Sunset
Small bath success stories.

Author/s: Peter O. Whiteley

Six solutions show how to remodel without adding square footage

The typical small bathroom squeezes a toilet, vanity, and bathtub-shower into 50 square feet. It's not a lot of space. Making such tight quarters work better without a costly expansion requires the deft touch of a cosmetic surgeon. So what are your design options?

RETHINKING THE VANITY

The most space-intensive culprit of small bathrooms is the vanity. It supports the sink, masks the plumbing, and provides some storage, though its blocky base also eats up a lot of floor area. In each of the six examples shown here, the vanity base was redesigned or replaced to visually and physically increase the amount of open floor area.

A vanity appears to sit more lightly on the floor if it is raised on slender legs. Shallow counters will also help create a more spacious feeling. Another strategy is to replace the existing sink with a smaller bar-style sink and relocate it to a corner.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUITY

Room-long counters that span vanity bases, storage cabinets, and toilets can add visual continuity, which is another important element in making small bathrooms feel larger. If the plan of the room does not allow such a lengthy countertop, designers often add a "banjo" top that includes a sink and then tapers over the toilet tank.

Continuity also means using the same materials throughout a room. Most bathrooms incorporate too many building materials - for example, a wood vanity, a tile counter with an enameled sink, wallpapered or painted wallboard, vinyl flooring, tiled wainscoting or tub surround, plastic shower curtains, and a porcelainized toilet and tub. A limited and unified palette lets the eye flow more easily across a small room.

COMPACT ELEGANCE

This 7- by 5-foot bathroom serves a mother, a teenage son, and guests. It needed to "live large." The bathroom's biggest gain is in light and the appearance of greater interior volume, thanks to the addition of a greenhouse window behind the tub-shower. The metal-framed unit with translucent tempered panels projects into a side garden. The new vanity's slender metal legs (not seen in photo) give a lighter look and show more of the floor area. The vanity's banjo-style tumbled marble top extends counter space while masking the toilet tank.