Very small bathroom ideas

Very small bathroom ideas are important when you live in the city where space is a premium. We live in a 75 sqm 3-bedroom apartment, so space is really limited. When we were designing the apartment for renovation, my architect told me that we could not fit a second full bath in the space and could only accommodate a powder room (a vanity with toilet). This is something I could not agree to because I have two children and there is a possibility of my family and friends from the Philippines visiting me, and I wanted them to have another bathroom as an option. So I proposed a wet room.

One very small bathroom idea is a wet room. A wet room is a bathroom where all areas of the bathroom can be wet. This feature allows a person to use the entire bathroom as a shower area, saving space. When designing my very small bathroom, I had to keep the following ideas in mind:

1. Waterproof everything.

Everything in the very small bathroom or wet room had to be waterproof. That meant, no art, no wood shelves, or anything that could deteriorate when exposed to moisture or liquids. In my bathroom, I used wire/metal shelves for my shower caddy and for my over-the-mirror shelf.

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To ensure that no moisture and humidity would seep through the tiles under the floor or through the walls, we waterproofed the entire wet room, floor and walls, using a waterproof membrane such as Schluter Ditra. Because even if the tile is waterproof, water can seep through the grout. Little by little, this can cause water damage. With a waterproof membrane, no water would go to the apartment beneath us or through our walls to the other rooms.

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2. Create the illusion of a larger bathroom using tile.

One idea to make a space look bigger is by using white all over. However, in our case, using white tile all over would have made the very small bathroom clinical, flat, and boring because I could not vary the texture by adding other interesting elements, such as wood and textile.

What I did to make the very small bathroom appear longer was, I used the same tile for the floor and the wall facing me when I enter the bathroom. This created one continuous space that didn’t interrupt my line of eyesight, making it appear that there was no end or that the ending wall was farther than in reality.

To make the very small bathroom appear wider, I used large white format tiles with a pearl grout on the other surrounding walls. This made these walls disappear visually, making the very small bathroom appear more spacious.

3. Distract the bathroom guest with interesting tile and finishes.

Another very small bathroom idea I did was to use an interesting tile coupled with gold finishes. By using interesting tile and gold finishes, the attention of our bathroom guests when they first see the bathroom is not its small size, but how pretty the tile and the gold fixtures are.

I used a really interesting Spanish tile that could not be purchased in the big box store here. I was walking around in our previous neighborhood in Prosperidad and saw this small store that sold specialty tile and other flooring materials. It was love at first sight.

I used a gold finish for my shower and faucet because it gave the very small bathroom a more luxurious look. The very small bathroom’s size made it very basic, but with an interesting tile and gold bathroom fixtures, I was able to distract the guest’s attention from the very small bathroom’s size and instead, focus it on the other design elements.

4. Use a freestanding sink and the smallest water closet you can buy.

Another very small bathroom idea is to use a freestanding sink and a small water closet. With a freestanding sink, you can use the space at the bottom for the trash can and a toilet brush. In my case, the entire water closet’s body was attached to the wall. This made the water closet act as a barrier for water not to spill over to the other side of the bathroom when showering.

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5. Think function, above all else.

When designing a very small bathroom, it’s important to always consider function first before anything else. In my case, my radiator acted both as a heater and a towel holder. My toilet paper holder was movable and had storage for extra rolls of toilet paper. I installed a gold wire shelf on top of the mirror to act as secondary storage and another metal wire shelf near the shower area to serve as a shower caddy. The shower curtain rod was only a tension rod so it could be easily moved. The shower curtain was semi-transparent to allow light through the bathroom. Because the very small bathroom did not have a window, I installed a vent. Lastly, even if the very small bathroom did not have a bidet, it had a small handheld sprayer for cleaning. These small things made the very small bathroom highly functional and complete with all the basic necessities one would need in a regular bathroom.

6. Match your Finishes. 

Most designers say, you can mix and match metal finishes in a bathroom. However, in a very small bathroom, mixing metal finishes can give you a visual headache. For consistency , use the same finish in most, if not all, of your fixtures. In my case, my shower and sink faucet were antique gold. Since I had a freestanding sink, the pipes underneath had to match and were also in antique gold. I used the same or similar gold finish for my shower caddy, my above-mirror shelf, mirror, trash can, and toilet paper holder. The mirror and toilet paper holder were simply spray painted gold to match the finishes because I couldn’t find a match that was affordable. In the end, matching finishes gave my bathroom a more cohesive look.

All these design ideas made my very small bathroom /wet room cozy and pretty. When using it, I’m not thinking, “what a small bathroom.” Instead, I’m always admiring the tile and the gold finishes. Despite its compact size, this very small bathroom / wet room serves its function and does not feel like it’s lacking in anything. I’m happy to report that my children love showering in this bathroom, despite its small size. The floor gets dry easily after showering because of the radiator.

In the end, I’m glad I didn’t listen to my architect when he told me I could only install a powder room in that space. Always consider a wet room as a very small bathroom idea.