Essential Bathroom Accessories - Towel Rails and Heated Towel Rail

A funny thing about towel rails is that they always seem to be on the other side of the room to where you get out of the bath or shower! Often the bath and shower are separate and on opposite sides of the room.

The most obvious place for the towel rail is between the two. However what is wrong with having two towel rails? While this may seem blatantly obvious and common sense it is very often not the case.

Note: Your approach to design should be first logical, practical and then aesthetic. As a designer you should be trying to make it as comfortable and as practical as possible. The look and balance of the room are sought in conjunction with ergonomics. That is the skill of a good designer.

Hand towel holder

Hand towel holder

Another reason for making items such as towel rails very handy is that if the person is wet and stretching then they may be off balance. This is a very dangerous combination and slipping or a fall may result.

If using a heated towel rail one is probably enough for a small family however check how may people are going to use the bathroom and how often each day and confirm that one heated towel rail is enough. You may need two or a larger size to do the job, which is to dry and keep warm the towels.

Stainless steel heated towel rail.

Stainless steel heated towel rail.

A beautifull and ornately designed wash room, but where do you dry your hands? No towel to be seen, don't leave it up to the owner to go out and buy one from the local hardware store when you have gone to so much trouble selecting all the other fittings to coordinate so well!

Additional non-heated towel rails may be required as discussed above. Heated rails are not as versatile in the design as a simple rail, which can be almost any size, even just a hook.

Other considerations with heated towel rails is that for safety reasons they are usually electrically hard wired into position as it is a wet area. Another consideration is the height at which they are mounted. Typically the top of the rail is mounted at bench height, or 900 mm from the floor but this isn't always the case, and personal preference may dictate that it is up higher so that one doesn't have to bend to get to the bottom rail or so that very small children aren't likely to use the rail as a hand rail. (Children and adult's perception of heat can be extremely different).