Little Lavatory Ideas You'll Love

Ranked #4,552 in Home & Garden, #67,489 overall

Whats up With Little Lavatories?

  In respected "Home & Garden", remodeling, and DIY (do-it-yourself) magazines, as well as TV shows, you never see small bathrooms... What's up with that?! We always see this lavishly large, supercharged, mega expensive bathrooms that the OVERWHELMING majority of us do not have room for, let alone afford! Take for example this article on small bathrooms, every bathroom is a huge expensive room, and they mislead you saying it's a "small bathroom". It's crazy, so that got me thinking the other day; What is a homeowner supposed to do when they have a standard 8 ft x 5 ft bathroom that can only accommodate minimal furniture and fixtures? What kinds of options are available for these people? And why are bathrooms so dang small in the first place?!

... Well, those questions, and more, are going to be answered within this lens. and your little lavatory will feel not so little, anymore.

and by the way Kitchens can be small too...
Small confined spaces aren't limited to your lavoratory. Ever been in a kitchen where the refrigerator door doesn't open all the way because it hits the kitchen sink? I'm sure you have. Well for kitchens like those check out these small kitchen remodels

So Why 5x8?

Small Bathroom History

Small bathroom remodel  If you have ever noticed, most bathrooms are about the same size, five foot wide, by eight foot long, and most people don't think about this, but why are standard bathroom sizes so small? Even more peculiar, why are most bathrooms exactly the same size, even if the designer, the time period, and location of the home are different? Kind of Strange... isn't it?

  To begin this little inquiry, lets think about the standard size of bathroom appliances/furniture.


Standard Bathtub:
5 foot long, by thirty inches wide

Standard toilet:
Now this one varies a little bit, but the standard toilet bowl is fourteen inches wide by sixteen and a half inches long. the elongated toilet bowl is the same width, but is eighteen and a half inches long.

Standard Vanity:
twenty-one inches deep, and about three feet high, and two feet wide.

 

  • Note: For you DIY kind of people, when setting any standard toilet, you need to have at least thirteen inches of space from the center of the toilet flange to any object on the right or left side for nice elbow room... ;-)


  •   This all plays a big part in the size of the room. Home designers/arcitechts know these demensions ahead of time, and to keep themselves from wasting space for other parts of the home, and eight foot by five foot bathroom is the way to go.

      Now, this leaves some questions unanswered:


    • Why do bathrooms look different, if they are mostly the same size?

    • What options do I have when I want to remodel, but don't have $20,000 for the project?

    • What kinds of design will make my bathroom look bigger, but still be functional?

      and...

    • What kinds of limitations will I have?

    Well kids, those questions will be answered down below...

    The Big Secret...

    Its All About The Doors!

    Bathroom Diagram

    As you can see, the door in the bathroom diagrams above determines the layout of the bathroom. Whether the door is on a five foot wall, or an eight foot wall, most of the time the bath tub will stay put. As you go through your day, take time to notice how bathrooms are laid out, and it will help with your bathroom project.

    Now, one way to make the bathroom much more functional is a pocket door. A pocket door slides in to and out off a wall, thus eliminating the space needed for the swing of a standard door. But, if that wall is load bearing, or has some kind of obstruction like plumbing running through it, a pocket door is not the option for you.

    Now before we get any further, some people may be wondering how much bathroom remodeling may cost, in my experience, most homeowner like looking at the pictures, but will not necessarily connect price with the picture. For a good article on how to price bathroom remodeling, the National Kitchen and Bath Association put out this article.

    The Next Step

    Ways To save Space

    As we continue our course, you are probably wondering, "OK, so I have a five by eight bathroom, and my doors force me to place my sink and toilet in a certain place... BUT WHAT CAN I DO TO MAXIMIZE SPACE IN MY TINY BATHROOM!" ...

    Well, this is exactly what.
    First of all, we always want to place everything possible recessed into the walls, which makes for a larger looking, less busy bathroom. This means niches in tiled walls for your shower. In the video below, we give a good example of a niche.
    Loading
    Recessed Wall Cabinet for bathroom remodelingThe next thing would be recessed shelving units... these are semi-expensive cabinets that are build directly into you home, the picture on the right and the video below outlines the construction of the shelving unit and a finished product. these recessed units may be expensive, but they add a lot of character to your bathroom.

    Recessed Wall Shelving

    Here is An example

    Loading

    Great Lighting Kills Claustraphobia

    I Can See The Light!

    fan light combo for bathroom remodeling

    Lighting is a big step in making your bathroom look more spacious. no one wants to be stuck in a dungeon... When on the throne, they want to be in the palace...

    When installing lighting units, on the ceiling you want to have a fan light combo unit, because as a small bathroom owner, you do not have much ceiling space to work with.

    You also need a wall unit to enhance the lighting... lighting is good... the picture below is the one of the wall units we recommend here at Budget Bath. Three globe is preferable because of the adjustability and light output of the units.

    wall unit light, for small bathroom remodeling

    The End...

    ... Or is it?

    I hope you were informed on small bathrooms, and i hope this helps your remodeling project, if you have any questions, check out our website for Baltimore bathroom remodeling

    Kitchens can be small too...
    Small confined spaces aren't limited to your lavoratory. Ever been in a kitchen where the refrigerator door doesn't open all the way because it hits the kitchen sink? I'm sure you have. Well for kitchens like those check out these small kitchen remodels.

    A Bathroom Remodeling Response

    Given to GaryR_H

    OK, so you say you have a 4x3 bathroom... I would venture to imagine that the wall on the backside of the toilet is three feet long. That actually should not be a problem, even for the obese, if the toilette is centered correctly... meaning you would get about 18 inches on each side. Now the standard toilette in a regular bathroom has 13 inches of space on each side of the toilette for sufficient elbow room. Now if the toilette was on the four foot wall with the sink adjacent/next to it, then i would suggest moving the layout around to make it a better fit.

    Tell Us What You Think

    At Budget Bath, we want to know what you think about us, and the information provided, so this is your chance to speak you mind... We encourage asking questions, posting critiques, and adding content, so post away!

    submit

    by

    BudgetBath_Inc

    Hello to all who read! We are BudgetBath and we have been serving the Baltimore Metropolitan area's bathroom remodeling needs for over 20 years strong.... more »

    Feeling creative? Create a Lens!