One of the more puzzling bathroom furniture terms is 'handed'. What is handed furniture? And how do you know whether you need left or right handed items for your bathroom?

You may have noticed that shower enclosures are sometimes described as left or right handed: this term refers to the enclosure's layout. A quadrant enclosure might have its door to the left or the right; a rectangular walk in enclosure will have its opening at one side or the other. Whether the entrance to the shower enclosure is on the left or the right determines whether the enclosure is described as left or right handed.

You will find that some items of bathroom furniture are also described in this manner. A vanity unit with a long counter top and a basin that's set to one side, for example, could be referred to as left or right handed - especially if the reverse layout is available in the same model, and a means of distinguishing between the two is required. And a basin and WC combination unit may be referred to as left or right handed, too. Of course, left and right handed may not mean the same thing from one manufacturer to another where combination units are concerned: there are more variables with these items of bathroom furniture than with a shower enclosure or a basin unit. One manufacturer may refer to a left handed combination unit as having the toilet on the left and the basin on the right; for another manufacturer this could be the reverse. Make sure you double-check before you buy.

Of course, you may feel that the choice between left and right handed bathroom furniture doesn't allow you enough flexibility to design your bathroom just the way you want it. Buying separate items of furniture to build up a complete fitted (or freestanding) bathroom will allow you the greatest possible flexibility, as it will be completely up to you to select and position all your bathroom furniture individually.

When you're selecting new bathroom furniture, things to consider include style, size, layout, and storage capacity. Think about what you need, how you use your room, what kind of storage you require; then choose bathroom furniture which meets your requirements. If you buy furniture based on what's available in the first shop you go to, or by what looks nicest, you may quite quickly discover that your new bathroom doesn't fit the way you live. By thinking about how you will use the room first, and designing your finished bathroom to best suit your ideal layout you'll find that, while you may not manage to achieve the perfect bathroom, you could come pretty close to perfection.

Helen Davies is a senior content writer for BetterBathrooms.com, suppliers of a range of bathroom cabinets.

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