Decorating a Small Bathroom

Decorating a small bathroom is a lot like decorating a small kitchen.

Most of what you get is what you’re stuck with unless you plan to remodel.

However, there are some things you can do to emphasize the beauty of your bathroom and make it your own personal space. It won’t be a huge effort if you can’t remodel, but we’re going to go through the steps from start to finish.

What we’re going to discuss today includes topics on both remodeling your bathroom and ideas that might be useful to you if you can’t remodel.

We’re going to go through it in 3 steps.

Although I tried to put them in logical order you may find that rearranging the steps in which you do all of this might be more helpful to you, depending on how you prefer to do things.

Keep in mind you also might need to clear out your entire bathroom before you work any of the steps below.

The 3 step process is…

Reducing
Decorating
Organizing

So, let’s start with reducing…

Reducing is for Remodeling

If you want some serious space saving results in your bathroom, in all honesty, the only way to go about it is to choose a different sink, bathtub or shower unit and toilet.

It’s probably fairly obvious that this will be moderately expensive. However, before I move on I wanted to bring to your attention that additional costs might arise (through plumbing) if you plan to rearrange where you place certain appliances in your bathroom.

Consider This…

So keep that in mind when you read over the suggestions below. Now that that’s been said, let’s get back to the subject at hand.

The space problem with many small bathrooms is not only the dimensions but sinks with vanities, long bathtubs and occasionally the size or location of the toilet.

Toilets

Toilets aren’t usually some much of a problem as sinks with vanities and bathtubs. But sometimes they can be.

For instance, let’s say you’re planning to remodel your bathroom and you decide you want to rearrange where things go to capitalize on saving even more space.

You find out the best place for your toilet is in a corner. Well, that can present a problem, can’t it? Particularly since most toilets aren’t designed with corners in mind.

Well, that’s when the toilet can become a major hassle. But thankfully, you can replace it with a corner toilet which would then solve your problems.

Sinks

The wonderful thing about a vanity is that it provides storage space which is must-have for any bathroom, but a side effect to that is that the storage space compromises the dimensions.

If you’re living in a place in which this problem can be resolved with a little remodeling, then you’re best bet would be to go for sink without a vanity.

A wall mounted sink or a pedestal sink would help open up your space quite a bit.

The downside to both choices is that you sacrifice storage space. So, to counter balance that choice, you can consider wall storage options which we’ll talk about later.

Bathtubs and Showers

Bathtubs with showers are also large space hoggers. In fact, they’re probably the biggest due to the fact that they are long and usually eat up one full wall. So, you’re not only losing a lot of length but also a good portion of width in your bathroom.

But one other problem is the shower curtain. If you can’t remodel then a good, yet simple way to open up space is to choose a clear shower curtain so that light can pass through it or simply keep your shower curtain open once you’re finished showering.

But let’s get back to shower bathtub combos for the time being.

As for the size of most of them, it should be no surprise that many of them are too big. A lot of bathtubs are around 72 inches long, which translates to 6 feet.

To remedy that, you might find it more convenient to knock a foot off and go for a bathtub around 5 feet long in order to save space but not sacrifice comfort.

Another choice available to open up space in your bathroom is to replace your shower bathtub combo with a bathtub or a shower. You can choose between a shower stall with a clear door or a corner or compact bathtub which would do away with the shower curtain in the process.

Let’s consider the substitutes very carefully…

Clawfoot Bathtub

Clawfoot bathtubs are usually oval shaped and most of the time (but not always) you’ll find they have legs on them. Some of us think of them only when we’re thinking of “old-fashioned” or “vintage” bathtubs.

You know, the kind you see in old historical houses.

They can be a wonderful choice, because the shapes they come in have a lot of personality. They often feel and look smaller. Not to mention, they offer an intimate and cozy feeling.

However, the biggest benefit (besides the shape) that you’ll get from them is that they are on legs. This gives the impression your bathroom is a little bigger because it takes up less positive space and opens up the space beneath the bathtub.

They’re also capable of being placed in the center of a bathroom without looking as heavy and awkward like most rectangular shaped bathtubs.
Corner Bathtub

I think the benefit to a corner bathtub is pretty obvious, don’t you? I consider these bathtubs the best of both worlds, because they offer you a nice amount of bathing space while you still saving you a load of it in the process. They are also stylish, and bring a certain charm to your bathroom.
Corner Shower Stall

No bathtub. Just the shower and forget about the shower curtain in the process. Get a clear door instead. Light will then be able to pass through it. You’ll be able to see the wall beyond the shower stall and it will aid in making your bathroom feel a lot more open and slightly bigger.

You can get a shower stall for the corner to save yourself more space, but they have some that will fit anywhere.

They save you loads of space, because (you guessed it) there’s no bathtub to go with them. Or if they do have one, the bathtub is compact so you’re still saving that extra space you need.

What’s Next…

Once you’ve tackled your shower, bathub, sink and toilet, what about your floors and walls?

Well, I’m glad that came up, since your next step is to focus on tiles.

Just like everything else, the tile designs you choose will be due to personal preference, but there’s something special you could consider to make your bathroom really awesome.

Have you considered using tile murals?

They offer you a way to accent your bathroom with a unique picture and/or border.

A couple of great places worth checking out that offer them are…

They might look particularly stunning near on a wall near a bathtub, but really it could work anywhere on the floor as well.

Decorating is for Personality

Okay, we just talked about what you can do if you can actually remodel your bathroom, but what about if you can’t?

Well, that’s a good question. Storage and decorating are a big part of how to make up for what you can’t do when you’re limited to what you can. However, right now we’re going to postpone discussing your storage options until a little later.

