Toilet Buying Guide – How to Choose the Right Toilet for Your Bathroom?

While choosing a new toilet might not be the most exciting part of your bathroom renovation, it’s an important one considering how often it is used throughout the day. 

Our comprehensive guide will help you decide which toilet is most suitable for your space and needs, looking at the different types available on the market and the important aspects to consider when choosing a toilet. 

What are the Different Types of Toilets? 

Toilets come in a wide variety of styles to choose from including traditional and modern variants. Let’s have a look at some of the most popular options on the market and who they’re best suited for. 

Closed-coupled toilets have the cistern and pan couple together in one unit. The cistern is visible and usually sits flush against the wall. The pan is secured to the floor slightly forwards of the cistern. 

You can generally get two types of close-coupled toilets – open back and fully shrouded. The first one is freestanding, leaving a gap between the pan and the wall behind it. The second type of close-coupled toilets features a shroud at the back of the pan which hides the soil pipe, allowing it to sit flush with your wall. 

Close-coupled toilets are available in a wide array of sizes, colours and styles, which makes them the most popular type of toilets in UK bathrooms. 

Pros	Cons
✅No hidden plumbing required and fit existing soil pipes, which makes them effortless to install. ✅The fully shrouded option provides a clean look, leaving no awkward gaps behind, allowing for easier maintenance. ✅A broad selection of both traditional and contemporary styles to choose from.	❌With open-back models the soil pipe is left exposed, which creates awkward gaps where dirt and dust can accumulate.

Back-to-wall toilets feature a cistern hidden behind the wall or inside a cabinet unit and a pan which sits flush with the surface. This type of toilet saves spaces, which makes it perfect for smaller bathrooms. It’s also a great choice for those wanting a contemporary, minimalist look. Not all back-to-wall toilets come with the cistern supplied, so make sure to check if you need to purchase one separately.

Pros	Cons
✅The lack of visible cistern means there’s no awkward gaps making cleaning a breeze.  ✅Having the plumbing hidden also means your bathroom looks tidier.	❌Since the cistern has to be hidden behind a partition wall or built into a cupboard, this type of toilet is harder to install.

Similarly to a back-to-wall toilet, a wall-hung toilet has the cistern hidden behind a wall, the difference is the pan is hung on the wall. These types of toilets are a fantastic choice for cloakrooms or smaller bathrooms. 

Because you can hang the pan at any height, this is also a great option for people with mobility issues. Or anyone who is slightly taller.  

Pros	Cons
✅Take up significantly less space compared to other options.  ✅Easier to clean.	❌Just like the back-to-wall models, wall-hung toilets are more complex to install

What to Consider Before Buying a Toilet? 

So apart from style what else is there to consider when choosing a toilet? 

Before you buy a new toilet, it’s really important to check the existing plumbing connections. Certain types of toilets might not be compatible with your current fitting connections, which means you might need extra fittings. 

Other than that, here are some of the other things you might want to think about before getting a new toilet.

Available Space

The available space you have might narrow down your options, so before you buy a toilet we recommend planning out your floor space. When measuring, don’t forget to account for the depth of the cistern if you’re planning to get a close coupled toilet. You also want to allow enough space in front and around the toilet, so anyone can fit comfortably.

Soil Pipe Direction

The soil pipe is the outlet which takes wastewater into the sewage system when you flush. Usually your toilet is connected to this via a waste connector, also called a pan connector. Always measure and check the height and positioning of your soil pipe to make sure your new toilet is compatible with it.

Generally, close coupled toilets will fit any existing soil pipe since they can connect to it horizontally, vertically or either to the right or left. Back to wall or wall-hung toilets on the other hand need a horizontal or vertical connection to the soil pipe

New Plumbing Connections 

Are you replacing your existing toilet without changing its position? If this is the case you might be able to use the old connections and fittings for the fresh water supply. Do be mindful, however, that not all types of toilets need the same fittings, so always check whether you need to buy new ones.

How Much do Toilets Typically Cost? 

Toilets are available at different price points to suit your budget depending on their material and make. Generally, you can expect to spend anywhere between £70 to over £400 on a new toilet. 

You can see some of our bestselling models below to give you a rough idea of how much you would have to budget for your toilet: 

Shop Toilets, Basins and More from Modern Living

Whether you’re simply updating your old toilet or having a complete bathroom renovation, Modern Living offers a fantastic range of WCs to suit every bathroom. 

You can choose between standard close coupled models or contemporary wall hung ones. And if you want your toilet to match your basin and other fixtures, we also offer complete bathroom suites.  Shop all our products online or visit our bathroom showroom for more inspiration. If you need help bringing your ideas into fruition, our team will be happy to help you.