Gaining Bathroom Space

With the right planning, even the smallest of bathrooms can appear larger, and provide storage space.

• Consider installing a shower instead of a tub.
  Showers take less floor space. To promote accessibility, try to minimize the curb.
  
  
• Use smaller fixtures and shallower vanity cabinets, such as 16 to 18 inches rather than the standard 21 inches in depth.
  
  
• Use pedestal sinks instead of vanities to give the appearance of more floor space. You may be able to build storage into a wall beside or behind the sink.
  
  
• Consider wall-mounted sinks to free up floor space.
  
  
• Using the same material on floors, counters, shower walls and tub surrounds makes the bathroom seem larger by blurring the boundary lines and making the bathroom appear to be a single unit.
  
  
• While white is always a safe color and provide continuity, bold colors and patterns and repeated use of materials such as stone tiles or ceramics can also blend well if a consistent design is used. Still, light walls and floors make a room seem larger. Avoid elements with large patterns as they draw objects closer.
  
  
• Run frameless mirrors from the countertop to the ceiling and/or butt them together in corners to expand room sizes.
  
  
• Add a skylight.
  
  
• In remodel jobs, think about taking over a closet to add a shower, and build new storage elsewhere.
  
  
• Build in a vanity or storage cabinet that opens into the bathroom but protrudes into an adjacent room such as a bedroom. It might be enclosed there to form a half-closet or make-up area. The cabinet doors on the bathroom side could be concealed as wainscoting.
  
  
• Bathroom walls can be built with 2x6 studding instead of 2x4's to give additional depth, in which concealed shelves or shallow floor-to-ceiling cabinets can be discreetly installed.
  
  
• Shallow floor-to-ceiling cabinets can be mounted behind doors.
  
  
• Use a pocket door for the entrance, and tambour doors on cabinets to avoid clearance problems.
  
  
• Eliminate clutter on the counter by adding electrical outlets to closets and cabinets for appliances such as toothbrushes, shavers, etc.
  
  
• A wall mounted hair dryer/blower keeps it conveniently located, without sacrificing space for storage.

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