Showers, vanity units and basins tend to get swapped out every few years. A toilet is usually the one fixture that stays around the longest. And that means choosing a new toilet is about matching the functionality you want with a style that suits your bathroom.
Here’s everything you need to know when thinking about buying a new toilet, from what the terms mean to how each one fits and feels in your space.
In this guide:
- Toilet types and what they mean
- Close-coupled toilets
- Back-to-wall toilets
- Wall-hung toilets
- High-level and low-level toilets
- Combination unit toilets
- Toilet bowl shapes
- Matching your bathroom’s style
- Modern bathrooms
- Period bathrooms
- Mixing old and new
- Rimless toilets
- Will the toilet fit in your bathroom?
- Keeping flush noise down
- Comfort and height
- Smart toilets
Toilet types and what they mean
Close-coupled, back-to-wall, or wall-hung can sound like you’re choosing between very different products. But they’re all toilets doing the same job, just in a different way and with different characteristics.
Every toilet comes down to the same two parts. The pan, which is the toilet bowl itself, and the cistern, which is the tank that holds the water your toilet needs to flush.
The different types of toilet determine how these two parts are put together, how much of them you can see and how your toilet connects to the plumbing.
Close-coupled toilets
You’ve probably pictured a close-coupled toilet without realising there’s a name for it. The cistern is bolted onto the back of the pan, and the toilet is in one unit. It has a classic, traditional shape that suits most existing bathroom fittings.
Close-coupled toilets are split into open-back and closed-back styles, and the difference comes down to how much room is left behind the cistern.
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An open-back leaves a gap which can let a plumber reach the pipework easily if it ever needs attention.
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A closed-back seals that gap and the toilet sits flush against the wall. This gives a clean look but can be a bit trickier getting into it if needed.
You’ll find them easy to install, often a simple like-for-like replacement in your bathroom. Prices typically start from around £150, making it one of the more affordable routes if you're not planning any other changes to the bathroom.
Back-to-wall toilets
Go for a back-to-wall toilet, and the cistern disappears from view, with the pan sitting snug against the wall. The cistern is either built into the wall itself or inside an enclosed unit designed to house it, keeping the lines clean with just the pan on show.
Back-to-wall toilets can sit on the floor, or be fixed to a support within the unit housing the cistern, depending on the model. This allows the toilet pan to get some support from the floor or the furniture around it.
With this type, the cistern and flush plate are often sold separately from the pan, so check what's included before you buy.
Wall-hung toilets
A wall-hung toilet takes that a step further. The pan bolts onto a steel frame hidden inside the wall, and that frame is anchored straight into the floor.
This floating effect leaves a clear space between the toilet pan and the floor.
Unlike a back-to-wall toilet, there’s no support from the floor or furniture so the frame alone takes the full weight and keeps everything stable and safe to use.
You’ll generally need a timber stud wall for a wall-hung toilet, with enough room already there to fit the frame inside. Or if you have a solid wall, a basic stud wall can be built just in front of it to create that space for the toilet frame. The floor beneath it matters too, since that’s where the frame bolts in.
When you choose a wall-hung toilet, there’s no base to clean around, and it can make a small bathroom feel bigger by opening up the floor space underneath.
These toilets look uncluttered and paired back with the cistern kept out of sight. Prices start from around £150 to £200, but it's worth budgeting for the frame and any stud wall work on top of the toilet itself.
High-level and low-level toilets
These toilets are more traditional in their look, where the cistern is separate from the toilet pan and a feature of the style in its own right. They are connected via a visible pipe, which keeps some of the plumbing on show as part of the overall effect.
High-level toilets have the cistern mounted high up on the wall, and the flush is activated by pulling a chain or cord. For low-level toilets, the cistern is mounted lower down the wall, and the flush can be operated with a lever that’s within easy reach.
If your bathroom leans towards a traditional feel, this look brings period charm with traditional character, and works well in an older-style space.
Combination unit toilets
A combination unit houses both the toilet and sink and is designed to be tucked into the space rather than sit in the middle of it.
Especially suited to small bathrooms like cloakrooms, these units mean the basin sits on top of the cistern as one continuous unit. In some models, this allows the handwashing water to help top up the cistern for the next flush.
With your toilet and basin in one unit, there are fewer awkward spaces on your floor to clean and fewer separate pipes to run during installation, making it a practical choice for a tighter bathroom.
