Small is cool. Small is also green.
A small bedroom can be cozy. A small kitchen can be efficient. A small home in general presents an opportunity to use space creatively; to tread more lightly on the earth.
A small bathroom though ... a small bathroom can be a different story.
We have a small bathroom. One small bathroom for two women -- two relatively low-maintenance women, at that. Still, for us, a small bathroom is often not cool; sometimes it's a pain.
But, perhaps, I'm overly sensitive today because another plastic shower caddy broke last week and we've been storing our shampoo, etc. on the floor of the shower.
Here are the issues:
- Shaving our legs is nearly impossible in our tiny shower
- Storing the basics (soap, shampoo) in the shower has become and issue -- the suction cup caddies don't stick and most of them take up too much space.
- Jockeying to spit while brushing -- well, that's OK
- But, maneuvering around another person in a 4X4 foot room at 5:45 am is not always fun.
Obviously, these inconveniences we suffer are minor and, for the most part, we've adapted. We often shave our legs over a bucket of warm water now -- rather than doing it in the shower. We take turns brushing. We stagger our routine in the morning.
We're getting by ... and some days ... the bathroom does feel just ever so slightly cozy.
Do you have a small bathroom? Do you do anything creative to cope with the space limitations?
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We have a beautiful, but small bathroom. We also have a built-in shower curtain rod that's rather sturdy, and otherwise our tub/shower combo is a decent size, which is why we came up with this idea: We use a shoe organizer set up on the inside of the shower curtain to store soaps and other misc. items.
view Corvuskorax's profile
Our bath is not small, it is just set up horribly so there is little to NO storage. I got an idea off of Martha Stewart to hang a shelf above the bathroom door. We use baskets to store extra toilet paper, other bathroom extras (q-tips, toothpaste, shaving gear). Another great idea I stole from http://blackwhiteyellow.blogspot.com is to hang decorative hooks near the vanity area to store your hair dryer, flat iron, head bands and so on.
view StellarMom's profile
Honestly, it's the quantity not the quality that bothers me at our house. Our bathroom is beautiful, but it doesn't do much for me when I need to use it and our seven year old is in residence on the toilet.
view SFGail's profile
I feel your pain. Our shower is actually a good size at 3 x 4', and we, too have a shower caddy, but we also have a built in corner-shelf. But overall, our master bathroom is tiny at 4 x 4.5', and has hideous hospital-green tile from when the house was built in the 1950s. We recently started planning our budget-friendly update -- reglazing the square wall tiles to white but preserving the cool green/grey patterned floor, replacing the icky shower door with a 'frameless' option to create the illusion of space, and putting in a pedestal sink and compact one-piece toilet to give a little more room. We're also adding a long mirrored medicine cabinet (55") to make the space feel bigger, and above all, create storage. I can't wait until it's done!
view ncnovice's profile
We live in a 1940's home, with ONE small, tiny, teeny bathroom. I also have 4 boys and a husband. This poses many challenges, both in usage and in storage. Hooks installed on the back of the door are used for hanging the llBean cosmetic cases which store hairbrushes, hair products, extra toiletries. A small closet in the hallway has a shelf repurposed for hairdryers, straight irons and ridiculously large cans of hairspray. My boys - now pre-teens - require their own "stuff" which they now carry to the bathroom in caddies -dorm room style! They store all of their toothbrushes, floss, hair brushes, deodorant, hair gel etc. in ventilated plastic carry bins that remind me of my college days. They store them on a shelf in their bedroom and they always have their things together when they need them. And I don't have to fight my way through their stuff to get to my own!
view momof4boys's profile
We're fortunate to have two bathrooms. Mine is in the hallway and has lovely tile walls and floors, as well as a deep and roomy porcelain bathtub. However, because of plumbing and support concerns, we couldn't widen the door to allow my S/O to get in with his wheelchair ... so we built him a handicapped-accessible bath off our bedroom. He has a low-flow ADA toilet, along with a cute & tiny pedestal sink (easy access with a wheelchair) and a regular tub/shower combo.
view madampince's profile
A few tips I learned:
(1) Purchase an "over the showerhead" hanging tower rack. It's not that pretty but it keeps the clutter in the shower instead of outside it (or on the shower floor). The sunction cup racks never hold up.
(2) Use a curved shower curtain rod. It curves into the room (as opposed to the straight edge created by a traditional rod). I thought it was lame myself until I actually tried one. It definately creates the feeling of more space inside the shower.
(3) Use a white, airy shower curtain. It feels more translucent than a color (or printed) curtain. If you share with the kids who want the next-big thing themed bathroom, direct their excitement to things with less visual real estate. Shower curtain rings are an excellent example (take plain silver rings and add painted wood beads or whatever they like).
view dcaries's profile