When you’re planning a bathroom for your Hampshire home, there’s your dream space, and then there’s that real life practical bathroom that works for the whole family. In your dream bathroom, you may have a beautiful freestanding bath at the centre, whether that’s a traditional claw-foot tub or something more modern – and yes, it’s sure to make a stunning centrepiece for your space.

However, your dream bathroom isn’t necessarily the best option for your space, and as great as freestanding baths may appear on the surface, you have to think about the compromises that come along with it. One such issue may be if you need to have a shower built in over the bath. This can be tricky in terms of keeping all the water in your wet zones and not all over the floor.

So the sensible choice may not be the most Pinterest worthy, but just because you have a built-in bath doesn’t mean you have to compromise on style. Here’s how you can make the best of it especially if you have a small bathroom space.

First up, think about materials for your bath panel. If you have a clean white bathroom, standard panelling will work great, but for a more luxurious look, you could look at more fixed frameworks that you can finish with your choice of materials. This could be the likes of wood finish or tiles, depending on the style of your bathroom. We love the look of butt and bead panelling for a stylish yet affordable finish to a bathroom scheme.

When it comes to positioning a built-in bath, if you can place it into an alcove with only one side of the bath exposed, you’ll create that more intimate, cosy feel when in the tub. Think about creating little alcoves in the walls around your bath too, as this will provide handy storage without having to place it on the side, causing clutter that will disrupt your peaceful soak.

Another option to consider is the back-to-wall bath design. This marries the two ideas of the freestanding and built in bath. From the front, the bath has the shapeliness of a traditional freestanding design, however, the back is fixed to the wall, meaning you have at least one wall connection that may help with fitting and making bath time less messy for the kids. With the right shower screen, this could also help you to put a shower over the bath in a stylish way.

Usability is also very important when deciding on placement of taps and a shower over a fitted bath, so work with our designers to ensure your preference is right. Mounting the taps in the centre of the bath means that you can use both ends without ending up with a tap jammed in your back, and can even mean that two people can use the bath at the same time. If you do fit a shower, consider whether you’d want it overhead on the end you tend to lie back to relax in. A shower dripping on your head is certainly one way to ruin a relaxing bath!