It’s time to remodel the bathroom in our Main House Fixer Upper! This is a small bathroom of about 43 square feet, AND it is the only bathroom in the house. So, it needs to carry some real weight. It’s not in the budget to move walls around. So I figure that the only way to get the most our of this small bathroom is to PLAN PLAN PLAN! I want to maximize the use of this space and have it function as smoothly as possible. To reach this goal, I asked myself this main question, “What does this bathroom need to do and have?” From there, I developed a checklist of 12 items to consider when designing a small bathroom remodel to help you optimize your space.
I’m sure you want to see the bathroom I’m redesigning in its “before.” It’s sad. It smells weird. Someone has been missing the toilet bowl when they pee for YEARS!
Ok anyway, back to our small bathroom checklist. What does this bathroom need to do and have?
1. Tub or Shower:
A bathtub is generally considered a good choice for families with small kids or dogs. A walk-in shower is generally easier for people with disabilities or the elderly. Other than that, choosing a tub or shower can have a big impact on the overall layout of your bathroom. So choose your use of space wisely.
I love me a nice long soak in a bathtub, but need the functionality of a shower, so we’ll be keeping the basic tub/shower combo layout here. However, I plan to replace the bathtub with an insulated tub for long hot baths and will be tiling the shower walls myself to elevate the overall look.
Here is the bathtub I bought from Home Depot. This is a Bootz Industries brand porcelain-enameled steel soaking bathtub in their Mauicast model. It is the most economical yet still insulated bathtub I could find.
2. Number of Sinks:
The number of sinks you need comes down to the answer of: How many people will be using this bathroom and can they share? Also, you may simply be limited on space.
While I really want a long counter with two sinks, I’d have to really re-arrange the layout to achieve it. If I use a small stand-up shower or open up the water heater space by using an exterior wall-mounted on-demand water heater, I may be able to shift things around to work. But more shifting of plumbing and electrical lines equals more cost.
In the end, I decided to go with an easy to clean single sink and countertop and plan storage spaces for all the vanity accessories to keep the small countertop clutter free.
I went shopping at IKEA for some design inspiration and found this perfectly sized bathroom vanity with a very easy to clean sink countertop called ODENSVIK. The sink works with a variety of vanity cabinet options, so this is a serious contender for the bathroom remodel.
This is a small double faucet version of the ODESVIK sink. It’s almost a double sink vanity. Unfortunately it is juuuuust hair too big for my small bathroom. Thought you might like to see it though because it’s a clever solution for a small space.
3. Vanity Storage:
The bathroom vanity is a typical go-to place for toiletry storage. In a small bathroom, vanity storage becomes ever more important as we are trying to optimize storage and function everywhere we can.
The more we can plan a proper space for the everyday bathroom items, the better chance we have of making this bathroom highly functional and clutter free.
This got me comparing storage space in wall mounted vanities versus floor support cabinets. Do I want pull out drawers or cabinet doors?
Ikea has some awesome storage hacking vanity options that allow you to use the first drawer below the sink for storage. Their sink/vanity combos actually come with special space-saving plumbing for the sink. Here is an IKEA vanity and sink with pull-out drawers where you can actually store toiletries in the top drawer.
4. Shelving:
If you have the wall space, shelving a great way to add extra toiletry storage and fun accessories to your bathroom.
Here are some pine board floating shelves I made for the bathroom of the Front Cabin. More info on how I built and installed them here.
I also have another tutorial for a more rustic option on fast and easy floating shelves here. I built these floating shelves from free pallet wood and painted them white.
The showrooms at IKEA are great to tour around when looking for design inspiration. Here is a fun shelving alternative I found there for toiletry storage with hanging baskets above a double faucet vanity.
5. Mirrors:
We obviously need a mirror above the bathroom sink. The shape and size of the mirror can really impact the overall feel of the bathroom. Also, we could opt for a mirror medicine cabinet for even more storage. I found an amazingly classy looking mirror medicine cabinet at Pottery Barn. This could be recessed in the wall to look like a simple mirror AND get all that cabinet storage.
Do you also want a full length mirror in your bathroom? I have an odd memory of my high school home economic teacher saying that everyone should have a full length mirror in their bathroom. That way, when they see themselves in the nude, they’ll have a full and honest view of their weight and therefore their overall health. That memory haunts me to this day, but is was kind of useful advice. I think I’ll put a full length mirror in the back side of the bathroom door – the side that faces in towards the bathroom when the door is closed.
Here are some fun mirror options seen at IKEA.
6. Lighting:
Lighting is another one of those things that can really impact the way you feel about a space. For a small bathroom, the less shadowy areas and dark nooks the better. Meaning, brighter and lighter spaces generally FEEL bigger, and we need all the help we can get for this small bathroom.
