any one care to help me plan a very very tiny bathroom?

[ThatVikRinA22]

its very small. length of a bath. square. currently its fully tiled, in beige, and very boring, and very cold, and very badly done....

its got a p shaped bath which is too big, and it all leaks, and gets too steamy.

so far suggestions are to have a plastic ceiling, a fan, and half tile instead of full.....
im thinking of tiling in white this time so i can ring the changes with paint and towel colours......

also considering vanity units for toilet and sink, so that there is cupboard space.....

is there anything else, any tricks ive missed?

[openerofjars]

Next Home does a fab mirrored corner unit that makes a room look bigger but takes up hardly any space; we have a titchy bathroom and it's the only one that will fit.

classic.next.co.uk/homeware/bathroom-cabinets/2

[openerofjars]

And we got this mirror from Ikea: it's really handy for keeping stuff on (my nail polish goes along the top in rainbow order!).

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00149162/#/10154596

[mumzy]

This is a real space and water saver www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2321/

[duende]

We are currently having our bathroom redone and it is exactly the same size as yours. I thought ours was the smallest bathroom on the planet ;)

We are putting in an ideal standard alto shower bath, which is only 800 wide in the widest point (most p shaped baths are 900 i think)

www.ideal-standard.co.uk/alto/shower-bath-bath-e760201.aspx

A back to wall toilet with a concealed cistern:
www.ideal-standard.co.uk/concept/standard-toilet-(close-coupled)-wc-e794101.aspx

This washbasin an vanity unit from ikea:

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S89894001/
It is cheap and only 400 wide and the unit gives very needed storage.

And this mirrored cabinet will be above the toilet:

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10230227/

I also bought a fan with a humidistat as our bathroom has always been very humid and prone to mould.

The wall tiles will be shiny, bumpy whites wih a vertical strip of mosaic above the bath:
www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod42173/section1373/NSM-Polished-Trav-Marble-Mix-23-Mosaic.html

We are putting matt beige tiles on the floor.

I am having difficulties imagining the final result but it can'tbe worse than it was. I hope!

[MadBusLady]

One thing I've seen in small hotel bathrooms is make the whole upper half of the wall above the basin mirrored, ie have a big piece cut to size. It looks sleek and bounces light around and means you're not cluttering up an already small space with bitty pieces of wall furniture. Though on the minus side obviously it doesn't give you any cabinet storage. It does need your tiles and styling to err on the modern side, I think.

We have a bathroom that sounds about the same size as yours in our rented flat and the only storage is three small glass shelves (which I hate because they gunk up within seconds of being cleaned). It makes us ruthless about throwing stuff out and I'm grateful for that. Bathrooms become such a dumping zone if they have too much storage.

[MadBusLady]

Another possibility for small bathrooms, though it requires a leap of faith, is to use some dark, rich colours and make it a bit of a cocoon, even if it's just in the paintwork. I sometimes hanker after a bathroom with rich cream metro tiles, a soft black wall and ceiling paint, good lighting, an ornate gold curly mirror over the (possibly stone?) basin and... red roses involved somehow.

I am going to go mental when we finally get our own place.

[MadBusLady]

Ooh, another thing! Don't get a titchy basin. We have a wall-mounted 400mm one and it drives us nuts, it's like being in the toilets of a primary school. Get the biggest basin you can reasonably fit into the space. Obviously you need to be able to manoeuvre around it, but I think striving for floor space/blank air space at all costs makes it even more obvious it's a small bathroom with small things in.

[MelanieWiggles]

We have a similar size bathroom so I feel your pain. We replaced it three years ago and installed this slipper bath - it helps make it feel bigger as you can see the floor.

We also half-tiled it using white subway tiles and painted the top half in Farrow and Ball 'Blackened' - result is a lovely restful space.

I second MadBusLady on the titchy basins - go as big as you can go, otherwise they will drive you mad !

[annalouiseh]

We put one of these in our last small bathroom as a vanity unit would have made the room look even smaller, holds alot of stuff but for some reason it has gone up £50 since we used it

dwell.co.uk/113204/Rotating-mirrored-wall-cabinet/

[ThatVikRinA22]

thank you all - some great tips there - i would adore a slipper bath, and that swivel mirrored cabinet is great.

above the basin is below the window - and im not sure that there is much scope to move anything due to lack of space.....

but i spoke with the guy who is doing it today and he says his suppliers have done a plan for me - so im going to go and view that today and see what i think.
im quite excited about it all now! it would be lovely to have a shower/bath in a non mouldy room that doesnt leak!

[GnocchiNineDoors]

OP i could have started this thread, bath length and width, needs totally redoing and sink under window.

