Room to choose
in a medium bathroom.
About 2.0 × 2.5 m, or 5 m² of floor. A medium room opens up shaped shower baths, corner baths and roomier showers, and it's where a separate bath and shower first become possible. Everything that suits a smaller room still works here too.
- Typical size
- About 2.0 × 2.5 m
- Floor area
- About 5 m²
- Fits
- A shaped bath or a bigger shower
- Usually
- Family bathroom
- Bath and shower?
- Just, with a compact bath
What fits
A medium room has space to choose. You can widen the showering end of the bath, tuck a bath into a corner, give the shower more room with a seat, or fit a shorter bath alongside a separate corner shower.
The extra space also goes on the things that make a bathroom easier to live with: a wider vanity, more storage and room to move between fittings.
Bath only: a built-in bath and no shower.
Shower over bath: both in one place, behind a glass screen.
Shower only: a long walk-in shower where the bath would be.
Bath and shower: a shorter bath with a separate shower.
Choosing your layout
These five layouts open up at this size. The compact and very compact layouts work here too, with more space around them.
A wider shower end
An L-shaped bath gives more room to stand while showering.
A squared-off wider end gives more room to stand while showering, with a fixed screen.
Read more →A curved shower end
A P-shaped bath widens at the shower end.
A curved end and screen soften the room, with more space at the shower end.
Read more →A bath tucked into a corner
A corner-shaped bath that wraps around two walls.
Can suit a room where the door or window rules out a straight bath along the wall.
Read more →A shower with a seat
A level-entry shower with a built-in place to sit.
A level-entry shower with a seat: comfortable now, and practical for later in life.
Read more →A compact bath with corner shower
A shorter bath leaves space to explore a separate shower.
The smallest room where a separate bath and shower usually start to work.
Read more →Choosing between them
Shower bath or separate shower?
A shaped shower bath keeps the room open and costs less. A separate shower is better if someone showers every day and someone else likes to bathe.
Corner bath or straight bath?
A corner bath can look generous but often uses more floor than it seems. A straight or shaped bath usually leaves more space for everything else.
A bigger shower instead?
If nobody bathes, a long walk-in shower with a seat can be the most comfortable use of a medium room.
Rearranging the room
A medium room often has more than one good layout, and any fitting can move to where it works best. New positions mean new pipework, which adds work and cost.
Making it work
Widen the vanity
A wider vanity unit gives more worktop and drawer space, and makes the basin the centre of the room.
Add a tall unit
A slim floor-to-ceiling cupboard holds towels and spares, keeping surfaces clear.
Build in a niche
A recess in the shower or above the bath, planned before tiling, keeps bottles off the floor and ledges.
Warm it properly
A heated towel rail warms towels; in a bigger room it may not be enough on its own. Underfloor heating or a radiator can help.
Light in layers
A bright main light, softer light at the mirror and perhaps a glow under the vanity or in a niche.
Keep paths clear
Leave room to walk between the door, basin, toilet and shower without squeezing past anything.
A walk-in shower behind reeded glass, a floating fluted vanity and a round mirror.
A shower behind one glass panel, an oak vanity with a stone top and a wall-hung toilet.
A large framed shower beside a trough basin on a metal washstand.
What to watch out for
Shaped-bath screens
L- and P-shaped baths need a screen made for that bath. Choose the bath and screen together.
Corner bath capacity
Corner baths can hold a lot of water. Check your hot water can fill it.
Two wet areas
A separate bath and shower means two areas to waterproof, and two to keep clean.
Ventilation
Building Regulations require an extractor fan. Place it where the steam is: near the shower, not by the door.
Every room is different. These are starting points, and we confirm what fits at your home visit.
Planning a medium bathroom?
Tell us about your room and what matters most, and we'll help you make the most of it.
Start your project briefIllustrations are concepts, not measured plans. Click any picture to enlarge it.