4 Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Freestanding Bath
One of the most important decisions you are going to have to make when remodelling your bathroom is the choice of the biggest and arguably the most important item in the room ? the bathtub. Do you opt for a bath and shower combination? Do you want an extra-large bath? Should the bath be freestanding or built-in? An increasing number of home design enthusiasts are choosing the freestanding tub over a bath built into a panelled enclosure. Freestanding baths are classic and stately, or perhaps modern and style-conscious: there is a huge range of baths available that'stand on their own in the room. Here are some things to consider when you are picking your dream tub.
- What Kind of Statement Do You Want to Make?
For sure, freestanding baths make a dramatic statement. You are, in effect, putting the bath on full show with nowhere to hide. The roll top bath or slipper bath is a fine feature in the room and can be placed in the centre of the bathroom or to the side of the room. Freestanding baths always make a statement but you need to consider whether you want to go for a modern, contemporary oval-shaped bathtub or a traditional slipper bath, for example. The look of your room will affect the tub you choose but there is no reason not to make an impact by putting a highly traditional tub in a modern room, or vice versa.
- Where Will You Put the Tub?
The space you have available will affect the kind of freestanding bath you want to buy. But don't panic if you have a small bathroom, small freestanding baths are available to fit in a corner or along a small wall; you certainly don't have to go for a full-on deep soaking tub if the bathroom is tiny. If you have a large bathroom then siting the tub in the centre of the room makes a dramatic impact.
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- What Size Tub is Best?
Following on from the previous question, once you have decided where to locate the bath you can work out how big it can be. If space is not an issue, then the bigger the better in our opinion. Large freestanding baths accommodate even the tallest members of the family and can enhance the bathing experience because the water is deeper and stays nice and warm for longer. If you need to place the bathtub between two walls, this will of course affect the size of the tub.
- What About Bath-Side Storage?
One of the potential issues with a freestanding tub is that, without the built-in surround, you have nowhere to put your shampoo bottles or your soap. However, resting bottles at the side of the bath is not a particularly stylish look and you can make storage accessible to the roll top bath by putting a shelf unit by the side of the bath, or a chair. The shelf unit'should fit in with the theme and look of the bathroom. Be inventive ? you can often find interesting reclaimed or antique pieces that may not have been originally designed for the bathroom but end up working well there.
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Image courtesy of jtspas.co.uk