Making The Most of a Small Bathroom

Our bathroom is tiny. Like, really small. I loved the house so much when we looked around that I convinced myself it was ‘just normal size’ and that we had been spoilt by our bathroom at the old house which was big. But, erm, no, it’s just small. It makes me miss the old bathroom, though the rest of the house makes up for it (apart from the conservatory which is terrible).

When we did work on the house last year, we made a couple of small changes to the bathroom to try and maximise the space. It has made a huge difference, it’s still a small room but it feels less claustrophobic now. Here are a few tried and tested tips for making the most out of a small bathroom:

1. Invest in a clever shower screen
   When we moved in, the shower screen was a huge rectangle of glass that jutted out up to the toilet and meant you had to contort your naked body into crazy shapes just to try and step in the shower without falling over the toilet. It was most annoying. We replaced it with a glass screen that folds away when not in use. It has made the room feel much more open and has made a huge difference to how big the room feels as you walk in.
   
   
2. Choose space-saving items
   If you don’t have much in the way of space, it’s important to choose items that will work in the room. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I had to fit two giant sofas into a rental house. Our bath isn’t full-size, it is plenty big (unless you’re nine months pregnant and then it’s a bit of a squeeze) but a little smaller than your average bath. Measure your room and take a look at the baths on offer at Better Bathrooms to see what would work in your bathroom.
   
   
3. Create some storage space
   Bathrooms are full of bottles and toilet rolls and towels, so it’s important to have some storage space available to minimise clutter. Last summer, we changed the sink for a vanity unit which has two huge drawers underneath it. It’s a lot wider than our old sink so I was worried that it might make the room feel smaller but it hasn’t at all. And the drawers hide all our clutter perfectly.
   
   
4. Let there be light
   A light room is a bigger room, that’s what I say. We’re not responsible for any of the light in the bathroom, but there’s a big window and four spotlights and they help to make the room feel less tiny. Choosing a light coloured suite can also add light to the room.
   
   
5. Think about layout
   We didn’t do this because we only added a few bits to the existing bathroom. If we had the money to completely redo it, I would have ripped everything out and gotten rid of the beige tiles that line the walls and floors. I hate those beige tiles. I want a white bathroom (but not enough to tile a whole bathroom, no matter how small it might be). Sob. If we could start from scratch, I would definitely change the layout of the room to try and create a better flow.

This is a collaborative post.