Designing a family bathroom means finding balance between style, functionality and safety. Today, we take a look at the key elements of a kid-friendly bathroom.
1. Fixtures with safety features: Once your kids are able to bathe unsupervised, one of the risks you should watch out for is scalding from hot water. You can either make adjustments to your water heater – which means you may have to make do with not-so-hot showers – or have thermostatic valves installed in the bathroom. Thermostatic valves are designed to prevent scalding hot or ice cold water from flowing into the taps and showers, and work even when water pressure is fluctuating.
2. Out-of-reach storage: It goes without saying that ample storage is a must in every bathroom. But when you have kids around, you have to make sure that medications, cleaning products and razor blades are out of reach. When designing the cabinets with your bathroom and exterior remodeling consultant, your design should include overhead storage or at least ones that can be locked when needed.
3. Durable countertop: Quartz and cultured marble are materials that have low maintenance requirements and are resistant to scratches as well as most substances that may be spilled on it. If you have toddlers, allow extra space on the countertop for changing diapers instead of having a separate changing board or table. If the children grow out of diapers, the extra space can be used for other things.
4. Slip-resistant flooring: Keep your kids (and the senior members of the household) safe from slipping accidents by choosing slip-resistant flooring material. Flooring materials like tile are rated using their coefficient of friction (COF). The ideal COF ratings are between 0.3 to 0.6. Materials with higher COF ratings, like brick and terracotta tile, may be too rough for use as bathroom flooring. In contrast, glass is among the materials with the lowest CO rating at 0.04.
STL Design and Build is the most trusted remodeler and deck builder serving the greater St. Louis area. Give us a call at (314) 736-5800, or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.