Combination basin and toilet units come in a range of colours, sizes and finishes, so there’s one to fit a small cloakroom just as easily as a larger family bathroom.
If your bathroom has an awkward corner rather than a flat wall to work with, a corner toilet is designed to sit into that angle, with a triangular shaped cistern instead of one that sits flush against the wall.
Toilet bowl shapes
The shape of the bowl is one of the more visible choices you’ll make, and every one starts the same way underneath.
The clay is shaped into a bowl first, then goes into a kiln and gets fired at intense heat until it hardens into solid ceramic. A glassy glaze is added, and it’s fired a second time, sealing the surface completely.
That’s what gives it the hard, shiny finish, and why nothing soaks in or stains over years of use.
Toilet bowls come in different shapes:
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Round - a round toilet pan is the classic shape where it’s curved all the way around with no hard corners or edges. It’s a shape that suits both traditional and modern bathrooms.
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Square - a square pan swaps those curves for straight sides and sharper corners. It has a more modern look to it and can match easily with rectangular-shaped basins and contemporary cabinets.
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Curved - a curved pan is somewhere in the middle. There is a rounded shape which curves effortlessly at the front. But it has a more streamlined shape at the back, which gives a nice balance that pairs well with most bathroom styles.
Harbour Serenity Rimless Fully Back to Wall Comfort Height Toilet with Cistern & Soft Close Seat
A comfort height design fully back to wall rimless toilet with wrap over and slimline toilet seat options. Water-saving dual flush with a Chrome finish cistern button and fixing kit included.
Matching your bathroom’s style
Every bathroom has a style, even if it’s one that you’ve never attached a name to. Maybe it’s warm brass fittings against patterned tiles or straight lines and a minimalist calm feel throughout the room.
The toilet you choose is part of that same picture, and it can sit quietly and comfortably in the room, or work against it to stand out and make its own statement.
Modern bathrooms
Clean lines and clever hidden storage give a modern bathroom its uncluttered feel, with everything out of sight until it’s needed. Think walk-in showers with flat built-in shower trays and vanity units with no handles.
Choose a close-coupled or back-to-wall toilet in plain white, and you’ll keep that same clean look running across the room, with the toilet staying out of the way rather than adding a bulky component that sticks out.
Choosing a wall-hung toilet works just as well, lifting the toilet pan up off the floor, opening up that space and adding to the modern feel.
Period bathrooms
Classic styles come into their own in a period bathroom. If you’ve got the space, a roll-top bath with claw feet can be a real centrepiece.
Lantern-style wall lights add a warm glow that falls across the room and picks out carefully chosen fixings that complement the room.
Instead of push buttons and remote controls, there are styled levers, shower handsets with a cradle and ornately designed handles.
A period bathroom carries that same decoration throughout, and your toilet can carry that same style to keep the look uniform.
High-level and low-level toilets give that period look the strongest. With visible flush pipes, a pull chain or a styled lever, it’s a toilet that can add character to the room and be more of a focal point rather than trying to blend in.
But a traditional toilet shape doesn’t need a period bathroom to work. It can sit just as comfortably in a modern one.
Mixing old and new
Plenty of low-level toilets keep that classic silhouette but swap the lever for a push-button flush for a modern touch. It’s a small change that makes it easier to use day-to-day and brings the look forward without losing the shape you wanted.
There’s a wide choice of toilet finishes to mix and match with the different styles you like, so you can keep a white toilet pan but bring in contrast elsewhere.
A black flush plate against a white cistern is one option. A black shiny cistern cabinet flush against the wall with a crisp white toilet pan is another.
Even the push button itself can pick up a warmer finish, brass or matt black, so that deliberate accent can stand out.
Brass and bronze can turn a ceramic lever into a period look without even trying. Pair it with brass taps or warm metals in the shower fittings, and you have a bathroom with a style that flows across the room.
Buying a bathroom suite is also an option. The toilet, basin and bath or shower come already matched in one package, so you’re not left pairing the finish of each piece yourself. It takes three decisions down to just one.
Rimless toilets
Style isn’t the only thing that’s changed inside a toilet bowl. So has the design of the rim itself. Every toilet has a channel running round the inside of the bowl, just beneath where the seat rests.
