Bathroom

How to plan a bathroom

The bathroom is the smallest room in most houses and the one where every square foot pulls its weight. The fittings have to last decades, sit through twice-daily moisture cycles, and look reasonable while doing both. Approached in the right order, it's a finite list of decisions.

Layout comes first. A standard UK family bathroom is around 4 to 6 square metres, which fits a bath, basin and toilet with a few inches to spare. A separate shower needs another metre or so. If you're working with a smaller space, a wet-room conversion (no separate shower tray, drainage in the floor) gains real square footage but costs more to install. The decision usually comes down to whether the budget covers a full retile and waterproof membrane.

Bathroom suite is the headline spend. Three things matter:

• Toilet: close-coupled is standard; back-to-wall and concealed-cistern designs hide the pipework but cost more to install. Check the flush rating (the dual-flush 3/6 litre is now standard). Soft-close seats are worth the £30 upgrade.
• Basin: vanity-unit basins (with built-in storage underneath) are the practical answer in most family bathrooms. Wall-hung basins look cleaner but lose the storage. Pedestal basins are the cheapest install but date faster.
• Bath: standard 1700 by 700mm is the British default. A 1800 by 800mm fits a taller adult comfortably. Freestanding baths look sculptural but need more space around them and a proper subfloor.

Taps and fittings set the room's tone more than the tile choice. Chrome and brushed nickel are the safe defaults. Brass and bronze are the warmer option that's come back into favour over the last few years. Black taps and matte black fittings sharpen modern bathrooms but show limescale faster in hard-water areas.

Storage and finish are where bathrooms get won or lost. A wall-mounted cabinet above the basin keeps the surface clear; a tall slim unit fits in awkward corners; under-bath storage is a practical option in family homes with kids. Heated towel rails are the cheapest way to add real warmth and somewhere to dry towels properly. LED-lit demister mirrors handle the practical morning need; framed standalone mirrors handle the look.

The brands and retailers we list

We pull around 12,500 bathroom products from across the UK retailer network.

Robert Dyas dominates the listing with around 8,400 bathroom products covering taps, showers, accessories, towel rails and lighting. Strong on the £40 to £200 ready-fitting bracket.

The Range covers around 1,300 bathroom listings, leaning into accessories and decorative pieces (mirrors, storage, towels) rather than fittings.

Very stocks bathroom suites and bigger fittings, useful when you're replacing the whole room rather than upgrading individual pieces.

Filter the grid above by category, colour or price to narrow things down, or browse the full bathroom range without filters to see everything in stock. Prices update daily.