Other than the kitchen, I think the bathroom has to be one of the most high traffic rooms in the house.  Whether it’s a long soak in the tub, getting ready for work, the children’s bedtime routine, toilet training or just going about your business, we spend quite a lot of time in our bathrooms. 

If you’re sharing one bathroom between your whole family, as we do with four of us, it can certainly feel like a squeeze!  As much as I’d love to have a separate kids bathroom and adult bathroom, space does not allow, so we have to make do with sharing as a family.  We have had to compromise between making it visually pleasing and a fun kid’s zone.

For now, any dreams of a luxurious adult themed bathroom are on hold whilst we have little children. Though it does seem anything is possible design wise with bathrooms nowadays, including Jacuzzi baths, speakers in showers, half height shower doors, TVs integrated into tiles and walk in baths.  Bathrooms are becoming more bespoke with designs for all ages and mobility’s and not just a necessary practical space.

Here are some tips on creating a workable bathroom space for both adults and children to share:

Shower bath

If you don’t have room for a separate shower and bath, a shower over the bath is a great space saver.  It means us parents can have a shower in the morning and the children can have a bath before bed.  It’s also ideal for introducing older children to showers by giving them a ‘shower-bath’ before bed to get them used to the shower sensation!

Toy Net

With two young children fun bath time toys are a must, but they can create quite a colourful slippery mess!  A sucker bath net is a simple way to quickly tidy them up after bath time and keep them all in one place.

Storage

Storage is essential when you have multiple sets of toiletries, plus the bathroom cleaning products and shared essentials such as toilet rolls.  If you’re short on cupboard space why not create a cupboard under the sink?  Too many products on show in a bathroom can create a cluttered feeling, plus they’re also super attractive to little people who like to create potions when you’re not looking!

Towel rails and hooks

Being a family of four we use a lot of towels – a hand towel, a bath towel each and I use a hair towel – that’s six towels on the go at any one time.  A heated towel rail and hooks on the door are essential to keeping our towels off the floor and in easy grabbing distance.

Large fluffy bath mat

A large fluffy bath mat is essential for placing two dripping wet kids on after a bedtime bath!  Not only this, but it will give you somewhere comfortable to kneel whilst washing the children.  Oh, and it will also absorb all those splashes which are inevitable when the kids have a bath!