Tiny en-suite of it worth it?

[Lavendersquare]

We are currently renovating our house, and the plumber working on our main bathroom, mentioned that it would be really easy to add a small ensuite bathroom to the main bedroom. However, when we’ve explored this in more detail the maximum size of the finished room would be 1.5 m x 1.5 m.

I’ve drawn a scale drawing (1 square = 10cm) and can fit a compact toilet a 800 mm quadrant shower cubicle and a smallish vanity sink but I’m not sure whether it’s going be so small as to be unusable.

What are your experiences of very small bathrooms? Are they actually worth it? We are a family of 5, with two adult children at home and a teenager so another shower would be a real bonus. There is a window and the remaining bedroom would be 4.3m by 3.5m so plenty of room as wardrobes are already fitted to another wall.

Before anyone asks, the shower room cannot be any bigger 1.5m x 1.5m maximum.

I’ve attached a plan that shows my working out.

We have a small ensuite. We have a bifold door in the middle to save space. Sink and then WC on the right, towel rail in front, shower cubicle on left. It works!

That sounds awkward to use

100% I would. Mine is a similar size and the privacy and convenience and the fact it’s out of bounds for any children, regardless of age is priceless

Ours is small, just over a metre wide by 2 metres long? We've got a shower cubicle across the width at one end with a glass screen, a compact wall hung sink in the middle and the compact toilet is in front of the window. The door opens outwards to save space. It was a lifeline when we had 3 teenage DC at home - DH and I would never have got near the other bathroom.

The trick is buying the smallest sanitary ware you can find, and good storage - we've got a cupboard above the sink that is recessed into the wall.

100% worth it. We have one and it's great, If you can go for a 900 quadrant and a corner toilet... its this plan....

image here

Pocket door, and a toilet with an integrated sink. I would do it.

Before you decide go to a bathroom showroom and stand in a shower like the one you are considering in size and shape.

If you turn the vanity unit round you will get some extra space, 60cm wide will need less than the space to stand in front of one with your back to the shower.

I absolutely would and there are some great suggestions here. We put an en suite in when we renovated our house. Kids were little at the time but we were thinking about the future teenagers. Now we have an adult son living at home and 2 teenagers and I honestly have no idea how everybody would get ready for work/college/school in the morning without having the 2 bathrooms. We actually have another shower in the basement which occasionally gets pressed in to service!

En suite also very handy for small children with vomit bugs overnight.

I would do it. Ours is about that size with a 900mm quadrant shower, vanity unit with sink and compact loo. And heated towel rail. It is fantastic. Ours is actually a separate shower room rather than an en suite but still.

If you do it, get the builders to build in a niche in the shower for shampoo bottles, etc, rather than adding in baskets and so on. It really maximises the space. But mention it at the planning stage as it’s less easy to incorporate once they get going and they work fast!

Yes I’d do it. We have a small one and it’s perfect for our privacy when we have guests, they get their own privacy with use of the main bathroom. Same if it’s your family/children and there’s not so many people fighting for one bath/shower. Just to with what you feel gives you the best layout and think about the door and access to the shower and getting the shower door open if you don’t got sliding or folding or curved. Ours opens into the bedroom.
As for smells, well it’s just me and hubby, but any smells are kept in there with an extractor fan. Nothing drifts into the bedroom, it’s got a proper door and walls so I don’t see what the issue is. It’s hardly a toilet in our bedroom! But like other posters with concerns I suppose I could go and make a smell in the main bathroom which everyone else will then know about 😂
I would never again have a house without an en-suite. Best thing ever, well, except my new electric car 😂

We have one of the toilet/sink combos and I wouldn't recommend.

It's quite a stretch leaning over toilet to get to sink, clothes are brushing against the outside of seat/bowl, and the sink itself is tiny. You wouldn't be able to wash face or clean teeth in it.

Omg build it! It’s the same size as the bathroom I had in my first flat (and a family moved in when we sold it). An extra toilet and shower is always worth doing no matter how small. You don’t need space in a bathroom!

@timetochangethering Thank you for doing that, much appreciated and clearly shows that there would be enough space. I love Mumsnet ❤️

Loads of space - mine is only 90 wide! Definitely agree with others about pocket door. Don’t think you need to limit yourself to a pokey shower. Move your sink and have the shower the full length length of the right hand side.

Definitely maximise the size of the shower. We've just had a small en suite fitted with a 1200x800 shower tray. It isn't clear if your measurements include plasterboard and tiles, but you should be able to fit a 1400x800 shower tray along one wall.

Start with that and make the toilet and basin work around it. A sliding door would be best or have the door open into the bedroom.

I'd also pay the extra and get a non-slip shower tray. Ours is made by Mira. They're so nice to shower in and you can feel the extra grip.

I've got a tiny ensuite with a sliding door. It's 100% worth it

Our downstairs shower room is 1.5 x 1.5 and is actually not a bad size. The shower is the left of the door. Corner sink facing the door and the toilet in the other corner.

I live in a small Cottage and that the size of our one shower room!! But in your situation if you can afford it I’d 100% say yes.

I was going to suggest this. In order to maximise the width available for the shower, make sure that you consider a slightly narrower door. A standard door is 30" but take just a few inches off and get a 27" door instead. With an outward opening, you really won't notice it and you'll get a full length 1500mm shower tray. As a pp said, also get your builder to build a niche into the wall of the shower. We've just done this with an LED light strip in the niche and it works brilliantly. I feel like I'm in a luxury hotel every time I shower now!

Given the family set up, I’d say definitely worth it. Unless they’re all literally on the cusp of moving out!

I'm not the biggest fan but you can get a sink/toilet combination (so the used sink water goes into the cistern for use at the next flush!). This could give you space for a slighty larger shower.
I've also seen en suites that are just a sink and a shower, which isn't ideal but does at least give you an additional shower, which is a bonus!

Do it. My actual bathroom is 2m x2m and it’s fine.

We have a tiny en-suite much like this for our guest room and it totally works. I think having your own en-suite will make a huge difference in a house of 5.