Small Bathroom Ideas - 5 Ideas for a Small Bathroom

Small bathroom ideas for a small bathroom remodeling or building project can help make the best use of the bathroom space. Small bathroom ideas deal with the special challenges that small spaces present. Fortunately, there are creative ways to use ideas for a small bathroom space that you may not have considered.

Are you looking to redesign and remodel an existing bathroom? Or are you building a new bathroom where the space will be limited? Even with a smaller bathroom, good design provides you a grooming room for the mornings or before going out and a space to relax in after a long day. This room is usually one of the smallest spaces in the home and one of the more expensive ones as well.

Here are five small bathroom ideas to consider as you are planning the room:

1. Location - if you are planning to add a small bathroom to your home and want to avoid major plumbing expenses, try to locate the new bathroom close to an existing room that already has plumbing installed like the kitchen or laundry. If your home has different floors, stack the bathrooms one over the other. This way, you can use the same plumbing lines for both the existing room and the new room which will save considerably.

2. Door Swing Direction - be sure that the door swings out and away from the bathroom, not into it. If the door swings into the room, the space that it needs to open will reduce the usable space. You do not want the door to be hitting the toilet, other fixture or person in the room. Consider using a sliding door as this kind of door will not require any floor space to open.

3. Storage - good small bathroom ideas will include a design that is free of clutter. Take advantage of nooks and corners to place storage baskets, shelves, cabinets, over the toilet storage, vanity and closets to help you organize the needed bathroom items. Towels, shampoos, soaps, magazines, hair dryers, medications, cleaning supplies, toilet paper and personal grooming accessories all need their own resting place. Good ideas for a small bathroom will use wall space and corner shelves wisely.

4. Corner Fixtures - using a space-saving corner pedestal sink can be one of the creative small bathroom ideas with limited space. There are attractive corner fixtures available that will provide similar functions as larger size units. Using a pedestal sink requires very little floor space or perhaps installing a wall hung sink or a corner bathroom vanity cabinet will be your best choice of fixtures. Corner toilet and corner shower units are also available that can perform well.

5. Humidity - moisture generated in small bathrooms can penetrate the ceiling, walls, floor and countertops. This lingering moisture could become a problem if you do not invest in a properly-sized ventilating fan to get rid of odors and moisture. Ventilating fans are sized by the number of cubic feet of air they move each minute (cfm). A good ventilation system that can move the air from the bathroom to the outdoors about eight times per hour means that the bathroom will have the moist air removed in 7 or 8 minutes time.

Be sure your bathroom exhaust fan is quiet and that it vents to the outside and not into the attic. Fans are rated in 'sones' based on how much noise they produce when operating. A rating of '1 sone' means that the fan is the quietest while higher sone-rated numbers indicate a noisier fan.

Enjoy the planning process, learn all you can and let your imagination go as you collect and implement your small bathroom ideas. Having an attractive and functional bathroom reflecting your personal style means you will have a special place to enjoy for many years to come.

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