The cramped British bathroom. Lack of space is a perennial problem for many of our customers, especially those living in period homes. Victorian and Georgian-era houses tend to have small-ish bathroom spaces; Indeed, some of the nicest period houses we’ve seen have remarkably small bathrooms.
The good news is that we’ve found some ingenious ways to maximize your bathroom space. Designing a small bathroom can be very rewarding if you play it right. Here are a few tips and tricks we’ve developed over the years:
1. – Plan your bathroom in 3D and 4D at & So To Bathe
Well, we would say that, wouldn’t we?
It’s often the number one reason our customers choose us in the first place. Our tried-and-trusted virtual software gives you the greatest possible control over the look and feel of your small bathroom, right down to the finest detail. Ryan and Patrik (our design duo) are virtuosos when it comes to implementing a customer’s vision into their designs. Check these out if you don’t believe us.
All this is especially important for a small bathroom design where you’ll have less room for maneuver – literally. With our 4D goggles, you can put yourself literally in the heart of your bathroom and get a proper feel for the space (or lack of.)
2. – Less is more, especially with tiles
While it’s tempting to cover every square inch of wall with your preferred tile, we tend to advise customers to be frugal in a small bathroom. Fewer tiles won’t just trim your budget; it’s actually a great look in its own right.
By half-tiling, the eye is drawn to a datum line that creates a more spacious effect. Take this recent project of ours in Epsom — rather than put porcelain tiles from floor to ceiling, the customers chose to devote the upper half of the wall to a stunning dark navy.
3. – Wall-hung WC pans are the way forward
The economy of space is everything in a small bathroom. Increasingly, the top brands are scaling down their pans to ever-smaller sizes to fit this demand, without skimping on comfort or quality.
Our favorite is Pura’s Arco pan with a blade-thin seat, designed with a quick release for easy cleaning. The below image is an example of just how compact a wall-hung pan can be.
4. – Don’t hold back on mirrors
One of our favorite tricks in small bathroom design is to fit mirrors. Not only does this meet an essential bathroom requirement — you need to be able to see yourself when shaving/doing your hair — it also adds the sensation of extra space.
Be creative with where you put them; recently we used a bespoke mirrored bath panel to give the illusion of extra depth in the room:
We could go on, but stick to these four principles and you can’t go wrong!
