Tiny bathroom help!

[Londonrungirl]

Hi all, would love some advice as really stuck what to do with our bathroom which is in need of renovation. The photo attached is pretty generous as estate agent photo but it is in worse condition than photographed.

We have a couple of options:

1. redo like for like with a shower over bath and hope we just improve the feel of the tiny space with a high pressure shower and updates. Few problems: likely can’t fit a bath screen, only a cloakroom size sink etc. Expensive for a cosmetic makeover!

2. Change into a shower room which would allow a bit more space for a bigger sink etc (drawback with future kids etc)

3. Try and extend the bathroom into our bedroom as pictured on the floorplan which is another house on our road. No idea the cost of this or whether it would help us that much as it’s not a huge amount of extra space and still don’t think we would get a seperate bath / shower but probably a more spacious shower over bath.

4. wait until we can do the loft (minimum A couple of years) and then potentially we could have a bath on the middle floor and a shower room upstairs.

We don’t have kids yet but planning on it in the next year or so would really love to hear from parents what they recommend and also what would put them off from buying (Nb this isn’t likely out forever home).

Also if anyone has extended into a bedroom and has any experience of this I would love to hear from you.

Really crude drawing attached but the red box would be a rough bathroom extension and if we did the loft we’d need the yellow box as staircase up the loft.

Thanks so much 🙏

Do you have a budget? Like for like will be significantly less expensive than extending.

We have enough to do the bathroom now. Assuming 7-10k as friends have done similar in London. However would set back our overall saving / renovating plans (eg loft) so trying to balance what the overall right answer is. (Could save a bit longer and do the extending if it was the right thing to do).

Sorry should add the 7-10k is assuming pretty much like for like (as opposed to extending). No idea if that’s an additional 5k or more!

That pretty much our bathroom. There are three if us and we did a like for like but got coloured tiles and wallpaper to brother it up and some lovely flooring. Storage under the sun and a tall ikea mirrored wall xabi eat for lots of storage. A towel rack on the wall for towels not in use is also helpful

It doesn't seem so bad? What are the actual dimensions, they're not on that floor plan. I would definitely keep a bath for future kids and personally prefer a shower over bath to separate ones. Less to clean and something about the two separate things just gives me the heebies when I see it.

When I saw the thread title I came on to suggest an Omnitub www.omnitub.co.uk/ but I'm not actually sure it would gain you any space in this case. But I can definitely recommend them!

Thanks @applespearsbears. Helpful. These are the actual dimensions - did you have something similar?

Can you swap the basin and the toilet round? Then a bath screen could swing over the toilet.

Like this?

Thanks @bigshoutingday sorry added the measurements now! It’s defs not awful - the bath is small which I don’t mind too much it’s more the tiny sink that’s quite hard to wash your face in. But not the end of the world.

Agree bath over shower can work well - I think I would be happier with a shower screen as feels a bit more spacious than a curtain

May I commend you on the diagram!

The sink could be bigger front to back (though not wider), and you could fit a shower screen at the door end of the bath - assuming the shower is over the curved end. Given the size of the house, and that it's in London, it's likely to be a family home in the future, so its worth keeping a bath.

You could swing the toilet and basin round, so the toilet in the corner facing the bath, and the basin on the right as you go in. Not sure it would help much though.

@ChocolateHelps inyeesying idea! Shower is currently opposite end and so the screen would open into this weird recess and then into the sort of only open space but perhaps it would work a lot better at the other end!

I'd do like for like. We have a similar size (although different lay out) and did a like for like but with some fancy design elements and it looks great. We used a specialist bathroom designer for small bathrooms although am loathe to recommend them as the were a big of a nightmare to deal with. Happy with the end result though. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be without a bath with small children.

Thanks @mynameiscalypso glad you’re happy with it. So hard to know until you do it but I’m sure there is some clever stuff we can do with deeper sinks etc and will have a play around with layout per the suggestions above!

@bathorshower yes I’ve found some nice sinks that extend out front to back which is a great option.. will have a play around with formation!

I had a tiny bathroom in my old house. You can get folding shower screens with 5 panels that fold up against the wall. It changed my life I tell you!

What about removing the bath panel and using underneath for storage of cleaning bits/surplus sundries/spare loo roll. Either diy or get a carpenter in to make a frame and add a door/drawers.?

I would go for like for like, provided there is enough ceiling height for a shower. Ours is similar but with a sloped roof, so not high enough for a shower! So annoying!

Bath storage is a game changer! And if you're getting it redone shelves recessed into the walls

We put three panels into the bath side at our last house, one large one in the centre which was just fixed to the bath side, and two small ones either side of it which were on magnetic catches and just pulled off. We stored spare loo rolls and spare tiles from the tiling in there.

I was going to say taps at the opposite end and a folding bath screen. Maybe a wall-mounted sink like this one - Sink

This is really clever @Movinghouseatlast. I’ve actually just seen something similar by ripples where it folds to the back which could work well if we can get all the piping etc built in!

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 that’s a great idea I never would have thought about! Will have a look into that for sure

Thanks @dotdotdotdash. Wall mounted sink is a good idea if the screen and tabs etc all stay at the door end of the room which is probably what’s cheapest!

If there's just the two of you, why don't you convert your smallest bedroom into a bathroom, and use the current bathroom as a study/storage space?

I'd leave the bathroom as is, put a shower room in the red box becoming an en-suite. Then when kids come along you've got two loos and a grown up shower area. Then you still have room for the one-day loft conversion?