It’s funny how interior spaces change over the years. Your bathroom gets its name because it was literally designed to be a room with a bath. As tastes have changed, we’ve seen baths get removed from bathrooms as more people prefer to opt for a shower instead. It makes you think, should we start bringing baths back?
What are the pros and cons of having a bath in your bathroom? This is a fun topic as it can lead the way to some cool home improvements. If you don’t have a bath, maybe it’ll convince you to transform your bathroom with one. Or, if you do, perhaps this’ll give you the nudge to remove it and create a more open room with a walk-in shower.
The choice is yours, so let’s look at the pros and cons below:
Pro: Very Elegant
Baths have a very elegant design that brings a lot to your bathroom interior. It can be a smart renovation that turns an old bathroom into something with more charm. There are loads of awesome bath designs too, such as old Victorian-style ones, modern ones, and so on.
It’s definitely a great option if you want to take your bathroom and make a big change.
Con: Space Consuming
Arguably the biggest disadvantage of a bath is the way it takes up space. You need enough room in your bathroom to fit a structure that’s long enough for the average human. It’ll probably be around 5-6 feet long, plus a good few feet wide.
For small bathrooms, this can be way too big. Sure, you technically have the space to install a bath, but it would mean there’s no room for anything else. The whole area could feel more cramped, whereas a standing shower opens up your bathroom. If you feel as though your bathroom is already cramped, a bath won’t be for you.
Likewise, if you already have one and would like to create a more open bathroom, perhaps consider removing the bath and turning the whole place into a fancy wet room instead.
Pro: Extremely Relaxing
Few things are as stress-relieving as lying in a nice warm bath. You get all the bubbles frothed up, light a few candles, play some music, and enjoy a long soak. It’s super invigorating and can be exactly what you need after a long week.
You could even get a plumber to install features in your bath to turn it into a jacuzzi tub for a more authentic spa experience. If you’re struggling to find somewhere in your home where you can relax and feel at ease, maybe a bath makes a lot of sense for you.
Con: Not As Practical
Your alarm goes off in the morning and you’re making a mad rush to get ready. You run to the bathroom and…start running a bath? It takes ages to fill up, and then you have to hop in and clean yourself. With a shower, you simply run in, turn it on, wash, and you’re done. The whole process is quicker than running a bath itself.
So, there are some practical drawbacks to a bath, particularly when you’re in a rush. You could offset this by installing a shower and a bath together. It provides relaxation benefits when you need them and practicality when you need to be speedy.
Pro: Very Therapeutic
As well as being relaxing, baths can be good for your health in other ways. You can infuse them with Epsom salts or other concoctions that help ease sore muscles and deal with chronic pain. Some bath bombs or bubble baths could also provide nourishment for your skin, giving you a whole-body makeover.
Con: More Cleaning
Cleaning a shower is hard enough, but at least there aren’t that many things to worry about. You have the tiles, the shower fixture itself, and then the little base at the bottom.
With a bath, you still have the wall tiles, but also the whole tub and the faucets. Baths can get much dirtier than showers and will require more cleaning and maintenance. It’s even worse when you have a bath/shower combi as you have to clean everything!
Overall, there are some clear upsides and downsides to having a bath in your house. In all honesty, it’s probably too impractical to only have a bath. Your best option is to either install a bath with a shower or have a bath in one bathroom and a shower in another. Obviously, you need two bathrooms for the second option, so the first one may be more suitable for everyone. It certainly means you get the best of both worlds.
