Whether you're sharing a bathroom with a partner, children or even your parents, the experience can often be far from harmonious. After all, the bathroom should be a private retreat where you can lock the door and relax, free from the stresses of everyday life. You don't need your nearest and dearest asking when you'll be finished and leaving their own products on every available surface.
Many people, including celebs such as Michael Caine, advocate separate bathrooms to maintain a healthy relationship with your loved ones. However, in the most part, a separate bathroom for each member of the household simply isn't possible, so what can the average person do? We've come up with these great ideas for shared bathrooms, which may help ease those all-too-familiar arguments!
Pick a bathroom design that works for everyone
"What might be right for you, may not be right for some." For those of you who remember the upbeat theme song from 80s American sit-com Diff'rent Strokes, the sentiment is clear and can certainly be applied to bathrooms. Whilst your partner may like a traditional style bathroom with Victorian tiles and a classic roll top tub, it may be your idea of interior design hell.
A compromise should be reached when designing your bathroom. A neutral colour scheme is the first step on the road to a bathroom that everyone can enjoy. Modern styles which aren't overly fussy or overly flashy are your safest bet.
Separate out your shower and bath
An idea which only really works if you're sharing with your partner (that is, unless you and your friends are very close!), separating out baths and shower enclosures gives you plenty more in the way of options. For example, you can lie back and enjoy a nice relaxing bath, whilst your partner jumps in the shower. If you and your partner get limited time together during the day, why not consider a double ended bath, so neither of you need experience the dreaded tap end whilst maintaining a close relationship.
Install twin sinks
If you have the room to spare, one simple solution to the issues arising from shared bathrooms is to fit a second sink. This means that you and your partner, or perhaps both your children, can get ready for work or school at the same time. No more bickering over who gets to brush their teeth, shave or do makeup first.
Even if you're renovating a period home, you'll find plenty of double basin options, including vanity units, which will provide added separate storage space for all your essentials.
Split your room up
From deciding whose turn it is to buy the toilet roll to cleaning rotas, there will be always be struggles in shared homes. That's why this advice, which may seem a little extreme, could be the best way to solve your shared bathroom problems.
Instead of sharing the whole room, why not split it into zones; one part for your own exclusive use and the other for your partner or housemate. Whilst splitting areas like the sink, toilet and bath/shower may not be practical (unless you also have a cloakroom), each designated area in your bathroom becomes that person's responsibility, both in terms of cleanliness and décor.
Make cleaning easier
Cleaning (or lack of) is one of the main causes of gripes amongst housemates in shared homes. The bathroom, with its high volume of usage, is one space which requires regular cleaning, or else you could be left with mouldy tiles and grimy taps.
To help ease these simmering tensions, why not design a bathroom that is easier to maintain? For example, wall panels instead of tiles require less cleaning due to the lack of grout, whilst back to wall toilets don't come with awkward gaps to the rear. Extra furniture, shower caddies and coated glass will all make life much easier in the long run.
Just like a relationship, sharing a bathroom certainly isn't plain sailing and will require plenty of hard work and a fair bit of compromise. However, by following this advice, you'll already be halfway there!
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