Typical small bathroom designs include a toilet, wash basin or vanity, and a bathtub which usually does double duty as a shower. Some small bathrooms are large enough to include a separate shower, or double vanity sinks. There are all kinds of tricks to making the small space work as well as possible.

Tubs and Showers

One big question to answer right away is: do you really need a bathtub? Many people nowadays take showers all the time and never lie in the tub, so if that describes you, consider the possibility or doing away with the tub altogether. Most people want to have one tub in the house somewhere, but if you have more than one bathroom you may not need a tub in every one of them. If you feel you must include a tub, does it need to be full size? Tubs come in different lengths as well as the standard 5ft, and you also have the option of using a Japanese-style sitting/soaking tub.

Whirlpool tubs can be incredible space hogs but you can also get models which fit into the same footprint as a standard tub.
A curved shower curtain rod over the bathtub gives you a much more spacious feeling in the shower but takes up no extra space when the curtain is pulled back. It does take up more visual space when the curtain drawn across, but you’re standing in the tub then so probably no-one is looking at the curtain from the outside!

Sinks and Vanities

Pedestal sinks take up less floor space than vanities and make the room seem bigger because you can see more floor, but they remove the potential storage space of the vanity cabinets. A pedestal sink with a skirt round is the worst of all worlds – the fabric skirt gets dirty and needs washing frequently, gets wet and attracts mildew, doesn’t create a dust-free, clean storage area, and takes up space.
A halfway-point between a pedestal sink and a vanity is a half-depth vanity with a sink that projects over the front of it, sometimes called a “belly sink” because of its shape. This gives you a full size sink, often with some landing space at either side, and enclosed storage space, but the cabinet takes up less floor space than a regular depth vanity.

Double vanities don’t take up a whole lot more space than a single and can really make a difference if you have a “morning rush hour” in the bathroom. Back-to back sinks may be an alternative to side by side.

Toilets

Wall hung toilets, like pedestal sinks, make more floor space visible and make the room seem bigger.

Storage

Storage high on the walls can provide space for towels etc without using space where your body needs to go. Storage outside the bathroom for major piles of spare towels can free up space.

Small bathroom designs often use the tiniest sliver of space to provide more storage. Does your tub reach all the way to both sides of the bathroom? If not, there may be space for shelves at the non-plumbing end. How about a space between the vanity and the tub – could it be used for cubbies to hold towels? It’s common to find bathroom medicine cabinets intended to fit between the wall studs, but you can expand on this idea and make full height cupboards which do the same and can hold huge amounts of toiletries, cosmetics and medicines, all of which normally come in small containers which fit nicely in the small shelves.

For some folks, book storage in the bathroom is important. Make sure it can be reached by a person sitting on the throne!

Hooks and Towel Rails

Use every possible spot to provide hanging space for towels and facecloths. While pictures often show towels neatly hung on a rail in stacks – bath sheet, hand towel, and facecloth – in practice this doesn’t last longer than about 5 minutes because people need to USE the towels, and let them dry after use.
You’ll also need hooks for clothing: nightclothes, robes, the clothes you take off before getting into the shower, and the clothes you plan to put on after you get out. If there aren’t enough places to hang clothes and towels, expect to find them on the floor instead!

Small bathroom designs are like playing the computer video game Tetris: you have these items of various shapes to fit together into a neat pattern without wasting any space.

Here’s a variety of bathroom renovation ideas to help you come up with a pleasing design for your new bathroom.

Have a theme

This may be a topic theme (e.g. beach or spa) which is mostly carried out in decorative items and surface finishes, but you can also have a theme that’s carried out more subtly in the shapes and directions of your fixtures and permanent decorations. A rounded theme may be carried out by a curved-edge tub, rounded sink, curved shower rail, curved or rounded ends to towel rails, and curved backsplash edges, for example. A diagonal theme might show up as diagonally laid floor and/or wall tile, wallcovering with a diagonal motif or stripes, and diagonal patterned fabric.

Don’t be afraid to use COLOR

It makes sense for your fixtures and tile to be white or neutral, so they don’t date (pink tub, anyone?), but that means you have plenty of scope to use color elsewhere. In a small bathroom, painting the walls takes little time and less paint, so you can experiment and it’s no big deal to paint over it if you hate it. The door is also a good opportunity for a burst of color. Accessories are even easier to use for color themes.

Consider a monochromatic color scheme

If everything in the background is white, the colored towels and shower curtain make even more of a statement – and you can change colors every so often quite easily.

Try Out Expensive or Labor-Intensive Finishes

In a small area you can use labor-intensive paint finishes that might take too long in a larger room, or expensive wall-covering, or beaded board, or paneling, or anything else which you’d like to try out on a small scale. Just make sure what you choose is, or can be made, water resistant.