However, perhaps you want the option for dim or reduced lighting when taking a bath? If you can plan your lighting to accommodate all the various uses for the space, you’ll thank yourself 1000x over later for how easy and functional your bathroom is.
Another thing to think about is natural lighting. My small bath will have a small window in the shower to help with ventilation and provide some natural light. Bathroom skylights are often popular, especially above the shower or tub.
This is the lighting over the sink mirror in the bathroom of the Front Cabin. You can check out that budget bathroom remodel here. The light was actually a very shiny 90’s brass that I spray painted black first and then white. I liked both black and white versions.
7. Towel Holder or Rack:
You may think this is a given for a small bathroom checklist, but there are so many options to hold and store towels! We need to figure out how to store large towels for the shower and bath AND hand towels for the sink.
What I do NOT want is a cluttered, stuffed up, all-in-one towel wall mounted towel rack like you see in hotels. It’s too busy. I want a simple bar or hook for two large towels and one small bar or hook for a sink hand towel.
Here is some design inspiration I found at IKEA. This is an easy way to hang a lot of towels in a small space.
Here is another idea for towel storage in a small space. I like this option in concept, but the bars don’t look level, and I worry this type of towel holder might not hold up well over time.
8. Toothbrush Holder:
Where will your toothbrushes go? Are you going to clutter the counterspace with a free-standing toothbrush holder? Or can it be hidden it out of sight?
Would you prefer a wall-mounted toothbrush holder? Will that get gross?
These are all good questions to ask yourself when planning a bathroom remodel that will actually be used! We need design practicality!
In keeping with my goal to keep the countertop clutter free, I plan to have a small toothbrush holder tumbler that I hide away either in a wall medicine cabinet or a small wall nook. More details will be worked out on the bathroom planning post coming soon!
9. Toilet Paper Holder:
I’ll just come out and say it: I HATE FREESTANDING FLOOR TOILET PAPER HOLDERS! Ahh!!! In a large bathroom, it’s OK. But in a small space, it just adds to the clutter. More things to knock around. In order to reduce clutter, everything must have a designated, organized space.
My plan is to use a wall mounted toilet paper holder mounted to the side of the vanity cabinet. That’s really the only option that would work here. It’s hard to reach toilet paper behind the toilet. The only other option is the shower/tub side and that doesn’t work well either. So a vanity mounted toilet paper holder it is.
10. Wall Finishes:
Wall finishes have a HUGE impact on the feel and design of a small bathroom. The two main options are usually drywall and tile. However, I have seen some bathroom-approved wall paper out there.
I’m leaning towards a classic simple white subway tile for this bathroom remodel. I am hoping white walls will help the space feel larger than it is.
11. Floor Finishes:
Tile will forever be my flooring finish of choice for bathrooms. It’s cleaner, has way more water resistant than other options, and comes in so many varieties that you’re bound to find something you like.
However, flooring technology has really advanced recently. You can now get waterproof vinyl flooring in almost any look you prefer. That could be a very cost effective and easy flooring option for a small bath.
Here are some fun floor tiles seen while shopping around IKEA.
12. Ventilation:
Please give your bathroom good ventilation with a proper ceiling fan! Nobody wants to walk into a room full of farts, particularly stale farts that should have been whisked away hours ago.
Bathroom fans also help remove moist shower air to keep mold or moisture issues from developing in your bathroom.
Some options to consider when buying a bathroom ceiling are:
- Do you want a fan with an light? Often times a fan with this option will have a double or triple wall switch plate so you can turn the fan on separately from the light. This gives you more lighting options in the bathroom.
- Do you want a fan with a heating option? The ceiling fan unit in the photo below has a third wall switch for heat. It is really nice on a cold winter’s day. Be aware, this may change your electrical requirements.
- How loud do you want your fan? Would you like the noise to cover any toilet sounds? Or do you prefer the tranquil silence from your fan to be interrupted by farts? Haha.
A Word of Advice:
While pre-planning for a remodel is great, don’t let it give you analysis paralysis to the point where you feel like you can’t move forward. Have fun with this! Think of it as creative problem solving and solve the question at hand as best you can. Then move on.
I did not have EVERY SINGLE THING figured out before I started the bathroom remodel. I did however, have a general sense of what general items would go where. I knew I would need to work out the nitty gritty specifics of say, where bath Epson salts would go, once everything was finished. Because this is such a small space, I accepted that rarely used bathroom items such as, well I guess Epson salts fit here too, might have to find a spot somewhere else.
Let just do the best we can with what we’re working with at the time and otherwise give ourselves some grace. And try to have fun!
