It’s the smallest room in your home but it deserves to be treated well. Your bathroom should be both a functional and beautiful space that you enjoy being in. A few key elements will create a great small bathroom design.
The nation’s bathrooms are often unloved and neglected, languishing in a state of 90s or 00s décor that’s seen better days. Research shows the average size of a family bathroom in the UK is 4.32m, which means most of us don’t have the luxury of space to create our dream retreat. When you do decide to renovate, your small bathroom design needs to be spot on.
Read on for 6 design tips to help you create a successful small bathroom.
Choose a Sink Vanity with Drawers
This is the easiest way to add everyday-use storage to your bathroom. Plus you can declutter the sink top at the same time! A sink vanity with drawers doesn’t really take up any more space than a pedestal sink – and it looks great too. If you have multiple family members using the bathroom, everyone can have their own section of the drawers for their toiletries. Clear plastic drawer organisers can be found online, or your can buy the manufacturers options for a perfect fit. Always chose a wall hung vanity unit so the floor sweeping underneath creates the illusion of the room being larger than it is.
Build Niches and Cubby Holes
Nothing makes a bathroom feel smaller than a jumble of bottles in a shower hanger or along the side of the bath. In most bathrooms it is possible to carve a niche or cubby hole into a wall. It can be tiled to match or contrast with the wall tiles, and even have its own light. You can have multiple shorter cubbies or a taller niche divided with a glass shelf – whatever works for you. This simple design feature, which can be easily created during your renovation, will transform your bathroom into a clutter-free oasis.
Use Colour According to Your Room Situation
People often think a bathroom has to be white, grey or cream. It’s true light tones do help bounce light around a small bathroom, but this doesn’t mean the overall design has to be boring.
Homes & Gardens magazine USA offer this advice to help you decide what to do. “First, take account of the natural daylight in your small bathroom: if it is poor or if the bathroom is north- or east-facing, you would be better to choose a bathroom colour that reflects light and has a touch of warmth to it. If your bathroom is flooded with daylight…there’s no reason not to choose a dark colour.”
Warm neutrals are evolving in bathroom design and include soft tones of pink, cream, blues and greens (read my blog about that here). If you can go bold, a dark wood-effect floor can provide some drama. Or choose a two-tone effect mixing darker tiles and light paint or dark paint and light tiles like the Crosswater bathroom above. If you want a truly cocooning effect chose a bold colour and work with tones of it throughout the room. Several vanity units and baths can now be painted in a specified colour (see my use of a coloured bath here).
Switch to Sliding Doors
In a room that’s typically only 42m, the sweep of a door opening can be a major pain to work around. Where possible switch to a sliding pocket door to give you more floor space. As well as standard wood panel options, you can also find glazed options – which are ideal for en suites. If you are not able to install the pocket inside your walls for the door to slide into, you can make a feature of a barn-style sliding door on the outside of the bathroom.
Install Short Projection Sinks and Toilets
If you have a narrow bathroom space to work with, choose short projection sanitary ware so they take up less floor space (Dansani example above). If your house allows, you can situate toilet cisterns in the wall cavity with a flush plate on the wall so just the bowl projects into the room. For a sink, to compensate for the loss of depth (circa 15cm from a regular sink) see if you can accommodate a wider sink so you still have plenty of room to wash. If you are able to use your wall cavities you can also recess cabinets into walls for a neat, flush finish and additional storage.
Consider Quadrant Shower Enclosures
If you are looking for a small bathroom design with a shower and bath, see if a quadrant shower enclosure will work. Options allow you to put a shower in the corner of a room and specify the length of the tray on each wall. For example, if you have 80cm of space on one wall and 100cm available on the adjoining wall you could install a curved quadrant shower tray. In this example it increases the showering area by 22% versus an 80cm x 80cm square shower enclosure.
We hope these design tips help you maximise the space and layout options in your bathroom. If you are ready to embark on a renovation, make the most of the opportunity to re-think your space and make it work hard for you. Drab to Fab Design specialise in bathroom design and project management. We love to create designs that give you pleasure every time you step into the room. Use our contact form to get in touch today.