Focus on Storage

Most small bathroom designs have a hard time squeezing in enough storage. Consider high storage: a shelf 1ft below ceiling hight along one entire wall will hold a lot of towels and they’ll look decorative too.

Don’t do what a previous owner of my house did though, and install cabinets so low over the tub that they make it impossible for anyone taller than 5 feet to stand up and take a shower!

In-the wall storage is also a possibility: if you have some wall space in an internal wall that doesn’t have plumbing or wirirng in it, but you can’t have anything there that sticks out into the room very far, recessing a cabinet into the wall between the studs may be an option. Not just medicine cabinets, either: a tall cabinet works just as well and can hold a lot.

Improve Ventilation

Improving ventilation is often one of more the neglected bathroom renovation ideas but it can make a surprising amount of diference to your enjoyment of the space. The critical factor here is where the duct to the outside will run: between joists in the ceiling? Through the attic? It absolutely must exit to the outside, not just into the attic.

Size your fan so it’s big enough for the room, but not too big; quiet; and consider installing a timer so the fan doesn’t accidentally get left on for hours. I f you have major moisture problems in the bath (or family that doesn’t turn the fan on) you can hook the fan to a humidistat which measures moisture in the air and automatically turns on the fan whenever needed.

If your bathroom is a standard 5′ x 7′ shoebox surrounded by stairs, kitchens, and other non-grabbable areas so you can’t make it any bigger, your problems are of a different kind than those of the person designing the 10′ x 16′ master bath.

Small bathroom designs come with a limited number of possible layouts, depending on the size of the room, location of doors and windows, location of exterior walls and existing plumbing, and what you want to squeeze into the room.

Let’s look at a few small bathroom floor plans and discuss pros and cons of each.

Small Bathroom Designs example 1

In this 5′ 6′ x 7′ 6″ room, the bathtub/shower combo occupies one complete end of the room, and the toilet and vanity occupy the rest of the long wall.

Pros:

• no plumbing in exterior wall (good in cold climates)
• all plumbing in the same wall – makes vents and drains easy, supply lines short.
• tub in its own niche – easy to waterproof all 3 walls and install shower curtain rail
• space for a towel hook between the tub and the door

Cons:

• toilet in full view through door
• shower and bath faucets are harder to reach past the vanity/sink
• door may bang against tub
• window right by toilet (OK if it’s high, otherwise may need curtain or obscured glass)
• required floorspace for all 3 fixtures overlaps, hard to have multiple people using the space unless they are VERY close friends
• Little storage space: mainly wall cabinets over the toilet and sink, sink vanity cabinet. Could add a high shelf over the window.

Small bathroom designs: example 2

This room is square rather than rectangular, and a tub would make the whole room very cramped. This design uses a corner shower instead of a tub.

Pros:

• toilet protected by door, instead the vanity is the view through the door
• no plumbing in exterior wall
• corner shower is attractive and easy to install

Cons:

• door may bang against toilet, or even a person using the toilet
• required floorspace for all 3 fixtures overlaps, hard to have multiple people using the space
• Little storage space: mainly wall cabinets over the toilet and sink, sink vanity cabinet. Could add a high shelf over the window.
• nowhere convenient to hang a towel ready for when you’re done in the shower

Small bathroom designs: example 3

This alternative layout for a 7.5 x 5.5 foot room shows the toilet and sink on the wall at the far end of the room from the tub. This assumes a door which is no wider than normal, and a pedestal sink that doesn’t stick out too far.

Pros:

• required floorspace for all 3 fixtures overlaps, but the area feels a little more spacious than in the other layouts.
• tub in its own niche – easy to waterproof all 3 walls and install shower curtain rail

Cons:

• toilet in partial view through door
• door may bang against tub
• Little storage space: mainly wall cabinets over the toilet and sink. Pedestal sink doesn’t provide storage underneath. High shelf is possible on the sink/toilet wall, or the long wall from toilet to bathtub.

Some of the factors to take into account when you’re designing your small bathroom are:

