Why hiring a designer to create your dream bathroom makes sense

As we use our bathrooms multiple times each day, we need a well-designed functional space that can help us to feel well-groomed and ready for a day’s work but can also help us unwind after a long day. It not only has to look great – ideally fitting in with your home’s overall aesthetic – but also needs to work for all the family and be super-practical.

There’s a lot involved when it comes to designing a bathroom, so it’s worth finding an expert to ensure that the choices fit practically into the space and that all the plumbing, fixtures and surfaces are functional. Bathroom designers have to have both technical and creative skills to make sure the client achieves a better space than they would if they’d carried out the project on their own. Bathrooms are incredibly technical and we’ve moved far beyond the days of simply purchasing a three-piece bathroom suite. The room needs to function for everyone in the family and match your home and lifestyle, whilst at the same time working within technical limitations such as waste connections.

It’s all very well thinking you can just relocate the WC, but it’s really not that simple. A soil stack is usually located either on an external wall or within the walls of a home. You can normally tell as there is always a small boxed in wall, from the floor to the ceiling, that accommodates and hides this unsightly feature that's an absolute necessity for every home! The same applies to situating the waste from the basins and the shower/bath, although these can be moved, as long as you can take the floorboards up to connect new pipe work to the waste pipe out to the drains. If you have concrete floors, that can of course be a little tricky. You would need to make sure that if you channel out for pipework, you have enough fall for the water to run away. Your designer and their plumber will confirm what's best.

If you can do all of this then you can be creative in transforming that dull, bog-standard bathroom – excuse the pun – into a modern, stylish, luxurious and relaxing new bathroom.

How does the project progress?
So which trades would you need to bring your bathroom to life? A great bathroom combines layout, materials and various trades to make your ideal space, and while a plumber is essential, the project will often include a carpenter, plasterer, electrician, decorator and tiler.

So, you see, using a bathroom designer will be of great benefit because they will consider every last detail, from how long the product will last to how easy it will be to fit, how eco-friendly the raw materials are, how straightforward it will be to get parts in 15 years, and whether it’s nice and easy to use, looks great and is available at the price you want to pay.

Designers always see new and exciting concepts and products, and will sometimes present you with new ideas and design features that you never knew existed! They will research, source and collate products – essential when you're designing a bathroom – as well as creating mood boards and tailoring concepts to your requirements. The designer will have lots of conversations with the various trades to ensure accuracy in the design. When you hire a bathroom designer, you also get their brilliant installation teams, and all the work is project-managed in-house. Plus, you get the technical know-how to ensure items or parts aren’t omitted from your order and they can guide you on what is technically possible in the space, keeping the process as hassle-free as possible. All good designers will spend time listening to your needs and ideas, and drawing up detailed plans before going ahead.

In some cases, you will receive a 2D or 3D render which will help you visualise just how your bathroom will really look before you go ahead and order. Some designers start with an independent showroom tour. Then there’s the initial consultation, visiting your home and measuring the room, which lasts about an hour. Once the designer has a brief they should create two or three designs all of which will be priced with particular products and varying price ranges. For example, a shower valve can commonly cost between £400 and £2,500. Both get wet, but which one is right for you might also be affected by which bath you choose and how much budget you have left.

What happens next?
Leigh Hall, owner of Strive for Design, says: 'We will do multiple revisions of the initial plan for the bathroom until everything is chosen and a complete room can be ordered. Some clients go from designer visit to ready to order in three weeks, but that’s rare. Typically, a client takes a month or so to choose everything. It has to be right first time, so any time invested at the selection stage is always well spent.'

Can using a bathroom designer save you money in the long run?
Engaging a designer will enable you to avoid making any costly mistakes, forgetting to buy something or miscalculating quantities and sizes. Leigh comments: 'I know people who’ve done their own bathrooms thinking that it would save them thousands by sourcing everything themselves and project managing, only to add up the bills at the end to realise that it saved possibly only hundreds. Not only that, they made mistakes along the way and had to find the time and tradespeople themselves, which in hindsight wasn’t worth the effort.

'A designer can also save you money into the future. We know the products that are excellent quality and long-lasting with good warranties and aftercare, whereas you might choose something from an obscure brand or online shop with no after-sales service. So, if it fails down the line, you’ll have to replace it and may not have any support from the brand or website or place of purchase.'

A good designer will ensure that all the details are set before the work starts. This means less hassle throughout the installation, and no grey areas on what’s been agreed or costs involved in changing things during the process. It also avoids the likelihood that you’ll want to change something once the room’s completed, which would incur further costs.

If you're interested in seeing an inspirational new bathroom showroom, where a design service is offered not only for bathrooms but for all rooms in the home, Strive for Design is based in Newmarket and was voted the Showroom of the Month throughout the UK by Geberit, a top UK bathroom brand. Please call 01223 622688 to book your appointment today!

Leigh Hall from Strive for Design is an interior designer in Cambridge, so if you're looking to redesign your home, please contact us.