I've seen a lot of that, too. Many people just seem to think about what looks "pretty" and not the actual processes involved in using the room. A big one for me is how people don't plan on where the towel is going to go for the tub or shower.

That said, sometimes issues crop up that limits where controls are placed (like a wall turns out to have a stack or an A/C duct in it right where the controls were going to go)...

Because you're thinking about these things already, you're 90% there with having a well designed bathroom.

This post was edited by Jewel654 on Thu, Oct 2, 14 at 15:32

Totally agree about planning for towel bars. That is another issue that I seem to be running into with my layour plans, Bathrooms are usually so condensed, it's not easy to make sure you have the space for them!

That's true. Frankly, I don't use towel bars, but I did have a hook placed by the shower for the towel.

What excites you the most about the remodel you have in mind?

How do your hooks work? I tried to do that for our lake house, but the towels seemed to fall off. Maybe I didnt get the right kind of hook. I also wonder if the towels would dry as well if not spread open on a bar. But I sure would like to go that route! Our space will not be formal/traditional so I think it would look fine.

I'm excited about all of it - including the planning process. We are actually hoping to change the second floor layout and make the space more efficient so that is exciting. But as far as the bathroom goes I'm probably the most excited about the freestanding tub I have selected to replace my old tub/tile surround that is cracked and takes up way too much space!

numbers, I know what you mean about towels not drying as well on hooks. I can reach my towel on its bar from within my shower, but it's a slight reach. I just ordered a hook to mount in the space between the bar and shower, where I plan to hang the towel in readiness, but then will spread it out on the rod to dry. It can also hold an additional towel if I have guests. It remains to be seen if the towel will stay and not fall off. I bought a nifty "robe hook" from PB to match my towel hardware, thinking it would also serve as a towel hook. Nope.

My hook was installed into the glass panel of our shower surround. I don't worry about the towel drying because we wash ours after one use. (Yes, I know.... but I did buy a front load washer that uses 15 gallons per load versus the 40 gallons a top load washer uses)

Jewel, after one use?!! Even if you're the repeat user? It's not the water use I'm thinking about. I'm sure you don't waste water. It's just, one use? Underwear, yes, of course.

I wanted shower controls out of the way of the shower spray and a towel bar within easy reach of the shower door, but I didn't get either. Unfortunately, life is full of compromises!

Our shower is 84" x 40" with tile on the two short sides, a full window on one of the long sides, and a frameless glass enclosure with a door in the middle on the other long side. I decided I'd rather have shower heads on both ends of the long shower, and I just wasn't willing to forgo the window to put controls there.

For the towel bar, I had to choose between one within easy reach or a towel warmer on the opposite wall. The towel warmer won. I could have put in a tower bar too, but really would I ever use the close towel when a nice warm towel is just a step away?

I have hooks exclusively in my bath and I have to say I have never had problems with the towel falling off the hook, or with the towel not drying completely between showers. (and yes, I take a shower every day. LOL.)

The hook I bought was a robe hook like linelle, and the towel would just fall off. Is there really a difference between a towel hook and a robe hook?

maxmillion - I have thought about a towel warmer, and also a floor heat system. Is your towel warmer on a timer? How long does it take to warm the towel after you turn it on? Also, if you have to be in the shower to turn it on, don't you get hit with cold water? How long does your water take to warm up? Do you just step out of the spray until that happens (and stand shivering at the other end)?

Was just thinking that it would be great to have a 3 way shower control so you could turn it on from the outside but also have control once you get in.

numbers, in my case there is a huge difference. I ordered this Hayden hook from Pottery Barn as it matches my towel and TP stuff.

It just won't hold a bath towel. I think it's meant for loops in bathrobes, and I don't wear a bathrobe.

I ended up ordering a proper hook from RH, being shipped at this moment.

I ended up keeping the Hayden hook, but I'm not sure why.

I use robe hooks for my big towels - they stay on, but you do have to be careful to place them on the hook properly. Even though they probably don't dry as well as they would on towel bars, I can't deal with towel bars because every time I walk in the room I have to neaten the towel that's on there. For some reason a towel hanging from a hook doesn't bother me.

My hook was fairly thick too, like linelles's Hayden hook, so it seems like the thinner the better. Makes sense if you think about it.

numbersjunkie - We are still in the construction phase, so I don't know yet! In my current shower (renting while construction is ongoing), the controls are directly under the shower head too, and I just angle the shower head away when I turn it on and wait for the water to warm up. Which takes FOREVER. Ok, 2 minutes. I brush my teeth and spray my plants while waiting.

I thought about a timer for the towel warmer, but DH and I have such flexible schedules that we don't shower at the same time every day. I don't know what times would even make sense for us, so I will probably leave it on all the time in the cold season.

