Smart design choices can mean the distinction between being able to fit the toilet, sink, and shower into your established bathroom or having to expand. And once you've crammed everything in, you don't want it to feel crowded to the gills. Here are eight ways to fit everything you need in a small bathroom while making it feel larger.
- A Wall-Mounted Toilet: The tanks from these restrooms are stored behind the wall, freeing up the space they normally occupy in a room. These inches are significant because there are guidelines for how much space should be available in front of and around the toilet.
- Wall-Mounted Faucets: Countertop faucets demand space between the sink and the wall on the countertop, whereas those installed over the sink save you that valuable surface area. It can mean the difference between fitting into a small sink and not.
If you don't like wall-mounted faucets but don't have enough counter space, see if you can move the faucet to the side of the sink. This eliminates extending the counter to encompass the faucet behind the sink.
- The Toilet/Sink Combination: This clever invention, intended for the smallest bathroom spaces, has fresh water coming out of the faucet and then discharged into the tank for flushing.
I must acknowledge that I have yet to use one of these and am unsure whether it is simply a lengthy lean-over, a commode straddle, or a knee on the seat needed to reach one's hands under the faucet in such a small space. If you have utilised one, please let us know in the comments.
- Layouts for Wet Rooms: These rooms, which are more common in European countries, make the most of a small bathroom footprint. You will understand how this works if you've ever ridden in a sleeper car on a train. There is no need for a separate shower stall, and everything in the room can withstand the water.
This bathroom also employs the toilet-sink combination, resulting in total dimensions of 3 feet by 3 feet. However, based on comments about shower spray getting all over toilet seats, I don't believe most people are ready for a wet room.
The half-wet room is a more manageable strategy. The shower and tub are combined in the same space as the water. The footprint needed for a full bath with a tub and separate shower is reduced, and the only thing that gets wet is the bathtub.
- A Combination of a Low-Profile Toilet and an Extended Counter: The low-profile toilet allows the counter to be extended into a shelf above it. By spreading the counter behind the toilet, you gain more surface area for a box of tissues, an orchid, or other things you want to keep close at hand. Because of its proximity to the shower can also serve the shower by storing shampoo, conditioner, shave gel, and other items. This is incredibly beneficial in a shared bathroom or vacation home with limited shower stall space.
- Recessed Medicine Cabinets: In a small bathroom, keeping clutter to a minimum is critical. These cabinets do not take up much space and allow you to keep everything you'll need at the sink within easy reach. This bathroom has three cabinets, allowing each of the three people who share it to have their own.
- Surrounds Made of Clear Glass: Whereas other types of surroundings can cut up a room and make it feel cramped, clear glass keeps everything open and spacious. While clear glass does not save space, it does make a small space feel larger, which is nearly as important.
- A Vanity On a Cantilever: Like the clear glass, these pieces are about visually expanding the space. The extended floor beneath makes the room appear larger and more open than it is.
Your turn: What are your favourite bathroom space savers? Please leave them in the comments section.