Parents know children’s bathrooms are often impossible to keep clean and often turn into a dumping ground for worn clothes, dirty towels, and more. It’s likely not a room you want guests using, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When family or friends come to visit, you need access to as many bathrooms as possible. Children’s bathrooms can easily become a guest bathroom with the right design and materials. You also want to think about the bathrooms in your home for the future. Kids grow and move out, so you want to make sure the kid’s bathroom can easily be used for guests when kids are out of the house. Below are just a few examples of ways you can get more out of the kid’s bathroom and plan the space for the future.
Color and Pattern
A child’s bathroom should be fun and functional. This doesn’t mean you have to line the walls with rubber ducky wallpaper, unless you want to, but it should reflect the personality and style of the people who use it the most. One great way to bring a little fun to the space is with color and pattern. You can choose interesting and exciting patterned tiles or wall color. Be sure to think about the longevity of your home and choose colors or patterns that can also accomplish a more sophisticated look.
Plenty of Storage Space
There are endless grooming products to store in a bathroom used every day for showers, preparing for bed, and getting ready in the morning. You are going to want to design with storage top of mind. Consider a large linen closet, extra cabinet space and maybe even room for a laundry hamper to keep those clothes and towels off the floor and in one designated spot. Even after the kids move out, you will want plenty of storage space for clean towels, sheets, pillows, and anything else that might make a guest more comfortable.
A Tub for Bathtime
A bathtub is a must for families with children. This is something you don’t want to skip in designing your children’s bathroom. When the kids are small, the parents have to be involved in bathtime, so design the room with space around the tub to give you the space you need to make bathtime easy and efficient. Once the kids get older, the tub might not be as important, so when you design the bathroom, make sure you include both a tub and a shower. This becomes even more important when transitioning the bathroom to a guest bathroom. There are a wide variety of tub/showers you can choose to fulfill your needs, or you could opt for a separate tub and shower to create that spa feeling, perfect for weekend visitors.
Easy Clean Surfaces
Kids are MESSY. For a lot of young kids, even bathtime can get messy. Think bubble baths, bath toys, stuck on toothpaste, spills, and more. It’s unbelievable how messy the bathroom gets in just a week. For this reason, you’re going to want surfaces and materials that are durable and extremely easy to clean. If scrubbing the floor between the grout isn’t your thing, go for flooring material you can easily mop and keep clean day after day. Your tub is another big consideration. Be sure the tub itself, as well as the shower walls and tiles, can easily be bleached or cleaned without too much elbow grease.
Built-in Step Stool with Hidden Space
Little ones need a little boost to get to the faucet to get cleaned up for dinner or brush their teeth before bedtime. This might mean adding small stools to the design of your bathroom. Having images of tripping over stools as you’re trying to get your kid out the door for school? Don’t worry. We can help you design a bathroom that equally balances style and function. A skilled designer can help you find the small storage places in your bathroom to easily store away things like training seats or step stools. Once the kids are grown and the step stools aren’t needed, repurpose the space to hold clean towels or extra grooming products.
Jack and Jill for Guest Rooms
Jack and Jill bathrooms have been popular for a while and parents find the access to multiple kids’ rooms and the bathroom a time saver in the morning and the evening. While extremely useful for when the kids are young, what happens when they get older? Make sure your shared bathroom can meet the needs of two people trying to get ready for the day in the morning. Consider a separate bathroom stall accessible without going through the other part of the bathroom. This way someone can shower while the restroom stays available for other people in the home. When kids move out, Jack and Jill bathrooms can be perfect for multiple guests staying the night. With locks on both doors, guests can come and go as they please, and use the restroom when it is not in use without having to race down a hallway in a towel or fumble around in the dark when getting up to use the restroom in the middle of the night.
That concludes our quick hit list of tips for getting more out of your kid’s bathroom. Looking for more design tips or need help designing your dream custom home? Our designers are standing by ready to help! Give us a call or send an email and a member of our team will be in touch to help you get started!