The average bathroom floor area in Australian apartments is shrinking and guest toilet areas need to be optimised to save space. When you are designing a bathroom within the constraints of limited space availability, it’s important to find space-saving solutions, including planning the right door and swing direction.

Ways to save space

If the bathroom door is aligned and placed correctly, you can maximise the usable space inside the bathroom. Ideally, the bathroom doorway should be 90 centimetres wide and floor-even, making it wheelchair accessible – should this ever be required. If the door opens into the bathroom, it will take up nearly 1 square metre of space just for opening and closing. This space is freed up if the door is placed so that it opens outwards. If this is not possible, a sliding door might be just the right solution.

A question of safety

In addition to optimising space utilisation in the bathroom, there are other advantages to having a bathroom door that swings outwards. Consider the issue of safety: If you slip and fall in the bathroom, you might not be able to move or may even be lying unconscious on the floor. However, people will not be able to get in to help you if you are lying motionless in front of a door that opens inwards. If the bathroom door can be opened outwards, someone can quickly and easily come to your aid. The only prerequisite is that the door features a lock that can also be unlocked from the outside in an emergency.

Added convenience to boot

A bathroom with a door opening outwards is easier to clean – with the door out of your way, all the walls and especially the floor are easily accessible. And finally a word about the quality of the door: Bathrooms are very intimate places – the less noise that emerges from your bathroom to the outside, the more comfortable you’ll feel inside it. It is, therefore, worth installing a high-quality bathroom door.

Architecture & Design Team

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