Small Bathrooms Tips

Is your bathroom small? I work primarily in the Old Town/Central Phoenix area and most of the homes were built in the post war era.  These older homes, have loads of charm, but often charm=small spaces.  Unless the floor plan has been completely altered and square footage added on many of these homes are between 1100-1500 SF total with very small bathrooms.  A change of organization and storage space can make a drastic change to how your bathroom feels. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your bathroom space feel more functional and spacious.

•  Medicine Cabinet
  If you have a regular mirror, replacing it with one that includes a medicine cabinet and provide further storage space.  
• Shelving
  If you have free space above your toilet, vanity, or other another empty part of the wall, install shelving units. Purchase a few decorative baskets to maximize shelf space.  I love baskets because you can tuck things away and still have easy access to them.
• Hooks
  With a few decorative hooks, in a style of your preference, you can declutter by placing a couple on the back of the door to hang towels or robes. Perhaps one or two right next to each end of the shelving unit you just installed.
• Towel Racks 
  A rack installed inside of you shower can save you space and convenience, also adding an additional shower bar above the original will work nicely. Another idea is installing a few racks a couple of feet above each other or right next on another. If you have an excessive amount of towels, store some of them away in the bedroom closet.
• Vanity with Cabinet
  I have come across plenty of pedestal sinks in small bathrooms, but if you want save some space, add some storage, and upgrade the look of your bathroom at the same time, a vanity cabinet will definitely do the trick.  Bonus if you can have a vanity with drawers - drawers can make the best use of space in a bathroom.
• Keep scale in mind

           No, I don't mean the weight measurement type of scale here.  If your bathroom  is small, then your vanity and accessories should be also.  An oversized vanity in a small bathroom will only accentuate the size of the room.  I am currently working on a project where the house was built in 1956, the original vanity is very narrow, and makes the small bathroom feel large.  I'm planning to refinish the small vanity and put a new top on it rather than replace with one of today's larger/deeper sized vanities.  

• Go bold with your design

            I think my favorite thing to do in a small bathroom is make your first thought be how stylish, not how small.  You could achieve this with some temporary wallpaper on an accent wall, cool lighting, painted cabinets, accent tile in the shower.  Consider taking the shower tile to the ceiling to bring your view up as well.