Renovating a small guest bathroom Before and after

The green guest bathroom from the 80s before renovation

After almost 40 years of use, the Grewe family from Germany decided to renovate the barely two-square-metre guest bathroom. Built in the 1980s, it was planned for a young family. Back then, nobody was thinking about how the elderly would one day use it.

So the small floor plan of the bathroom on the ground floor only accommodated a toilet, a washbasin with a mirror and a small cabinet. The surface-mounted cistern took up a lot of space, and the wall-mounted heater even more. Little space, then, for any frills.

The renovation: guest bathroom for the elderly

The challenge in renovating the guest bathroom was to make it both modern and yet functional for the elderly. Space had to be created so that the family could still use it to its full extent even with limited mobility. In addition, it needed to be easier to clean. All these challenges could be solved with good planning by the sanitary professional and a great selection of Geberit products.

What belongs in a guest bathroom

The Grewe family wanted to upgrade the small bathroom in terms of both comfort and accessible design. So the tiles were removed, underfloor heating was installed and a half-height prewall with concealed cistern was fitted. This created space for the important things in the bathroom.

The Grewe family chose the Geberit AquaClean Mera Classic shower toilet as their WC. “The thought that we are getting older made us decide on a shower toilet,“ explains Elisabeth Grewe. “Cleaning with water is much more pleasant than with paper, and you can just sit there. The remote control makes it easier shower toilet with limited mobility.“

Comfort thanks to additional functions

As the guest toilet is right in the entrance area of the home, a friendly atmosphere also needs to be created in this area. “Unpleasant odours sometimes spread in the entrance area with the old toilet. We didn't want that any more,“ says Elisabeth Grewe. As the Geberit AquaClean Mera Classic has an odour extraction system, bad odours in the bathroom are eliminated straight away.

Storage space was another important topic. With the Geberit iCon washbasin, the matching washbasin cabinet and the side element, the space can be used ideally, even when space is limited. And for the Grewe family, this combination offered practical advantages in addition to the visual benefits: the ceramic appliance's special glaze KeraTect is almost non-porous, which makes it low-maintenance, durable and, above all, easy to clean. Hygiene products such as soap or toothbrushes can also be placed on the shelf of the washbasin.

In short, the renovation was a success. Both family and guests are happy.

The cleaning effort is reduced thanks to the wall-mounted furniture: this makes mopping the floor a quick and easy task.

The Geberit iCon washbasin cabinet and side element offer plenty of storage space for towels and other bathroom items. In addition, the light-coloured furniture and ceramic appliances in combination with the grey tiles make the guest bathroom appear more spacious.