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modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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Posted by staceyneil (My Page) on Thu, Nov 5, 09 at 8:31
| We started our design with the idea that we wanted a sleek frameless glass shower. We never questioned that it would be a rectangle, with a nice elegant 90-degree angle of glass.
But in laying out the fixtures, we had to compromise and make the shower door open right in front of the toilet. It's not the main bathroom, so people won't be wearing dirty shoes to use the toilet but its still not ideal. yet, a comporomise we chose (rough plumbing is in, so this layout CANNOT change now...)
Last night had a brainstorm... we could angle the shower door, allowing for a separate bit of floor space for enter/exiting the shower. the bath mat could stay on the floor and not get stepped on by toilet-users. The shower is big enough (36" x 58" interior) to lop off a corner, I think, and it makes the smallish vanity feel less boxed in too.
BUT------- is the "look" all wrong? I guess I associate angled showers with a less-modern, more traditional, even 80's style. Seems like all the sleek elegant modern baths I like have squared corners on the shower.
What do you guys think? Would you choose FORM (sleeker looks) or FUNCTION (easier to use the space)???
Here are a couple sketches, and some inspiration pics so you can see the look we're after... our materials are:
floor tile= 12 x 25 white porcelain
wall/shower tile= white glass mosaic
niches/shower floor= honey onyx
vanity = wood with white semi-recessed ceramic vessel sinks
wood accents and cabinetry
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| If the door doesn't hit the toilet going the 90 degree route I would stick with the original plan |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| It can open 90 degrees before it hits the toilet... so hopefully it won't get banged too much, though that IS a little concern there. Mostly it's just that the bath mat will get dirty :) |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| I'd angle the door. I think you're gaining more in function than you're losing in form. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| I would use a sliding glass door in the original design. Hafele sells a mechanism that makes that glass almost like a barn door and you can push it against the wall that you have the glass door currently hinged. Good luck! |
Here is a link that might be useful: An example of a hinged door
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| I'd worry a bypass door would leak. I love modern too, but I don't see any problem with the angle in terms of the look, and it vastly improves the traffic flow. But then, I'm all about function over form; in my view modern design puts function over form. Those are gorgeous bathrooms! |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| is that all it is? I thought maybe you were thinking of getting a walk-in bathtub or something! I'd angle the door in a quick minute. No question. The rest of the room can carry the form idiom and the angled door is the only logical choice. No way would I have a door that could possibly hit the toilet. I wouldn't want a room like that if I were buying, either, fwiw. The first thing I would have thought is "why didn't they angle the door?" |
ps RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function
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| Although uh-oh...I just read a post on the 'best remodeling decision' thread linked to in gibby's thread, and found this under "bad decisions": Completely frameless glass shower enclosure on the neo-angle custom shower. It leaks, it was outrageously expensive, and a slim-line metal framed shower would be much, much better. Frameless is just not suitable for neo-angle showers. Now we know! jkom wrote it, I believe... Although you know, given that I'd *still* go for angled over a door that feels cramped every time you open it.
I wonder if it's possible, though, to put some sort of stopper mechanism on it so it can't open so far as to hit the toilet, but still far enough for anyone to get in... Yes, I'm a libra. Just trying to help set out all the possible considerations before you choose. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| Thanks for your thoughts, folks! flyleft.. I'm laughing at your posts :) Regarding the leaking issue.. I don't think that the angle will affect our set-up. in either case, the door is hinged on the wall, and the door clese against a piece of glass it's not in plane with. We have the option of installing a silicone flange along the long open side of the door if need be, but we're going to try it without the flange first, because I want a cleaner look. In either case, the showerhead is facing away from the door, so we're *hoping* it won't be a problem. I'll check with the fabricator though and see what he thinks. I also emailed this question to my brother, who is an architect in Norway (currently working on a new courthouse for Mecca!!) and he said, angle the shower door, no question. So now I am pretty well convinced!! Thank you! |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| Let me throw one more wrinkle into this situation. I like bigger showers (the rectangular one), but I agree that the door needs to be angled. However, how much use will that tub get? And look at the pictures of bathrooms you like...how many have tubs? If it were me, I'd get rid of the tub and have a spacious and airy-feeling shower-vanity-toilet combo, rather than a more cramped-feeling space that includes a tub. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| I have to agree that the rectangle does look more modern, however the angled door is more practical and a frameless version would still be very contemporary, especially with your other material choices. About the concern over the bathmat possibly getting dirty if placed near the toilet, wouldn't itt be out of the way most of the time and only in use when someone takes a shower? So most of the time bathmat will be rolled up or hung up elsewhere, right? Good luck with the bathroom, whatever you decide, it sounds like it'll be gorgeous. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| I wouldn't want to worry about hitting the toilet each time so I would definitely angle the door, You don't want it to look like an opps moment each time you walk in. You are using all modern finishes and fixtures so I would not worry about it looking 80's at all. Here is another thought I don't know how it will work in the room but if your really stuck on the squared look what about running the hinge side near the sink. BTW these door swing both ways, in and out. If you ran the hinge next to the sinks you could just have one long mat across the sinks. I still think I like the angle, and as far as the leaking goes, I had not heard that and wonder what the difference is maybe it was a small shower that was getting a lot of water near the door which from what I see in your pictures is not your scenario. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| Um, stacey, I burst out laughing at your post--if I had an architect brother in Norway I would have e-mailed him right off! And jjaazzy, code in many places says that a shower door *can't* swing in, because it would hamper rescue if someone had fallen in there. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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staceyneail,
you could make it a 23" wide glass door, and
you could angle it 30 degrees or 60 degrees. When one element of a set is de-centered for a reason, it makes sense, it is still balanced as a set, it is a consistent whole.
This is the essence of aesthetics.
Pure symmetry and "pure lines throughout" is not a concept to carry through in all circumstances. -dr |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| flyleft: there's no code that says shower doors can't swing in; they just can't only swing in. As long as it also swings out it can swing in as well. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| Yes, and the glass shower hinges I have seen swing both ways. |
RE: modern bathroom design compromise: choose form or function?
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| Oh, I see - I thought you meant you could get it swinging either in or out. But I see that I misunderstood what you said. Never mind :) |
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