First, let’s concentrate soley on decorating.

Well, essentially there are 6 places that you can concentrate on…

Ceiling
Wall
Sink
Toilet
Shower/Bathub
Floor

There might be more, but we’ll stick to general options and you can consider specifics on your own.

You already know about adding some green in your bathroom. Plants or flowers always add character. Also, don’t forget about rugs.

Also, consider the lighting fixtures in your bathroom above your sink or even in the ceiling. You could have them changed out with something a lot more attractive in order to add personality and compliment your new look and feel.

But now let’s talk about some less obvious options. You could consider sprucing your bathroom up by making the following changes…

Paint

As I’m sure you may already know, the trick with paint and color is to make sure light bounces off of it so that your bathroom will feel open rather than closed in. You’re going to want to go with a color that makes you feel calm and relaxed.

Avoid rambunctious colors and consider colors like yellow, light green, light blue and beige or off-white. Remember to also consider gloss paint so that it will help the light bounce off the walls and contribute to opening the space up.

Wall Art

Have you considered faux wallpaper textures? Stone, wood, tile… all of the options you can choose from to add a unique look to your bathroom.

Or how about murals? Borders? Well all three could be wonderful ways to spruce up your bathroom and add some amazing personality, while opening up the space.

You might really enjoy murals in particular if you choose a window mural or one that provides a walkway of some sort. It will do wonders for opening up your space and making your bathroom feel bigger and brighter.

The Garden Door Mural is worth checking out specifically, and other sites worth checking out are…

Need to Know…

Besides opening up your space with window murals, you might even fool several people into believing you added a window to your bathroom.

This idea, of course won’t work for all bathrooms but if you’ve got one with the right look and feel, it can have an amazing life-like effect.

Shower Curtain

If you’ve read this discussion all the way through, you might remember me mentioning the shower curtain earlier.

It can affect how open and closed your space feels because when you close it it will block off a good portion of space and can easily be conceived as a wall. To keep things looking spacy, remember you can either keep your shower curtain open, simply choose a light color or choose something clear.

If you want to get really inventive, you could look for a shower curtain that has frills at the top and bottom but is simply clear in the middle. That’ll give you the best of both worlds.

Organizing is for Ease of Use

Now that you’ve got an idea of how you want your bathroom decorated, it’s time to think about how you want it organized.

If you remodel your bathroom, your primary source of shelving may be your walls.

But before we get too far ahead, the first thing you’ll want to do is decide is what you want in your bathroom in the first place. That way you can group things together and then assign each group a station in your bathroom.

Although, you may assign your supplies to a certain group, you’ll likely have to split some up for easy and logical storing.

Most things can remain together if you work a little at it, but you’ll probably find it’s unavoidable to keep your Grooming Group and Hygienic Group together in one place.

Hygienic Group

Sanitary napkins
toilet paper
soap
toothbrush and toothpaste
dental floss
deoderant

Grooming Group

towels
blow dryers
shampoo and conditioner
razors
shaving cream

Cosmetic Group

make-up
nail polish
nail clippers

Once you’ve decided on which supplies in your bathroom go to which groups, you can concentrate on stations.

You may want to divide and assign locations in your bathroom to the 3 following stations…

Shower Station
Wall Station
Cabinet Station

First things first, you’ll find that some items are flexible depending on your daily habits. The suggestions below are just that—suggestions.

So, keep in mind that you’ll have to consider your daily routine before assigning your group to a specific station. That way, you’ll be able to assign it so that continuous order in your bathroom will be a no-brainer.

Cabinet Station

The Cabinet Station is defined the following storage locations: the vanity under your sink, wall mounted cabinet, etagere (cabinet storage stand, typically placed over a toilet) and medicine cabinet.

Your Cosmetic Group (make-up, nail polish, clippers) and part of your Hygienic Group (sanitary napkins, toilet paper, dental floss and deoderant, extra soap) can be stored in the Cabinet Station of your choice.

You may also find that using a
revolving cosmetic organizer will help you out further when storing your some of the things from the Cosmetic Group, such as make-up.

As for toilet paper, if a cabinet station isn’t a preference or you prefer to have some on hand, you might find it a better idea to split it up and store some of it in your cabinet station and some on a caddy for immediate use.

Shower Station

The Shower Stations is obviously considered to be any area within your shower.

Part of your Grooming Group (shampoo, conditioner, razor and shaving cream) and the remaining part of your Hygienic Group (toothbrush, toothpaste and soap) can be stored in the Shower Station for daily use.

You may find all of this flexible to a degree. For instance, if you do not brush your teeth in the shower like me, obviously this would not be a good place for your toothbrush and toothpaste. Near the sink would most likely be your best bet.

Or if you don’t shave in the shower and prefer the sink, then choosing a Cabinet Station might be a better location instead.

Wall Station

The Wall Station is considered to be any wall space area (for mounting) in your bathroom.

The remaining part of your Grooming Group (towels and blow dryers) would be suitable for your Wall Station. However, this too may be a situation that’s flexible. You may find the remaining part best suited for your Cabinet Station.

But if you’re interested in storing each along the wall, for towels, a towel rack might be of interest to you and for a blow dryer, a holster might be the perfect answer.

One Last Thing…

If you have medicine in your bathroom, its recommended you store it elsewhere like in your linen closet. The kitchen may also do as long as it’s in an area that isn’t affected by the heat.

The reason for that is because you’ll find that a lot of medicine is best kept in cool dark places. The heat and humidity that transpires from showers and baths could deteriorate and ruin it. So to ensure or prolong life, your bathroom should be kept off-limits for medicine supplies that are temperature-specific.

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