Five Ways to Maximize Space in Your Tiny Bathroom
A small bathroom can be a disappointment. On the one hand, not having to go down the stairs in the middle of the night is a great luxury. On the other hand, if the space is difficult to maneuver and lacks storage, it can seem like a disorganized mess on the best of days.
While there are some “standard” bathroom sizes , in older homes people squeeze bathrooms where they can, resulting in tiny, tiny spaces. If your bathroom is tiny, you may be dreaming of expanding it and turning it into the master bathroom of your dreams, but if that’s not in your budget, you can take some more frugal approaches that will make your tiny space much more comfortable. – and much more useful.
Rethink the door
If you have a door that opens into a tiny bathroom, you’re wasting a lot of space due to the door swinging open . Not only is it that you can’t install anything there or use it for storage (or any purpose at all), you also have to fight the door to get in and out, especially if there’s more than one person in the bathroom at a time. once. time.
Changing the direction of the door so that it faces away from the bathroom gives you back some of that space. You probably still won’t be able to put a storage cabinet in the middle of the floor, but the space will appear larger, it will be easier to get in and out of, and you’ll have more room for a vanity or other furniture.
Another option is to remove the traditional swing door and install a pocket door instead . It’s a little trickier (and more expensive), but if you can do it, you’ll reclaim space inside the bathroom without sacrificing space outside the bathroom in a win-win.
Creative storage
One of the most difficult problems of a small bathroom is where to place all the things that a modern person needs to be considered well-groomed. This is especially tricky if you’re shopping in bulk for your family: your family may need 24 rolls of toilet paper, but where will you put it?
To keep your tiny bathroom from looking like a closet, you can get a little creative:
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Floor storage. If you know how, or can hire someone who does, then creating a few underfloor storage bins can hide a ton of stuff and maximize what we generously call “space” in your closet-like closet.
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Shelves on the windows. If your bathroom has a window, sacrifice some of the natural light and place some shelves there .
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Above the door shelves. Wall-mounted organizers can hold a lot of stuff, but they also require the door to be closed to access them and can look a little clunky. If you have a little space above your bathroom door, installing a simple shelf can give you some extra storage that looks nice and is always accessible (as long as you can reach it, of course).
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Medical office. There are a lot of things hidden in the first aid kit. You can either install an above-the-wall version using a bracket , or utilize the space between the studs with a recessed version that will look a little sleeker.
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Corner shelves in the shower. Installing a few corner shelves in a small shower can give you plenty of storage space for all your products, sponges and supplies. This is especially useful if your shower does not have a niche in the wall.
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Bath tray counter. Bathtub trays are useful in any bathroom with a tub, but if you’re short on counter space, they can also be used as storage for everything you’d normally store on a large vanity.
Folding Shower Doors
If your small bathroom has a small shower or walk-in shower, traditional glass doors can present the same problems that the bathroom door itself does: hinged doors. You can replace this with a double shower door that faces the shower to create a little more space.
If this isn’t your thing or is too much of a task for you, replacing shower doors with a traditional shower curtain or simple glass panels will also free up space outside the shower.
Wall everything
Placing a sink, vanity , toilet and other fixtures floating is a bit of a gamble because you’ll often have to run plumbing into the wall. But if you have the budget and patience for it, the results will look cleaner. Keeping your floor clean can make a small space feel a little bigger and also means you have a few extra storage options if you need them.
Go to aircraft size
Finally, if you have a small bathroom, you can make it more comfortable by installing downsized fixtures. Choosing a compact toilet can give you back a few important inches, while choosing a sink that takes up a tiny bit of space (and no vanity at all) can transform a crowded bathroom into a more open space. You can even opt for a small freestanding bathtub to avoid the feeling that your bathroom is really just a bathroom with a few shelves.
A small bathroom is usually better than no bathroom at all, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel claustrophobic every time you step into it. A little clever storage, thoughtful fixtures and your tiny bathroom will feel bigger in no time.