What is a WC? The Water Closet Trend Interior Designers are Loving

WC is short for water closet, a phrase that originated in Victorian England to describe a small room containing just a toilet that was often housed away from other washing and living areas. Known for being more than a little preoccupied with hygiene, the Victorians believed in segregating clean and less clean areas, with bathing and showering fixtures located in an adjacent room to toilet and plumbing fixtures.

But with houses and bathroom footprints getting smaller, more modern homes have tended to merge these two zones. So while we now often use toilet and WC interchangeably, the water closet design, as it was originally intended, has been gradually phased out to create what many of us know as the conventional bathroom layout.

More recently, however, the water closet as it was once known, has made a surprising comeback in bathroom design. More and more interior designers are including enclosed toilets – or separate WCs – within larger bathroom spaces. Why? Privacy, practicality and design flexibility. To help demystify the idea, we've put together a brief guide on how to incorporate this layout into your bathroom, achieve the desired look, and explore the range of WC options available to you.

Incorporating a WC area within your existing bathroom, whether fully separate or subtly enclosed, offers greater privacy in shared households, supports better hygiene by separating toilet and bathing areas, and allows more design freedom to highlight statement features elsewhere in the bathroom.

Moving from an open-plan bathroom layout to something more zoned can prove challenging in smaller spaces, but there are clever space saving ways to incorporate an enclosed WC toilet in your bathroom design.

Now that you’ve considered the layout of your water closet you might be slightly overwhelmed with the surprising choice of WCs available to you. From size, to function to style to suitability, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to choosing the right WC for your bathroom

Installing a WC should be a straightforward endeavour, but could prove tricky when renovating old properties or moving existing toilets and fixtures. Here are a few key factors to consider when installing your new WC:

Soil Pipe Location

Your soil pipe must align with your WC outlet, so be sure to measure this height before choosing a WC design. A wall-hung WC is a great option to accommodate an awkward soil pipe height, as the height of your WC can be adjusted to suit. If by chance your soilpipe and WC choice don't align, you can purchase an offset connector to bring the pipes together.

S Trap or P Trap?

Depending on the age of your home and the type of house you have, your bathroom will either have an S trap or a P trap draining system. Simply, an S Trap is a pipe that drains downwards through the ground or the floor, while a P Trap drains horizontally through a wall. Your WC design must suit your drainage system.

Water Supply

On the other end of your water system, you will also need to ensure that your toilet cistern is correctly connected to your water supply, which feeds clean water into the cistern that is then flushed through your flushing system into the toilet bowl. Your installer may also want to consider fitting an isolation valve here that will allow for easy and efficient WC maintenance in the future.

WC Seats and Accessories

Finally, you may want to consider the finishing touches that complete your new WC design, for instance, your choice of toilet seat, fixings and flush plates. These small details can have a big impact on both the look and functionality of the WC space.