Are you considering a bathroom remodel? Everyone loves extra relaxation space in their bathroom, which is why almost every bathroom built in new homes today has a spa or “retreat” feel to it. It’s also why bathroom remodelers have been keeping busy for years, renovating and adding space to the small, utilitarian bathrooms existing in almost every home built before the 1980s. A bathroom is the smallest yet most utilized room in your home that everyone uses several times a day, except for closets! Unfortunately, as they exist now, you have lots of tasks to accomplish in not enough space to get them done.
Contents
Create Space
When homeowners seek to create their personal spa-like relaxation retreats, many dream about those complete with steam showers, oversized soaking tubs, and spacious dressing areas. However, most discover it’s difficult to do in a standard 5′ by 9′ bathroom remodel. If you’re looking to add more than the standard sink/tub/toilet, you’ll need to find the space somewhere. Sometimes, that means thinking outside of the borders of your existing room!
Expansion Options
When considering a bathroom remodel, you have a few expansion options to ponder. A few routes for adding square footage to your bathroom include:
- Borrowing space from an adjoining closet, bedroom, or hallway
- Reconfiguring the existing space to improve the flow
- Transforming a spare bedroom close to the existing bathroom
- Adding of square footage to expand the existing footprint
Once you’ve tackled physical space issues by borrowing, knocking out, or building, you can still elevate the new space through an inventive redesign. Great bathroom design is about efficiency, a sense of openness, and great style–all achieved within a small area. Today, many manufacturers offer space-saving options in terms of bathtubs, showers, vanities, and toilets.
Simple changes like reversing the door swing to open into a hallway and utilizing a pocket or sliding barn door can free up a substantial amount of floor space. Even replacing a large vanity with a shallow, wall-hung cabinet can free up more floor space, making the room seem larger. Reducing a typical 21″ deep vanity with one that is 12″ deep may only open up an extra 9″, but it can make your bathroom feel more spacious.
New, sleek, slim fixtures are an alternative way to increase space without losing the functionality of the space. Using a pedestal or wall-mounted sink can give you the functionality you require without sacrificing as much space. If you have kids who take showers instead of baths, substituting your old tub with a shower can free up a lot of space than keeping a full-sized tub, often up to 50% less!
Tricking the Eye
Using a floor tile with a format of 12″ by 24″ tricks the eye into reading the area as larger than it is than small mosaic tiles would. The main reason for that is because smaller tiles have more grout lines, and grid patterns make a space seem smaller.
Focus on Storage
Get more functional storage space by mounting cabinetry on walls rather than installing a big wall mirror during your bathroom remodel. Niches are also a fundamental way to arrange essentials. Using the space between wall studs doesn’t eat up precious floor space; place one or two in a shower to store shampoo and soap instead of having them on the ground. A towel rack is another great idea that keeps your towels neat and warm — mount it above a toilet to avoid often wasted space.
Lighting
Increasing the ambient lighting gives the impression of space, so you may also want lighting in a shower or over a tub. A suggestion would be to use LED lights–while they are much more expensive than incandescents, they last almost forever and can even change color!
Time for a Bathroom Remodel?
Small bathrooms don’t have to be a challenge; they can be a part of your home you embrace and love. At Gordon Reese Design Build, we love to talk about your bathroom remodel. Call us at (925) 261-7387 to book a consultation about your remodel today!
Recent Comments