I wish someone would invent a roller blind that is actually a mirror - roll down, use, roll up. Done.

[MadBusLady]

You can get mirrored window film to put on, say, the lower half of your window if the height is right. Not sure how "mirror-like" it really is though. And it does need a window with dividing bars of some sort really or it's just a bit of film stuck on half a window IYSWIM.

I wonder if you could get very thin mirror glass cut to size and attached to interior of window panes? Again, needs dividing bar to work.

[GrottyPotPlant]

Oooh me too! Very very grotty bathroom about that size, window above sink, door in centre of wall opposite.
Action must be taken.

MelanieWiggles your slipper bath sounds dreamy- do you shower in it too? Our bath needs to be a shower too, but I'd love a glorious bath, and I'm such a sucker for the F&B look.

By the way, does anyone know if freestanding back-to-the-wall baths are sealed to the wall? A relative has a freestanding bath, and showering in it involves flooding the bathroom, however careful with curtains you are.

[ThatVikRinA22]

ah that would be our problem too, also will need a shower in the bath...going to look at the plans that the supplier has drawn up, and will see what they have come up with. ill report back!

[MadBusLady]

You can get freestanding baths with a normal bath shaped rims which can be grouted in, like this. I'm not sure about them though, it seems to me to be pretending to have a freestanding bath when the functionality doesn't really allow it. I am a bit purist like that.

[MadBusLady]

Oh sorry, I see you've mentioned those! Yes, I think the point is they are grouted in and sealed like a normal bath. Can't see the point otherwise.

[minipie]

My best tip for extra storage in small bathrooms:

If one or two of your bathroom walls is a "stud wall" (your builder can tell you) then you can open up alcoves between the vertical studs.

This will create shallow storage alcoves within the wall rather than sticking out from the wall like a cabinet.

If you put one or two in the wall adjoining the bath (then tile the alcoves like the rest of the wall) this makes a perfect place for shampoo etc so you don't have to have it sitting round the edge of the bath.

If you create an alcove elsewhere in the bathroom you can put a cupboard door on it and use it for less attractive bathroom items (tampons etc) or put in nice glass shelves, and create a good looking storage space for everything else.

Personally I would not try to put a slipper bath or freestanding bath in a small bathroom - you really need everything to be modern and as fitted as possible to make it look simple and spacious (also this makes it easier to clean!) And you can't really shower in them without one of those circular shower curtains which just look a mess and rather ruin the glam look.

I think wall hung loos are ideal for small bathrooms as they increase the visible floor space and also hide the cistern, but some people don't like them (and they are more ££).

If your floor is wood, take it up and replace with marine ply, then put new flooring on top. This should help guard against any leaks.

I agree with MadBusLady about the mirror cut to size and covering the whole section of wall idea - less cluttered than a separate mirror and looks smart. Also agree about the dark colours if you are brave enough!

You need a fan, but try to get it wired so you can switch it on and off separately - it's annoying if it goes on every time you turn the light on (eg if you go to the loo in the night).

[MelanieWiggles]

Grottypotplant no, we don't shower in it. We have an en-suite in our bedroom which we shower in. The bath has a shower attachment which we use when washing the kids' hair. TBH I couldn't imagine how you could keep the floors dry with curtains !

It is a lovely bath for relaxing in though

[noddyholder]

The first thing I do when renovating a small bathroom is turn the door if possible this makes a huge difference
Small but deep bath with shower over and slim loo and wall hung basin.
Shallow shelves for bottles etc

[MooncupGoddess]

V. useful thread. I have a similar issue (my bathroom is slightly bigger, but has a step in the middle, so v. hard to use the space efficiently).

I am thinking of having a half-size bath, as I hardly ever use it, and putting in a separate shower - does anyone have any idea about showers for small spaces?

Oh and any suggestions for good bathroom fitters in London would be v. welcome!

[ThatVikRinA22]

well im hyperventilating.

been to bathroom place - built in toilet and basin = £750.

all in all, floor to ceiling, its going to cost about £3500.......it will be absolutely fantastic but whoaaaaaaaaaa

[minipie]

Does that include fitting?

[bronze]

I m going for the smallest bathroom title

Our old cottage could fit an extra short bath one way but was even shorter the other way. The room was just under five foot high though!

My advice is make the most of the space around the bath

[ThatVikRinA22]

it includes fitting, and to a high spec. but i was bracing myself for a figure of about 2k.....i was a bit off!

[minipie]

Mm I'd reckon on about £1500-2000 on materials (if high spec) and £1500-2000 on fitting (depending on how much tiling you are having and whether plumbing is moving around) so that sounds normal to me but then I am in London, maybe should be less if you're not?