Space & value

by Rebecca Foster

IMAGE: EDWARD MCCANN ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHER LYNDON DOUGLAS

PART 5: En suite bathrooms

Structural considerations 

Design details

Building Regs 

Costs 

Though it may seem like a small feature in terms of square footage, an en suite can provide a convenient and luxurious addition to the home. As well as freeing up space in the family bathroom on busy mornings, a well-designed en suite has the potential to provide a serene escape removed from busier areas of the household.

Whether you’re taking a quick shower or nipping out of bed to use the facilities, an en suite offers an alternative that’ll save you a chilly trip down the hallway to the main bathroom.

There’s plenty to consider when it comes to creating an en suite, from sanitaryware and heating to structural details and plumbing. Here, we outline the details to know.

WHERE TO CREATE ONE

At first glance, you may think that adding an en suite to your house is going to be a tricky job, especially if you haven’t got much space to work with. However, there are plenty of savvy ways to maximise your home’s floorplan.

“With most typical Victorian houses you can carve out a small en suite by merging two good size rooms and create a shower room in the centre, sandwiched by a bedroom on either side,” says Claudia Aksoy, a partner at A2studio. “For a larger, more luxurious setup you could knock through to an adjacent bedroom.”

If you don’t want to sacrifice an entire bedroom to create your en suite, then there are alternatives. For instance, an en suite could take up one small corner and put up studwork to partition off the space. You could even create a compact shower room in an area previously occupied by walk-in wardrobes.

“Consider proportions and furniture positioning if you’re doing this,” says Lisa Jensen, senior interior designer at Granit Architecture + Interiors. “You don’t want to create an awkward bedroom layout if you’re planning to partition off a section for an en suite.”

If you already have a spacious master bedroom, another option is to bring the en suite facilities into your sleeping quarters. You could incorporate a glass modesty partition to conceal a shower or bath in the bedroom, or even a half wall instead of a full floor-to-ceiling partition.

If you’re looking to incorporate an en suite as part of a larger loft conversion project, using the top floor of your house could be a smart way to make the most of precious square footage. “Baths and loos are well suited to fitting into the sloping walls of a pitched roof, for example,” says Mick Haley of The Gentleman Architect.

Of course, the facilities you can incorporate depend largely on the space available. “As a minimum, a zone with a walk-in shower should be around 1.5m x 2m in size,” says Claudia. “An average bathroom is around 2.2m x 2.5m, which allows for a bathtub and shower. A more generous setup would be more like 3m x 4m, which opens up the possibility of a freestanding bathtub, steam shower, double sink and storage.”

AWKWARD ANGLES Despite the awkward angles of the existing space, a luxurious en suite has been created by Ripples in this Victorian former chapel. As the bedroom is situated in the eaves of the property, the design needed to ensure privacy without blocking light. As a solution, a half-height modesty partition has been incorporated to hide the toilet

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