Today, a bathroom combined with a toilet and a shower is quite common not only in private houses and country cottages, but also in apartments. And such a decision is far from always associated with a lack of free space and a small bathroom area. This option is becoming more popular due to the convenience and versatility of such a solution.
Often, a person hurrying to work in the morning takes a shower, and in the evening he enjoys relaxing in a warm bath filled with fragrant foam. To separately install a bathtub and a shower cubicle, a fairly spacious bathroom is required. And even having one, the bathroom combined with a shower cabin looks much more compact and harmonious.
Believe me, it is not difficult to do this today. Manufacturers today offer many options for such an installation. Which one is preferable, which option will allow you to enjoyshower and bath in the same room?
What to look out for?
Undoubtedly, when choosing plumbing for a bath combined with a shower, you should start from the size of the room in which this plumbing fixture will be installed. In addition, the choice is also influenced by the fact whether you buy a bath complete with a cabin or you installed the first one earlier, and the cabin is bought additionally.
In many ways, your choice also depends on how much you can spend on a new acquisition, which in some cases is quite expensive. What options are the most widely represented and popular?
Expensive hydroboxes
The first of them can be called hydroboxes for taking a shower. These are multifunctional plumbing devices with a completely enclosed interior. At the bottom there is a tray, the side walls are made of special glass, and on the back of the functional panel there are buttons and levers that allow you to take certain types of shower.
Combined designs
Such equipment is perfect for lovers of the shower, but those who prefer to soak in the bath in the evening should not buy it. To achieve a compromise, manufacturers have made a combined version. In this case, the shower tray is replaced by a bathtub in which you can comfortably sit in full height. This shower cabin combined with a bathtub (you can see the photobelow) has many advantages.
Flaws
The combined system will allow you to use all the features you need when swimming. However, one cannot fail to mention some of the shortcomings that such, at first glance, universal devices have. These include:
- high cost of multifunctional and large equipment;
- the need for a spacious room to install hydrobox;
- difficulty in installation, which may lead to a complete refurbishment and further renovation of the bathroom.
But if the owners of a private house or apartment have the necessary amount and have a large bathroom, then why not use this opportunity? Such a hydrobox is not just a combined bathroom with a bathtub and a shower, it is a huge plumbing complex that allows you to use various types of showers, hydromassage, a steam generator, an air aromatization device and even a radio, telephone, music player. It is difficult to resist such a temptation, especially if technically and financially it can be afforded.
Metal Frame Bathtubs
A less technically complex and expensive option would be such a bath model. Its kit includes a design for installing glass curtain screens. For a shower cabin, such a bathtub has special grooves. During installation, frame metal elements are installed in them. Then glass panels are mounted on them, which act as a shower enclosure.
This option is quite popular for a number of reasons:
- The combination of the frame-glass structure with the body of the bath is very strong. This is important due to the fact that with intensive use, traditional plastic curtains quickly loosen and may even break off from the supporting profiles.
- Frame mounting option for glass doors and curtain screens provides high strength.
- External attractiveness. The design of the bathroom, combined with a shower, looks very impressive. These devices look especially aesthetically pleasing if you buy them in a single configuration. In this case, even models with figured, curved shapes are possible. They fit perfectly into any interior of a bathroom combined with a shower cabin. This option can be chosen for a room of any size.
Bathtubs for shower cabins today are presented in a variety of sizes and shapes. You can choose a design in which either the entire bath or its separate part will be limited to glass doors and screens. Often this is important to create a modern bathroom design combined with a shower.
Plastic or glass curtains
Perhaps this is the most affordable option that will allow you to equip a shower cabin combined with a bathtub. Curtains are fixed with profile fasteners. These types of screens are sold separately and can be installed on bathtubs of various shapes and sizes. They are not suitable only for curved models. In this case, the profiles are mounted on the surface of the ceiling, walls and onbath tub top.
When purchasing products from large manufacturers, you can be sure of the quality and reliability of such structures. As a rule, they are equipped with additional rubber gaskets that do not allow moisture to seep in at the junction with the ceiling or wall. Glass railings are slightly more expensive than plastic ones. Usually they are covered with a water-repellent microfilm. Thanks to her, you can not wipe the glass every time after a shower.
Plastic curtains are, of course, much cheaper. Perhaps this is their only advantage: very soon they lose their external attractiveness. They are covered with limescale and need additional cleaning. But, in fairness, it must be admitted that they do an excellent job with their function (protecting the room from shower splashes).
Small bathroom
I would like to talk separately about very small bathrooms. Unfortunately, in our apartments they are not uncommon. In recent years, quite often, owners of small apartments are changing bathtubs that occupy almost the entire tiny bathroom space. Combined with a shower cabin (you can see the photo below), such bathrooms become functional and attractive.
A shower cabin in such a room, for example, in Khrushchev, takes up much less space. Some old houses have two very small rooms separated by a wall - a bath and a toilet. Many owners demolish the partition and create a combined bathroom. SoThus, a more spacious room appears with a shower and toilet.
We will not argue that the bath in terms of taking water procedures is more comfortable, but a shower cabin will save space. A complete shower is unlikely to replace a bath, but it has its advantages. For example, the lack of a bathtub can be compensated for by a fairly deep tray. The doors of shower cabins in different models open inward, outward or to the sides, the cabin can be installed in almost any room layout.
Design
A bathroom combined with a shower requires a special approach to design. It is necessary to think over all the subtleties and possible ways to install the cabin. Prefabricated cubicle models provide the most room for interior design, as their back is the bathroom wall, and therefore you will have a unifying wall cladding. In this case, the cabin becomes part of the overall space and maintains the style of the room.
Style selection
Despite the high functionality of showers, it is more difficult to fit into the surrounding interior. Some designers believe that minimalism is ideal for such spaces. In this case, the rest of the room is maintained in strict and restrained colors, without excessive color accents.
At the same time, other experts believe that it is not necessary to design in a modern minimalist style. Shower cabins in ethnic or urban interiors look no less attractive.
To your cubiclecompletely "dissolved" in space, use transparent glass walls and doors. This is especially important for small rooms: in this case, you can create several zones without using stationary partitions.
Despite the quite affordable cost of a prefabricated shower cabin, it can be used to equip a functional hygienic area with a rain shower and an additional shower head. If the area of the room allows, for comfortable use of the cabin, you can abandon the traditional tray, replacing it with an individual-shaped shower area. This option will allow you to place additional seats and accessories in the shower room.
Combination benefits
Whatever combination you choose, it is important that it increases the functionality and comfort of the bathroom. It is necessary to emphasize a number of advantages that homeowners receive by combining a bath and a shower. Among them are:
- Practical. The problem of choosing hygiene procedures disappears. People who like to shower can do so in an enclosed area without fear of splashing the entire room.
- If you want to take a bath, the shower structure built on top of it will not interfere at all.
- Economy. You can choose fencing options in accordance with financial capabilities.
- Free up bathroom space.
- Aesthetics. Modern combined models look very impressive and fit different interior styles.
