Tiny ensuite / tiny shower-room / neither?

[sycamore54321]

I am debating whether we install an ensuite or not in our bedroom. Our children are getting older and there is starting to be competition for the one family bathroom. We do have a downstairs loo also, and I'd mostly need an extra shower so that could be one possible option of a shower-room only, or is that just a complete waste and can I trust my husband not to pee in the shower if there is no loo!

So does anyone have any advice, any clever space-saving ideas or photos of gorgeous tiny ensuites which include showers? Or are tiny ensuites always a cramped disaster? Thanks!

How tiny is tiny? Would a wet room style which also had a toilet-basin combination be an option? My university halls accommodation en-suite had this and from memory he space can’t have been more than 1.5mx1.5m but was well laid out.

We have a tiny en-suite. It's in a guest room though, so not in daily use. But it's fine.

I would do the shower room. But then I've never liked the idea of an ensuite anyway - I don't want to be able to hear the toilet from my bed, or worry that I can be heard when I am on the toilet. But they are popular so I must be strange in this.

We have a tiny en-suite, probably about 130cm x 120cm - no loo as just too far from the soil pipe and we couldn't be bothered (we could have made the space bigger if we could have put one in). We put in a short bath (120cm I think) with shower above and a fairly generous sink with vanity unit, very happy with resulting space.

I agree with you @bluechameleon in one way about the oddness of peeing in your bedroom! I do love the idea of wandering straight from shower into bed though, and it somehow seems odd to have a shower room without anywhere to pee.

Thanks @eurochick also for the photo - it's good to get an idea in real life. It's amazing to see how much can fit in to a small floorspace but I think it's also given me a bit of a reality check as a shower in daily use accumulates a lot more stuff (toileteries, spare towels etc) than a guest room. We could go a little bigger but obviously every expansion means losing more floorspace in the bedroom.

The wetroom idea sounds like a possiblity also, I hadn't really conisdered that as I'd thought these are not necessarily recommended for upper floors? How does it work in practice? Does your toilet get damp each time you use the shower? Is the floor permanently damp? I tend to dump my clothes on the floor of the bathroom while showering and then bring to the laundry basket afterwards so presumably I'd need to change my habits to prevent a permament soggy mess of laundry? Any more pros or cons?

If anyone has any further photos, please let me know!

I stayed at the Bloc Hotel at Gatwick & the en suite was tiny but very practical. The toilet had a sink in the cistern. It was in a corner right by the door with a mirror above. Then if you took one more step in the shower was above you - the whole room was a wet room. The lighting was great, it had a really nice feel. Tiniest bathroom I've ever been in though.

This is the layout we have - it's just over 1m wide by just less than 3m. It doesn't feel small but obviously is, but with 3 teenagers now, its so useful to have a 2nd shower (and 3rd toilet).

We went through this when we got tweens and had an extension and shower room downstairs.

The loo got used tonnes, no one ever used the second shower they preferred waiting for the main one.

In my last house we had one that was 80cm wide by 300cm long. You entered the loo and sink end so your feet never got wet. It was a wetroom so 150cm long showering area. Had two showers recessed shower valve and a recess for bottles and a foot ledge for shaving and it was my favourite room in the house!

In a previous house, we had a shower room that had no toilet - just sink and shower. The width of the shower unit was the width of the room so there was only one side that needed a screen.
It was invaluable and we used it all the time. However the lack of a toilet did seem like a compromise at the time.

@LadyCurd

In my last house we had one that was 80cm wide by 300cm long. You entered the loo and sink end so your feet never got wet. It was a wetroom so 150cm long showering area. Had two showers recessed shower valve and a recess for bottles and a foot ledge for shaving and it was my favourite room in the house!

That’s beautiful

We looked at a house that had a wet Room loo upstairs as an en-suite upstairs. It put me off. It was like a cave and I worried about leaks.

Old house.

With teenagers in the house it’s lovely to have your own loo and shower. Even if it’s tiny.

You need a loo. Our ensuite is so small you can have D&V at the same time And if I didnt have a shower and toilet, I'd never be clean and toiletted as the kids are forever in the bathroom. No one is allowed to poo in it though, with exceptions for illness.

Our guest room had an en-suite that was so tiny and cramped that most guests preferred not to use it. They tended to wait until the family bathroom was free.

This year we demolished and rebuilt it much bigger (dormer), and it’s lovely now. Frustrating that we can’t have guests now!

There is no issue with seeing in the shower, if anything it’s more hygienic.

*weeing

I would take a look at the toilets with sink built into the cistern. I don’t think it’s practical to have any element missing from an en-suite.
My friend moved into a house with an en-suite with no sink, just a shower and toilet! Vile she replaced with a toilet/sink combo

How small would it be? I would go for an en suite unless you'd be banging your elbows all the time.

We've got an L-shaped en suite that is 1.75 x 2.35 max (1.55 min) (about 3.5m2) in our loft conversion and it looks good, is practical and I wouldn't be without it! It doesn't even feel small; the shower is 800 x 800 and there's an 800 wide vanity unit. Clever design is so important in small spaces.

We have same as Africa2go in our converted garage, slightly wider shower opposite loo and basin With cupboards around and above the loo it works really well.

I really would not have an en suite without a loo. Wet rooms are more difficult re drainage. Can you put it below floor level? If not, you might need a shower tray to accommodate the plumbing. 1.2m x 2.5m works. 1m x 3 works but you will need a slim sink becayse if it’s on the long wall you will have to walk around it!

I hate sinks as cisterns. I hate tiny baths I don’t fit into! A 1200 long shower is a better investment. That’s big enough to have a drench head and feel luxurious. Whatever you do, tank around it.