Nowadays, a bathroom combined with a toilet and shower is quite common not only in private houses and country cottages, but also in apartments. And such a solution is far from always associated with a lack of free space and a small area of the bathroom. This option is becoming increasingly 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 bath and a shower cubicle, a rather spacious bathroom is required. And even having one, the bathroom combined with a shower cabin looks much more compact and harmonious.
Believe me, it’s 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 enjoy a shower and take a bath in one room?
What to look for?
Undoubtedly, choosing plumbing for a bathtub combined with a shower cabin, one should take into account the size of the room in which this plumbing fixture will be installed. In addition, the fact of whether you buy a bathtub complete with a booth or the first one was installed earlier influences the choice, and the booth is bought additionally.
In many ways, your choice also depends on how much you can spend on a new purchase, which in some cases is quite expensive. What are the most widely represented and popular options?
Costly Hydroboxes
The first of them can be called hydroboxes for taking a shower. These are multifunctional plumbing devices with a completely enclosed interior space. At the bottom there is a pallet, the side walls are made of special glass, and on the back functional panel there are buttons and levers that allow you to take one or another kind of shower.
Combined designs
Such equipment is perfect for lovers of the soul, but those who prefer to soak up the bath in the evening should not buy it. To achieve a compromise, manufacturers made a combined version. In this case, the shower tray replaces the bathtub, which can comfortably fit in full growth. This shower cabin combined with a bathtub (photo you can see below) has a lot of advantages.
disadvantages
The combined system will allow you to use all the features necessary when swimming. However, one cannot fail to say about some of the disadvantages that such, at first glance, universal devices have. These include:
- the high cost of multifunctional and large equipment;
- the need for a spacious room for the installation of a hydrobox;
- complexity of installation, which may entail a complete re-equipment and further repair 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 bathtub and shower, it is a huge plumbing complex that allows you to use different types of showers, hydromassage, steam generator, a device for flavoring the air and even a radio, telephone, music player. It is difficult to resist such a temptation, especially if you can afford it from the technical and financial side.
Bathtubs having a metal frame
A less technically difficult 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-mounted metal elements are installed in them. Then, glass panels are mounted on them, which serve as a shower enclosure.
For a number of reasons, this option is quite popular:
- The combination of frame-glass construction with the body of the bath is very durable. This is important due to the fact that with heavy use, traditional plastic curtains quickly become loose and can even break off from the supporting profiles.
- The option of frame mounting of glass doors and curtain screens provides high strength.
- Outward appeal. The design of the bathroom, combined with the shower, looks very impressive. These devices look especially aesthetically pleasing if you buy them in a single configuration. In this case, even models with curly, curved shapes are possible. They fit perfectly into any interior of the bathroom , combined with a shower. This option can be selected for a room of any size.
Bathtubs for showers 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 for creating a modern bathroom design, combined with a shower.
Plastic or glass restriction blinds
Perhaps this is the most affordable option that will allow you to equip a shower cabin combined with a bathtub. The curtains are fixed using profile mounts. Curtains of this type 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 on the upper side of the bath.
By purchasing products of 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 leak out at the junction with the ceiling or wall. Glass fences are somewhat more expensive than plastic. They are usually coated 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 should be recognized that they cope perfectly 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 the owners of small apartments change the bathtubs, which occupy almost the entire tiny room in the bathroom. Combined with a shower cabin (photo you can see below), such bathrooms become functional and attractive.
A shower cabin in such a room, for example, in Khrushchev, takes up significantly less space. Some houses of the old construction have two very small rooms, separated by a wall - a bathtub and a toilet. Many owners demolish the partition, and create a combined bathroom. Thus, a more spacious room appears with a shower and toilet.
We will not argue that the bath in terms of receiving water procedures is more comfortable, but a shower cabin will save space. A full shower is unlikely to replace a bath, but it has its advantages. For example, the lack of a bath can be compensated by a rather deep tray. The doors of shower cabins in different models can be opened inwards, outwards or to the sides; the cabin can be installed indoors of almost any layout.
Design
A bathroom combined with a shower requires a special approach to decoration. It is necessary to consider all the subtleties and possible ways of installing the cab. The greatest scope for creating an interior is provided by prefabricated cabin models, since their back is a bathroom wall, and therefore you will have a unifying wall cladding. In this case, the cabin becomes part of the common 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 rooms. In this case, the rest of the room is kept in strict and restrained tones, without excessive color accents.
At the same time, other experts believe that it is completely optional to carry out the design in a modern minimalist style. Showers in ethnic or urban interiors look no less attractive.
To make your cabin completely “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 room area allows, for a comfortable use of the cabin, you can abandon the traditional tray, replacing it with a shower zone of an individual shape. This option will allow you to place additional seats and accessories in the shower.
The benefits of combining
Whatever combination option you choose, it is important that it improves the functionality and comfort of the bathroom. It is necessary to emphasize a number of advantages that homeowners get by combining a bath and shower. Among them are:
- Practicality. The choice of hygiene procedures disappears. People who like to use a shower can do this in a fenced area without fear of splashing the whole room.
- If you want to take a bath, you absolutely will not interfere with the shower structure built on top of it.
- Profitability. You can choose fencing options in accordance with financial capabilities.
- The space of the bathroom is freed.
- Aesthetics. Modern combined models look very impressive and suit different interior styles.