• Existing plumbing locations, if any: while it’s cheaper to keep locations as they are (and perhaps means you don’t need to get a plumbing permit), if the bathroom is small anyway the cost of moving the tub or sink may not be very much. Moving the toilet is a much more expensive and complex proposition.
• External wall location: in a cold climate it’s better to keep water supply lines, at least, away from cold exterior walls.
• Door location: in a rectangular room a door is better in the middle of a long wall, giving you more options for fixture locations. Worst is right in a corner, which blocks off the wall next to it completely. In a small square room the corner location may be better.
• Type of door: while a pocket door saves space inside the room, my experience is that the water vapor from the bathroom gets into the wall pocket, condenses there, and then you get mold. In a very tight space an outward-opening door may be the only solution.
• View into the room: if you can work it so that the view through the open door is of the vanity area or a pretty shower curtain, do so. If your only option is a view of the toilet, maybe you’ll just need to get into the habit of leaving the door closed.
• Required floor space for fixtures: there are minimum standards for the amount of floor space next to each fixture to make it possible and comfortable to use. In a small bathroom design these will almost always overlap to some extent. If you know that more than one person will use the bath at a time, try to make the free floorspace long and narrow rather than square, making it easier for 2 people to be in the room at once.
• Storage space: while a pedestal sink leaves more floor in view and can make the room feel larger, a vanity cabinet gives you storage. In a small bath your best bet is usually wall storage as there’s no floor space for freestanding cabinets. Storage set into the wall studs (not just medicine cabinets but full height storage) is a good option where a door opens against a wall so you can’t project into the room much, and storage above head height, such as a wall to wall shelf for towels, can take a surprising amount of stuff.
• Fixture choices: do you have to have a tub? Replacing a tub with a shower can give you a better shower experience and more space in the room, maybe even enough for a double vanity.

As you can see, there’s a lot to think about and many options for improving the layout, comfort and function of your small bathroom.

Choosing a new bathroom floor has two main aspects: practicality and looks.

The floor will get splashed, at least, and perhaps soaked, so it needs to be able to resist water and not get slippery when it’s wet. It needs to be easy to clean, especially if it’s to be installed in a heavily-used family bathroom. It must be able to be installed on the floor substrate that you have available – for example, a ceramic tile surface needs a substrate that does not flex, otherwise it will crack.

Bathroom flooring materials fall into two main categories: hard or resilient/soft.

Hard Bathroom Flooring Materials

These include:

• marble tiles or slabs
• stone tiles or slabs (eg limestone, slate or granite)
• terra-cotta tiles
• ceramic or porcelain tiles
• wood (solid wood or engineered)
• laminates (wood, stone or ceramic-look)

It’s very important that whatever hard material you choose has a non-slip surface, for safety in the bathroom, as well as being water-resistant.

Wood and laminate materials have to be carefully sealed and engineered in order to be water resistant, and may not be suitable for bathrooms where the floor is likely to get soaked, rather than just dripped on.

Most stones must be sealed, and re-sealed at regular intervals in order to resist water and stains.

Tiles of any kind require grouting, and grout requires sealing to prevent grout stains which are especially likely on a floor. Consider using a grout color which won’t show dirt, as well as sealing and resealing whenever necessary.

Resilient/Soft Flooring Materials

These materials are either soft, like carpet, or have a little “give” to them and can feel warmer and easier on the feet than the hard materials. Some examples are:

• rubber in sheets or tiles
• vinyl in sheets or tiles, cushioned or not
• linoleum
• cork
• carpet

Carpets in bathrooms go in and out of fashion, and are currently “out” – for good reason. A bathroom carpet will always get wet eventually, and moisture+carpet=mold. Carpet around a toilet will get nasty, sooner or later, unless the bathroom sees very little use. It’s much healthier to have a hard or resilient floor with removable rugs on top that can be easily removed, washed and dried, than to permanently install carpet.

Heated Floors

What could be better for bare feet than a warm floor in the bathroom! Floor heating systems are a great addition to your bathroom and because the space is usually fairly small, are not prohibitively expensive. Homes with hydronic (hot water) heating systems can run hot water tubes under the flooring, and others can install electric resistance heating wires. There are systems which will work with wood floors as well as hard stone or tile floors.

Small Bathrooms

Flooring choices for small bathroom designs have some unique limitations.

In a small bathroom, the floor space may not lend itself to custom borders or medallion designs, simply because you won’t see enough of the floor to make the design properly visible! On the other hand, because you don’t have to buy many square feet of the material, you may be able to splurge on something more expensive than if you had a larger area to cover.

Diagonal-set tiles make the small room look larger

To expand the floor space visually, there are some tricks you can use:

• Get as much as possible up off the floor, so as much floor can be seen as possible. That suggests a wall-hung toilet, pedestal sink, wall hung cabinets or cabinets on legs, and perhaps even a clawfoot tub.
• Make design lines extend as far as possible. In most bathrooms that would be diagonal lines, so consider planks set on the diagonal of you’re doing a wood-look floor, or diagonal tiles in a tile or tile-look floor.

The most important factor when searching for a new shower stall is the amount of space that you have for it to fit into.  If you are changing from a combo bathtub/shower to a bathtub and a standalone shower, you may not have a lot of space to work with.  If that’s so, your options may be somewhat limited. On the other hand, if you are completely gutting and remodeling the whole room, you may be able to adjust the space available to fit the shower stall you’ve set your heart on.

