Recommendations from the Turnbull bathroom team

Our bathroom designers create bathrooms for families every week. Read on and help yourself to some of  their expertise and experience.

Choose the best shower enclosure for your family

Doorless, trayless shower enclosures work really well in family bathrooms.  Spacious and super-easy to clean, they  make great showering solution for families.  There’s no shower tray trip hazard as they’re installed direct to a tiled bathroom floor and no glass door to negotiate.

Have a look at our  Roman Lumin8 shower enclosures which can be installed direct to floor. They have  a minimalist, smart contemporary look which works well in the modern home,  making bathrooms more open plan and creating a more hygienic environment.

The Roman Lumin8 Wave Walk-in Shower Enclosure has got a fixed, curved 8mm glass panel, a hinged inward opening panel and it forms a generous shower area.   Making a wet room in your bathroom is a straight forward process with a Roman tanking kit, which includes everything you’ll need to make a 10m2 wet room: primer, tape, a self-adhesive drain mat, tanking compound, installation instructions, video and manufacturer’s guarantee.

Installing a walk-in showers  might mean you’ll gain storage space - always essential in a family bathroom.  However, if a really roomy walk-in shower is for you and your family, you'll want to have a look at the Roman Lumin8 Colossus Shower Enclosure , designed to fit neatly into the space left by a bath.  It has curved glass, a doorless opening and a lovely airy feel.

And a final thought on the shower v bath question.  Most families need to keep a close eye on heating bills and water consumption, so replacing a bath with a shower is a practical money-saver.  It’s environmentally friendly for the same reasons.  All in all, you’ll add value to your home with a high quality shower installation as well as creating a bathroom your family will enjoy using.

Family-friendly shower options

Most shower manufacturers are switched on to the varying needs and sizes of family members, so you’ll find, as standard, slider rails and a hand held shower head option.  A fixed drencher head provides a fabulous shower, but it isn't the most flexible set up for kids or for anyone who doesn’t want to get their hair wet every time!

Thermostatic shower settings are essential for family use, controlling water temperature so that there are no hot or cold bursts depending on what else is being used in the house.  They also limit a user’s ability to turn up the water temperature as a safety feature.  Well worth it if you have younger children.

Where you can get value-added for your family bathroom is by choosing a digital shower.  The Aqualisa Visage digital shower range delivers great style options and lots of winning features. Aqualisa Visage digital divert concealed shower has a smart technology which allows you to pre-set temperatures, decide which shower head to use, divert to a bath if needed all from a wall-mounted LED control panel.

You can even get remote controls which let you set a shower up and going whilst still sorting out things in another room - perfect for kids’ bedtimes, we say.  One such example is Aqualisa quartz digital divert remote control. Some models will give you data on usage so you can work out your energy consumption, and who uses the most hot water in your home (as if you didn't have a suspicion already!).

Towel rails for convenience and warmth

Talking to customers we know there's one bathroom accessory that really earns its keep in any family bathroom.  It’s the heated towel rail, or towel radiator, which brings two important benefits.  Towels are dried, aired and useable for longer.  And, of course, it warms your bathroom whenever your hot water system is on.

Choosing the largest heated towel rail you possibly can is a good move, and planning wall space within your bathroom design for this is essential - it shouldn't be an afterthought.  Our Zehnder Pro Klaro Towel Rail is an efficient, tall ladder towel rail that comes in three colours and five sizes, including a very generous 1708mm x 600mm.  Plenty of room for everyone's towels, and it'll do a great job of taking the chill off the bathroom in the mornings and evenings.  It also has a timer function so that it can be programmed to suit your family routine.  You might like to know, too, that you can convert an existing towel rail connected to a central heating system to stand-alone mains electric with a Towel Rail Electric Heating Element with Temperature Control.

If you've got questions about any of our products, or want advice on delivery, please get in touch with our friendly Sales Team on 01529 308839, or use the Turnbull chatline and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.