When a standard toilet flushes, water flows through that channel to spread the water evenly around the bowl to clean it. This channel can be hard to reach with a brush for cleaning and can result in a buildup of limescale and bacteria.
What a rimless toilet provides is a toilet bowl without that channel. Removing it gives a smooth bowl with no hidden areas to worry about. When flushing, the water comes into the bowl through small jets to keep the bowl clean.
This bowl design is available across most toilet types, giving you this option whether you decide to go for a wall-hung toilet or a close-coupled toilet.
If easy, low-effort cleaning matters to you, it’s a feature worth looking out for. Rimless models typically start around £200, rising to about £700 for higher-end options.
Will the toilet fit in your bathroom?
When we talk about toilets and projection, we mean how far the toilet pan sticks out into the room from the wall.
Knowing how well a toilet will fit into the space you have available, and what space that would leave you around the toilet, is an important measurement to have.
In small bathrooms, the amount of space available could be the deciding factor when choosing the best toilet for your bathroom.
A standard close-coupled toilet projects around 700mm to 750mm from the wall. A compact toilet is simply a shorter-projection version of the same shape, and can reduce that projection to around 500mm to 600mm, opening up the options further.
That reduction of up to 200mm could be the difference between a bathroom door that’s able to open fully and one that catches the edge of the toilet seat each time it’s used.
Space in front of the toilet matters too. There needs to be enough clearance to be able to sit down, stand up and move around without feeling cramped or hitting your elbow off the wall or other fixtures. That clearance also makes cleaning a much easier task.
Around 500mm of clearance is often classed as a minimum space needed, although that will still be a bit tight. Space closer to 800mm and upwards will provide a more comfortable fit.
Keeping flush noise down
A close-coupled toilet sits with its cistern fully exposed against the wall, so the sound of it filling can carry straight into the room.
That’s rarely a problem in a family bathroom, but it’s more noticeable in an en-suite right next to where someone’s sleeping.
A concealed cistern, built into a wall or a piece of furniture, muffles that sound rather than letting it out into the open. It won’t make a toilet silent, but it can take the edge off a flush in the middle of the night.
If a quiet flush matters to you, that’s worth weighing up alongside the style you’re leaning towards. Back-to-wall, wall-hung and combination toilets all hide their cistern this way, so they have this built in as standard.
Comfort and height
Comfort height toilets sit around 40-50mm taller than a standard height toilet, which sounds like a small addition, but it makes a noticeable difference in practice.
This type of toilet is often chosen for mobility, because the extra height means less bending at the knee and hip to sit down or stand up. It suits taller users too, and fitting one early can make things easier down the line if you are planning ahead.
Smart toilets
Smart toilets were once something you’d only find in an expensive show home or lavish hotel. Now they’re much more common in everyday homes, with a wider range of choices available.
A smart toilet isn’t a shape of its own either. You'll find the same self-cleaning and heated-seat features built into close-coupled, back-to-wall and wall-hung models, so the shape you already had in mind doesn't rule this out.
These models are built around saving you time and effort and making the bathroom an easier place to be every day.
A toilet that can clean itself is one that needs much less attention in between uses. Many smart toilets are equipped with a self-cleaning wand that rinses the bowl with electrolysed water that’s been electrically charged to kill bacteria, before and after every use. This reaches all the parts of the toilet bowl to keep everything hygienic, and it does it without using any chemicals.
Some have different profile settings, so in a shared bathroom the toilet can be programmed to suit each individual, making sure of the favoured set-up every time.
A heated seat, soft-close mechanism and a warm air dryer mean no cold seat first thing in the morning and no lid slamming shut at night. Both the seat and the dryer can be adjusted to suit you.
Along with the bowl spray for cleanliness and easy upkeep of your smart toilet, some models have an automatic descaling cycle too. This allows regular descaling without any scrubbing needed, so the toilet stays in good condition on its own.
Choosing a new toilet comes down to fit as much as the look. From the space behind the pan to how much noise the flush makes behind a closed door.
Whether that’s a rimless bowl, a concealed cistern, or a few extra centimetres of height, it’s often the smaller detail that makes a toilet feel chosen for the room rather than just fitted into it.
Here at Drench, we stock close-coupled, wall-hung, rimless and smart toilets. If this guide has given you some ideas, browse through our full range to find the right one for you.