Once you’ve made the decision that you need to buy a new shower stall, as well as deciding on the appropriate size, you’ll need to start shopping for your shower. You might expect to find all the parts you need all in the same place, but that may be more difficult than you expect. Although there are plenty of retailers, especially large home improvement centers, that sell standalone shower kits, many do not, and you may not be looking for an all-in-one kit. The required parts may include, but aren’t necessarily limited to:

• materials for building niche for shower
• shower pan or floor
• drain fittings
• shower wall materials (panels, tiles, mortar etc)
• shower door or curtain and rod
• shower controls and head

Each of these items has many choices available and you’ll need to make decisions about each one, first the type of item needed, then the specific item you want to use.

Once extremely important practical point, especially where you’re replacing an existing shower stall, is the location of the drain piping in relation to the drain hole in the new shower pan. It’s essential that these match up!

Once the buying process starts, many homeowners go searching for the nicest looking standalone shower but may be disappointed that it doesn’t fall within their budget. Perhaps you may be looking for the best, but you might be remodeling your bathroom on a tight budget.  If so, you’ll be happy to learn that standalone showers and otehr shower components come in many different sizes, shapes, colors and styles.  Whether you’re considering an expensive trendy looking shower, a traditionally styled one, something with dozens of nozzles for water, steam and who knows what else, or simply the most affordable one that does what you need, there’s a strong chance that you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Most home improvement stores, online and offline, carry a selection of shower components and supplies, including some that are grouped into kits and which can be cheaper than buying all the parts separately.On the other hand, if you have the time and patience to watch for bargains, you can get great deals on separate components and match them together yourself.

Offline “real world” stores have the advantage that you can see the actual shower stall you’re planning to buy, step into it, and try it out for size and comfort. Large stores sometimes have quite extensive displays of stalls and pans, and even more plumbing fixtures so you can see all the choices of faucets, valves, controls and shower heads. Modern bathroom shower designs have changed a lot since our parents “two separate faucets on the wall, and a shower head”.

Many kit showers, or pans and wall panels made from acrylic or fiberglass, are simple for a moderately experienced DIY-er to install him or herself. The most important thing to remember is “measure twice, cut once”: especially for cutting holes for plumbing pipes, consider making a full-size template of the layout and transferring it to your wall panels.

Use a shower instead of a tub. If you have a tub somewhere else in the house, maybe you don’t need one in this particular bathroom. Nowadays, most people take showers instead anyway. The space used by a standard tub, 60″ x 30″, will give you a luxurious two-person shower, or you can install a smaller shower and use the extra space for storage or a second vanity basin.

The toilet-lid sink is a sink which installs in place of the lid of your toilet tank, and drains into the tank, thus reusing your washing water as flush water and saving water. I can’t see many people installing this instead of a regular vanity or sink, but if you’re in a really small bathroom it might be just the ticket.

Good lighting can make your small bathroom seem larger, and even if it doesn’t, it will make it brighter, more cheerful to be in, and safer and easier to use. Think about windows (including interior transom windows over doors), skylights, solar tubes, fan/light combo units, heat/light combo units, vanity lights, over-shower/tub lights. Also consider bulb types: compact fluorescent (CFL) and even LED light bulbs are now as good and as available as the old incandescent bulbs, and save a lot of energy in comparison. They also run much cooler, saving on AC if you have hot summers.

Do you need only minimal storage in the bathroom? If this is a guest bath, or if you have storage right outside the bathroom door, you may be able to get away with only enough storage for a few toilet rolls and spare toiletries. That frees up space for actual spaciousness: consider the difference in look between a pedestal sink and a vanity cabinet. Alternatively, use a half-depth vanity cabinet, with the sink extending forward over the front: these take up less floor space while providing some storage space.

Frequently used or not? If not, you can use wild or fragile decor which might get damaged or tiresome in a heavily used room.

Instead of trying to make a small room look less small, why not play on the smallness and make it into a cocoon or cave.

Use opposite-wall mirrors or reflective wallpaper to make the room extend into infinity.

Borrow space. Can you set a shower or tub back into unused closet space in another room? Set storage cabinets between the studs? Expand a ceiling up into attic space? use a greenhouse window in place of a standard one? Even bump out one wall a couple of feet?

A light colored floor which is as clear as possible makes a space look larger. Use a pedestal sink or small vanity cabinet, a vanity cabinet on legs, a claw-footed tub, or wall-hung toilet to give you the maximum visible floor area.

Bath/shower combos often feel very cramped in use, but much of that perception is at torso and shoulder level rather than round your feet. A curved shower rod which projects into the room gives a surprising feeling of spaciousness to showering in the tub, and doesn’t impose much on the room visually.

A cathedral ceiling can make a space feel more airy and open but don’t go too wild: a too-high ceiling in a small room sometimes just feels like you’re in the bottom of an elevator shaft!

Glass shower stall walls and doors allow the eye to move freely through the space instead of being stopped by structures – and that means feeling as if there’s more available space.

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