Wet room ideas offer the opportunity for creative, unique design, without feeling the pressure of squeezing a shower enclosure into a small space. Wet rooms are luxurious regardless of the space you have to work with, including floor-to-ceiling bathroom wall panels, concealed pipework, and even built-in seating for better accessibility. The best wet room ideas provide you with room to move, and an open-layout is even easier to keep clean than a regular shower.

What is a wet room?

Wet rooms are spaces which are usually open plan, with the floor altered to allow the water from a shower to a drain. Some wet room designs can also feature a shower screen to reduce spray in the bathroom.

Why choose a wet room?

The main reason that people look for wet room ideas is to reap the practical benefits they offer, although they look sleek and modern too which makes them the ideal renovation for a traditional home being brought into the 21st century. Wet rooms are easy to maintain and clean and are also perfect for aging or disabled family members as they have an open plan design, meaning that the shower area isn’t enclosed and access is easy.

A wet room will usually include a shower mounted on the ceiling or wall, with a slight incline leading to a drain nearby, but the rest of the design is up to you. This is a particularly great option for small wet room ideas. It can be hard to choose what to include in your wet room, with some people choosing to create a divide with a half-wall or glass partition, whilst others prefer to keep things simple. You may also want to consider repositioning the toilet away from the shower to avoid having a toilet seat that’s constantly wet.

Choosing a wet room shower

When choosing a shower, some people want luxury, and others prefer something more economical. Rainfall shower heads are popular as they have the power-shower feeling, but their heavy water flow isn’t right for people who are looking for wet room ideas that conserve water to cut down on their water bills and be more environmentally friendly.

Despite what you might think, you can still choose to have a regular power shower in a wet room, just make sure that you choose one that doesn’t look out of place when it’s not enclosed in a bath or shower tray.

Waterproofing the room

To avoid flooding or structural damage, perhaps the most important part of a wet room is the waterproofing. In most cases, you’ll want to hire an expert to waterproof the room and make sure it’s done properly but, if you’d prefer to do the work yourself, consider using wet wall panels or choose a shower wall panel kit to make life easier.

When choosing wall panels for wet rooms, neutral colours with natural textures will stand the test of time. DBS’s tile effect wall panels are ideal for this, and will help to create the look of a gorgeous spa-inspired bathroom. If you are looking for small wet room ideas, choose to have wall panels on three walls behind the shower and sink to highlight specific areas of the room.

If you’re worried about ensuring that the floor of your bathroom is completely watertight, use a large shower tray so that you don’t have to have a wet room tray with inbuilt drainage – this could be a more economical option.

Choosing fixtures

Choosing the right fixtures with wet room ideas is also highly important, as they will determine the style and feel of the room. Select something that’s in-keeping with the time in which your house was built, for example, period properties will suit chrome, Victorian-style fittings, whereas houses built in the 1960s will suit something more streamlined and modern.

Depending on which bathroom wall panels you choose, decide on the colour of your fixtures and fittings for your wet room ideas. A white bathroom works well with chrome, brass or copper, but a spa-inspired stone effect bathroom would work best with a chrome shower and taps.

Creating a feature wall

To make your wet room a bit more interesting, create a feature wall by using a contrasting wall colour on one wall of the room. A feature wall is a great way to modernise a wet room and can help to create a bold look, without much effort at all. If you choose to go for a feature wall, however, make sure it’s using waterproof materials like wall panels or it’s as far away from any sources of water as possible.

Feature walls also make great backdrops for bathroom accessories and accoutrements, which is why they are one of our favourite wet room ideas. Add downlighting and a beautiful mirror to reflect light around the room and accessorise with scented candles and plants to finish it off.