We have a recently installed towel warmer - Amba. I haven't set the timer yet but I've turned the warmer on. It takes the chill off a dry towel in about 15 minutes but it's not really warm. That takes more like 30 minutes. But if I have it on for an hour it does warm up that side of the bathroom a bit. I hear that some of the Runtals throw off enough to heat the entire room.

In another bathroom we have towel hooks. They are similar to the RH ones linelle posted. We have had no issue with them but I did find that the towels didn't dry completely on a couple of humid days this summer.

One of the advantages of the old-school compact bathroom is that things are within easy reach. With a conventional tub/shower combination or a stall shower under 4 ft in one dimension, controls are generally within reach or a slight shift toward the outer rim of the tub or toward the shower door can make them completely accessible from outside.

We have a thru-the-glass robe hook to have that towel easily accessible from the shower. You do need to have that 1/2" hole put in the glass BEFORE it is tempered, since you cannot drill after. Also when you go to hang a towel on a hook, fold that edge back a couple inches to give more weight/bulk on the hook so it won't fall off.

Command hooks can be installed right on the glass w/o damage, so everyone can have a towel close by. ;-)

We have our shower head on a sliding bar. The controls are right next to it on the same wall. The head is fully adjustable, so I just turn it away from me when I reach in to turn on the water so I don't get wet.

Places for towels and being able to turn on the water w/o getting wet were at the top of our list when we remodeled.

-Babka

Re turning on and adjusting the shower without getting wet. Is it because the controls are at an end with no direct access? No glass doors that slide? I don't think I'd want to have to go inside the shower to turn the water on, then leave till it warms up.

I have one shower (newly remodeled) that warms up in the time it takes me to take off my sweats. The shower in my master bath has to run a LONG time to warm up. The two showers are about 15 ft. apart. I swear the original plumbing must have been run in a crazy manner for it to take so long. We have drought conditions here, so I just can't use the one that takes so long to heat up.

We live in Oregon and use towel hooks and the towels dry just fine. I use Quick dry towels. I was worried about our shower glass door hitting the hooks and I found rubber tips (for chairs?), installed it on the bottom hook and the towel definitely stays on. I always have a towel on the hook so it doesn't show.

Both access and size. If there is a glass surround with fixed panels you may not be able to reach in and turn it on.

If the shower is big, you may have to walk through it to turn it on. A client's was about 6 or more feet square and you had to walk all the way in to turn it on. Not only that but it needed it's own water heater and pressure system to keep the water warm for more than five minutes.

Thanks to something I read here, I specified the shower controls on the wall opposite the shower head. They are even off-center of the long axis, so that they are right by where you'd stand and reach in. Although now that I think of it, it's curbless, so that part probably isn't important. It looks fine to me, now if only the glass guy would install the panel so I could move showering indoors before winter (we put a temporary one outside and we've had a great summer, but it IS October now...)

We also have a small room with not a ton of wall space and I'm struggling with the towel locations and the bar vs hook. I have a hard time telling from pix which hooks will be good at holding towels. (I know I have stayed at a relatives' house who had a cute board with hooks and your clean clothes and towel were guaranteed to be on the floor by the time your shower was done.)

Honestly my bathrooms have all been small enough that I can fold the towel and put it on either the toilet lid or the sink, depending and it's right there.

In the new baths I am doing there will be a Runtal next to one shower/bath and in the other I may resort to the folded on the toilet seat trick. Runtal will be about 4 feet away. But I have no problem with picking the towel up off the bathroom floor next to the tub either, the floor is clean enough.

Pal, I agree with you about moving a towel to make it more convenient when emerging from the shower. I can reach mine on its towel bar, but it's a slight reach and I don't want to risk tweaking my back. My plan is to put a hook between the towel bar and the shower, making it very handy. Then the towel will go back on its bar to dry. It can always double as a second bath towel place if I have guests.

Funny, I just found this pic that seems to solve both problems - the shower controls and the towel bar! Notice the opening by the shower head.

[Contemporary Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by Toronto Architects & Building Designers Taylor Smyth Architects

Numbersjunkie - How does that last bath solve the spray problem? Maybe I am misunderstanding you. Aren't you still in the way of the spray when you turn it on?

Lotteryticket - Good to hear the Runtals produce a lot of heat. That's what we've gone with. If they are fast enough, it would be nice to just turn them on for each use.

max - when I first looked at that pic I thought the glass had a small opening near the controls where you could reach in, but maybe not. My bad,

Oh, I see what you mean! Yes, that would have been nice to do for reachability. What do you think of expansive open showers? I like trapping in steam and when the space is too big it never seems as warm.

I have the tub/shower faucet controls opposite the shower head so we never are under the shower making adjustments. Am doing a new bathroom and having the same setup. Worth the extra plumbing work when we installed the bathroom.