There’s a lot to consider when it comes to your bathroom’s design. As one of the most used rooms in your house, it’s important you ace the design of it to maximise efficiency and aesthetics.

We’ve listed five of the most important bathroom design rules that will set you up for success. Whether you’re a novice bathroom designer or a seasoned expert, these rules will help ensure your bathroom is perfectly designed to meet all your needs and aesthetics.

1. Consider the Layout

When it comes to your bathroom layout, you need to do your own cost-benefit analysis. Do you want all your fixtures on a single wall and save on the plumbing installation costs? Or does your ideal floor plan have the bath on one wall, the taps on another and the toilet on a different wall again?

If you want to spread out your bathroom fixtures across two or more walls, you’ll need to pay more to run pipes here. This means you can have a more versatile and flexible floor plan for your bathroom.

If cost is a concern, you can still have an aesthetic and efficient bathroom layout using a single wall. This will save you from running more pipes than is necessary for your bathroom to function.

2. Don’t Clutter Your Space

While it might be tempting to include a bath, shower toilet and double vanity in your renovation, you don’t want to cram too many things into this space. Is it really worth sacrificing that extra space to have that separate shower and bathtub?

When planning your bathroom design, make sure you set aside enough space for someone to stretch out and turn around when getting out of the tub or shower. There’s nothing worse than trying to dry off in a space you can barely stretch your arms out in.

If you’ve got a smaller bathroom and you’re looking for ways to save space, consider installing a shower-bath combo or a concealed cistern toilet. In small spaces, every bit of space you can save adds up!

3. Plan the Lighting

To ensure your bathroom is both functional and aesthetic, you really need to ace the lighting. To successfully light a room, you need task lighting to illuminate a task and ambient lighting to set the mood.

Task lighting is important for when you’re shaving in front of the mirror, plucking out a very specific eyebrow hair or putting makeup on for a big night out. Typically, you’ll find task lighting as downlights situated just behind where’d you’d stand in front of the vanity or wall-mounted lights on either side of your mirror.

When it comes time to have a relaxing bath, however, the last thing you want is bright lights to ruin the mood. Here’s where ambient lighting steps in. Whether it’s simply dimming your task lights to give a softer, dimmer glow, or having separate lights installed that give a warm and relaxing light, you need some kind of ambient light to complete your bathroom’s lighting.

If you’re completely remodeling your bathroom, now’s your chance to maximise the amount of natural light in here with some great windows. Few things beat the way natural light can make your bathroom look.

4. Make Sure There’s Plenty of Storage

One thing that many people tend to overlook in their bathroom designs ensuring there’s enough storage. As nice as your skincare and towels might look, if they’re sitting out unnecessarily it’ll only make your space look cluttered.

Cabinets, wall hooks, floating vanity drawers, recessed shower shelves – it all goes a long way in making sure there’s a spot for everything in your bathroom. There are so many bathroom storage options now, you’ll be able to find something that will perfectly fit your space, budget, and look great too.

5. Keep it Functional

No matter how beautiful your bathroom is, at the end of the day, it needs to be functional. Make sure you cover all the basics in your design – keep it well ventilated, space-efficient well lit and with plenty of storage.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to start looking at the extras, like a fancy pendant light or a state-of-the-art bidet toilet seat. Great bathrooms are built on a strong and functional foundation.

With these 5 tips in mind, you can go forth and draw up the blueprints for a bathroom that meets all your family’s needs. Whether you have a small bathroom or a much bigger room, these rules apply in every setting.