in Paris are pretty small - in very small apartments, there can be shower rooms with a toilet, basin and shower in less than 3 square meters (about 32 square feet). Which is really very small! If you’re tall, like me, you have to be very careful not to keep banging your elbows. Not comfortable at all!
Now, not all bathrooms are that small. But they are rarely above 6 square meters, or 65 square feet. Which sends most Americans, quite rightly, spinning with thoughts of ‘how will we manage in such a small space!’. Actually, you just get used to it. I was used to large, cold, damp and drafty bathrooms growing up in Ireland. And now I actually really appreciate the almost cozy and very functional bathrooms here in France!
So how do you design a comfortable bathroom in a Parisian apartment? I’m actually going through this process right now, designing the master bathroom for my new apartment (so my own bathroom!). Naturally, I want a big bath to be able to have a really good soak. I want two basins with space around them to actually put things on. And a decent sized shower. Not to mention the toilet and storage!
Over the years, I’ve developed a very specific list of design dos and don’ts for bathrooms, and especially small bathrooms. So here goes! I’ve discovered that I have a lot to say about master bathrooms, so I’ll deal with functionality in this article and aesthetics in my next article.
The main point of bathrooms is to wash oneself in them. So this has to take precedence - remember we always look at function before aesthetics! So what, exactly, do you (yes, you personally!) need to be able to do in your master bathroom? Do you prefer to shower or to bathe? Or are you like me and ‘need’ both? (in which case, good luck prioritizing!).
Do you want to include a bidet? I know not many people do nowadays, but I always ask the question. Any specific requirements for the toilet itself? Do you want an all-singing, all-dancing Toto toilet with music and a heated seat? Or just a functional, if possible pretty, loo?
How many people are using the bathroom? If there are two of you, twin basins will make it much more comfortable for you. And this will give you enough space around the basins to keep your products. And the storage space under the basin is always useful, and generally filled up very quickly!
Now, heating and ventilation are functions in a bathroom which are also hugely important for comfort levels. If the room isn’t ventilated enough, it will feel damp and colder than it actually is. And if the room isn’t heated in the right way, it can either be stuffy and airless or too cool. For ventilation, in France we now have ventilators (VMC - ventilation mécanique contrôlée) which automatically detect the humidity in the air and turn on and off accordingly (and they’re pretty quiet too). This is a game changer! It means that you don’t even have to think about it.
For heating I always install heated towel rails. You’re probably surprised that I’m even mentioning this, but they’re not at a given in Parisian apartments! If possible, I install a heated towel rail that is connected to the heating system of the apartment. This is easier to do if the heating system is individual to that apartment and not shared with the other apartments in the building. If the heating is shared with the other apartments, there is a bit of a rigmarole, as in order to change or move any radiators, the whole building heating system generally has to be drained.
Actually, the best type of heated towel rails are those which are connected to the central heating system and are also electric. That way you can turn it on, or have it on a timed program, even when the central heating isn’t running. Genius!
And if you’re asking, yes, I do like underfloor heating in bathrooms. It just takes the chill off the tiles underfoot and keeps it cozy. There are electric systems to do this, again on timed programs. I specify this generally just in gut renovations where we’re removing the floor tiles, as otherwise the floor level is raised by a couple of centimeters, and you have to shorten the doors, and also a small step becomes necessary, which can cause accidents.
In terms of sizes, nobody (except possibly impoverished students to motivate them) should have to shower in a 70x70cm shower. Showers should be at least 80x80cm. If you can squeeze a 100cm x 80 or 90cm shower in, that's brilliant! During the design phase of my projects I spend a certain amount of time negotiating with my builders about what can and cannot fit into bathrooms and what can be done technically depending on waste pipe locations!
As for baths, I’m tall, 174cm (5’8.5”). So a 160cm long and 70cm wide bath definitely does not work for me (think cold knees and shoulders!). So I’m currently negotiating a 180cm long and 80cm wide bath for my bathroom. I think I’m going to have to give up one of my basins to achieve this, though. And I have to work out if there’s enough floor space to get in and out of the bath and the shower. And to be able to bend over the basin while brushing teeth. Which brings me back to priorities…..
I’ll let you know how I get on next time! And I’ll also talk about the aesthetics of master bathrooms, choosing tiles, colors etc etc.
If you’d like some help working out your priorities for your Master Bathroom in Paris, please get in touch and we can negotiate together!