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Designing a Bathroom for a Multi-generational Home

If you live in a multi-generational household, you are not alone. With many grown-up offspring staying at home for longer, or grandparents moving in to help with childcare for little ones, or because they are too frail to live alone, many of us are playing the generation game.

Although it may make sense financially, as the saying goes “three’s a crowd…” and for more than two generations of your family to live successfully under the same roof, it must also work practically, for instance what happens if you all have to share a bathroom?

Pair up
Space permitting, double basins, or an extra-wide one, to allow two or more family members to comfortably use the bathroom at the same time.

To further ease traffic flow at busy times, explore other considerations, too. For example, if you are able to, it can be good to create a separate toilet. An expert will be able to assess your options for this, whether there’s space under the stairs for a cloakroom, or how you might separate your existing loo with a new wall and door.

Easy-access bath
Go for a bath that all members of your family can comfortably use. A wide ledge becomes somewhere to sit and swing your legs into the bath, much easier that stepping in, plus it can double up as seating for parents when supervising young children.

If you need additional support, add hand grips to your bath and even a neck support for extra comfort. A bath rack can be useful, too, keeping shampoos, body lotions and all other bathing paraphernalia within easy reach.

A portable bath seat is another idea; if you might need one, consider its stowed dimensions and see whether you can have a storage niche built in for when it’s not in use.

Swap a bath for a shower 
Swap your bath or, if you have the space, upgrade your shower for a large walk-in version with a low-profile or flush-to-floor tray, which will offer easy, step-free access.

Walk-in showers with seats look stunning and are easy to use. If you are not a fan of plastic fold-down seats, consider a wide tiled ledge that blends in with the wall tiling.

Prioritise storage
Those with young children will know that bathroom toys are inevitable. Plenty of storage like a vanity unit with deep drawers means they can be stowed away when the children have gone to bed, allowing the bathroom to become a space for relaxation.

Make the shower adjustable
Choose a shower with a riser rail so you can quickly and easily adjust the height of the showerhead. Use a water-saving showerhead, too, which helps minimise water consumption. Shop around for models that reduce water usage to as little as 6 litres per minute.

Opt for easy-to-clean materials
If you are as busy as your bathroom, you won’t want to spend lots of time cleaning. Upgrade to the best shower enclosure your budget will stretch to, preferably with a factory-applied glass protection coating, which helps to reduce staining from hard water deposits. Also, choose high-quality taps and showers with a good guarantee.

If possible, use an epoxy grout for all tiled areas, as it doesn’t crack or discolour over time. Consider a wall-hung toilet and basin, which not only keep the floor clear but it will make it easier to clean and can be positioned at a height to suit individuals, making them ideal for elderly people, families with young children or wheelchair users.

Keep flooring safe and warm
Wet floors are an issue for people of all ages, so choose anti-slip or textured tiles for the floor. Underfloor heating is a great option for keeping floor tiles dry and also reducing the amount of moisture in the bathroom.  Add a towel radiator with wide spaces between the rungs to allow for a number of towels to be hung and dried.
Big up your basin
A shallow basin may look sleek and on trend but, practically, it’s not always the best option, particularly if you have young children splashing water around. If your bathroom is big enough, opt for a larger basin.  Add wall-mounted taps to create more space around the basin and for easy cleaning.

Try touch-free taps
Touch-free sensor taps that automatically turn on when you put your hands in front of the sensor and turn off when you move your hands away are a great choice for busy basins.

They eliminate the problem of the tap accidentally being left on and also help less-able members of the family who may struggle with turning off taps due to arthritis or lack of strength in their hands.  Mixer taps with an extended single lever are also easy to use. You can turn them on and off with an open palm or closed fist, which again is ideal for limited mobility users.

Embrace an over-bath shower
Creating a bathroom that caters to the needs of all ages is often a lesson in compromise. For small bathrooms that don’t have space for a bath and shower, solve the problem with an over-bath shower. If you have young children, for example, a bath works brilliantly because you can easily assist them. But for busy mornings, you may only have time for a quick shower. A shower-bath offers the best of both worlds in limited floor space.

Do things digitally
Bring your bathroom up to date with a digital shower, allowing you to control the flow and temperature of the water at the touch of a button. Digital showers work by taking water from both the hot and cold pipes to a processing unit, where it’s thermostatically mixed to the temperature you’ve chosen, before being pumped to the shower at a flow rate selected by you.

This has many advantages, not least because you can set the precise temperature to prevent scalding. What’s more, the control panel doesn’t have to be located inside the shower enclosure, it can be installed elsewhere in the bathroom at a height that’s convenient to you and your family.