The choice of freestanding baths available can make selecting one for your bathroom tricky. Spanning all style lines, freestanding baths are that touch of luxury that can elevate the overall feel of a bathroom from ordinary to spectacular. In this guide, we will break down what freestanding baths are and how to easily select one to suit your bathroom.
What is a Freestanding Bath?
An eye-catching design piece within the bathroom. Freestanding baths are designed to stand alone, as their name would suggest. In their most traditional iterations, they emulate the look of tubs that would sit in front of the fire for people to bathe in years ago. Still an ever-popular design, modern iterations still have the dramatic look of traditional versions but won’t look out of place in the modern bathroom.
Who are Freestanding Baths For?
Ultimately freestanding baths are for those who want that luxurious bathroom, but they are actually for everyone. As a guide, we would suggest bathrooms need to be of a larger size to accommodate the grandeur that freestanding baths bring, and also, the stunning aesthetic of free-standing baths can be lost within smaller bathrooms. Also, practically we would recommend a minimum clearance of 200mm around the bath for cleaning and plumbing purposes. For those with smaller bathrooms, who still want a freestanding bath, baby versions of larger baths are available. Alternatively, back-to-wall baths are great for those who want the wow factor of a freestanding bath but don't have enough room for one.
How to Choose a Freestanding Bath
The Basic Principles of Choosing a Freestanding Bath
So, you’ve decided a freestanding bath is for you, use our handy tips and suggestions to perfectly select your bath. There are several key factors you will want to consider when selecting your freestanding bath, both in terms of your bathroom space and the style of the bath.
The first part would be to set a budget. If you are doing a full bathroom renovation, you want to allocate a specific amount to your freestanding bath to help narrow down your choices and also to make sure you don’t overspend. Within this budget, we would also suggest including money for the extras your bath may need such as waste, pipes and feet.
The next parts relate to how your bath will work within the bathroom. The construction and strength of your floor will play a key role in the type of bath and where it can be placed. For heavy steel or stone baths, you need to make sure your floor can take the hefty weight. It will also determine if you can have the bath fitted flat to the floor with the waste running under the floorboards, this will depend on the positioning of the joists or if the bath will need to be raised to accommodate the waste. The next two parts fit together hand in hand. You will need to determine the size of the bath in relation to the bathroom space. Freestanding baths are a powerful statement, but you want to make sure that you don’t overpower the bathroom. Requiring more space than ‘standard’ baths, you will need to consider how it will sit within the bathroom space. Have a play around with scale models, and add in a few baby baths as well, to help you decide the layout and size of the bath that will be perfect for your bathroom.
Style of Bath
Now the exciting part, deciding on a style of freestanding bath. Whether you are looking for ultra-traditional or minimalistic modern, each style of freestanding bath will often come in designs that suit either or both at the same time.
Roll tops baths are possibly the most traditional option. Their elegant design is ideal for those who want to keep with classic bathroom stylings. In single or double-ended designs they are often raised off the ground with feet and decorative pipe covers are used, which only add to the traditional styling.
Slipper baths are the ultimate single-ended bath. One side of the bath is slightly higher than the other creating a slipper effect. The higher side creates an indulgent encompassing feeling due to the high walls cocooning the body. Modern and traditional versions both give a stunning singular bathing experience and are perfect for giving an unsymmetrical feeling in the bathroom.
Contemporary baths span a whole range of styles including both single and double-ended designs. Don’t let the wording contemporary put you off if you are looking for a more traditional bath, lots of contemporary freestanding baths have sweeping curves that would fit in well with a classically designed bathroom, especially with the addition of feet and traditional style taps. For a thoroughly modern look consider a more geometrically shaped bath.
In terms of finishes, your freestanding bath no longer has to be white. While white baths look aesthetically pleasing in a range of bathroom designs. For a more spectacular option that will mould cohesively with other elements of your bathroom design consider selecting a painted or effect bath. Not only do these baths allow you to express your individuality within your bathroom space they also let you add in blocks of solid colours. Effect baths such as crocodile skin or metallic baths also add extra depth by including another texture into the bathroom.
Everything Else You Will Require For A Freestanding Bath
Like most baths, freestanding baths either come with or without tap holes. Most traditional freestanding baths have tap holes punched within the bath to keep with the overall look. If your bath doesn’t have tap holes it is worth considering your existing bathroom plumbing and how you will lay your bath out based on this. Freestanding taps are the go-to option for use with freestanding baths and they come in a range of different styles. If a freestanding tap is not your style, overflow fillers are a sleek modern option. Requiring a wall-mounted valve as well, you are best placed to consult your plumber to determine if this is viable within your bathroom space.
When finishing your bath, you want to make sure everything is thoroughly thought through, a half-finished bath won’t look half as spectacular as a complete bath. Extras to consider will depend on the style of bath you have gone for. If your bath is raised off the floor, you will want some decorative pipework for that designer finish, you will probably also need some bath feet to make sure your bath is properly raised. Other extras include waste and overflow covers, these are often individual to each bath so it’s worth spending the time to get the correct parts to ensure your end finish is as perfect as possible.
We hope from our guide you have been able to form an idea of what style of freestanding bath you want and require. Why not take the time to browse the range of freestanding baths we have to offer at our showroom in Burnley or if you want more help and advice feel free to contact our bathrooms team.
Opmerkingen