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10 tips for saving space in your bathroom renovation

Andrew Crawshaw, Smarter Bathrooms

Andrew

I often say, if I had a dollar for every time someone tells me they have a small bathroom, then I wouldn’t need to renovate bathrooms for a living! But seriously, everyone thinks they have a small bathroom.
Andrew Crawshaw – Design Director

This makes renovating small bathrooms a challenge when it comes to creating space. Every space saving idea for your bathroom needs to be considered.

Tip 1: To Bath or not to Bath

Why is it that people are married to keeping their bath. We often get asked “What about the resale value? A home needs a bath” our response is; are you planning on moving in the next 10 years? Do you use a bath on a regular basis? If the answer to both these is no, then remove the bath from the new bathroom design. It’s a lot of real estate for an item to take up in a small bathroom for 10 years, if you only plan to use it once a year. If you still think you’d like a bath consider hiring a hotel for the night!! It will be better for you in the long run!

Tip 2: Shower

So you’ve decided that you need to keep the bath. You have a young family, or it’s a home that a young family would possibly buy, and you’re planning on selling in the near future. You can put the shower over the bath to save space in your new bathroom.

Tip 3: Cabinetry

Use mirrored cabinetry. This can be recessed into the walls to create even more space. Mirrored cabinets are great storage spaces for all those lotions and potions that we have these days to slow the effect of time on our faces and bodies. Shallow cabinetry at face height is an excellent storage solution for bathroom products. Use drawers rather than cupboards in your vanity space. Drawers are a much more efficient way of storing than cupboards. They are so much more accessible. Even if you have bulky items such as towels, they can be stored more efficiently in deeper drawers.

Tip 4: Storage

Clutter-busting is a great way of creating space. Go through your medicine cabinet and remove all the out of date medicines and half used jars that Aunty Myrtle left behind or gave you for Christmas and you never really liked the smell of anyway. Wow…look at the space I have now!

Tip 5: Shelves

Use recesses in the walls in the shower and bath area. Instead of having glass shelves to store shampoos the wall cavities can be utilised to hold your shower gear. This means a smaller shower area can be designed in a small bathroom area.

Tip 6: Vanity

Wall hung vanities can create the illusion of more space in a small bathroom. Because our eye can see the floor area right back to the wall we are fooled into thinking that the floor is actually bigger than it is.

Tip 7: Basin

Use a semi recessed basin on your cabinetry to make use of narrow spaces. This is the look where the basin hangs out over the cabinet. The narrow depth cabinet is sometimes easier to use as stuff doesn’t get lost behind everything. Couple this with a mirrored cabinet on the wall and you will definitely have enough space for all your bits and pieces.

Tip 8: Toilet

Recess the toilet cistern into the wall. This will save you space.

Tip 9: Colour

Use simple colours and keep to one colour scheme that is light and bright. Lighter colours reflect light and make the space seem larger. The lack of visual clutter from a colour scheme point of view will help too.

Tip 10: Mirror

Use a large mirror on one wall of the bathroom. This is an old trick, but often overlooked in the planning phase of your small bathroom design.

For more tips and tricks on making your small bathroom work for you, click here.

To chat with one of our designers, call 1300 662 838 or click here to book your in-home consultation

and one of our Award winning designers will come and discuss space, fixtures and finishes, designs, trends, budgets and more.

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