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decoenthusiaste Is there a closet or other small room outside but adjoining the bath where you could steal a bit of space to enlarge this bath? Would you consider removing a wall and expanding outside the house footprint - is it allowed in your area?

Liz Evans The master bedroom closet is on the left, just as you are entering the bathroom. That would give me a wider opening to the bathroom. The closet wall adjoining the bath is 25" deep(the wall that the vanity side is against). Before entering the bathroom, the closet wall depth is 30". I have thought about doing something (built-ins maybe) with the closet anyway. But wasn't sure where to start. That would be my only option for enlarging.

pcmom1 Could you regain the closet space somewhere else in the bedroom? Larger master bath with dual sinks and great shower is a good investment in the home.

Can you post a floor plan or sketch?

A Rug For All Reasons I think small is just fine if you do it well. If you can redo the vanity, you could get one custom built that hangs on the wall at the height you want it to clear the floor and give the sense of a bigger space. You could also have it built to go over the toilet, if the height is enough to be able to remove the toilet lid. A low profile toilet would make it seem more spacious as well.

If you have the budget to redo the shower, I would redo it without the "lip" and run tile straight onto the shower floor. Then get one of those cool clear glass doors that has no frame. Final suggestion: Run mirrors on both walls above the vanity from the top of the counter all the way to the ceiling. Then hang a cool light fixture that reflects on both mirror surfaces. Skylight? What's up above?

Materials and good design can make this a beautiful bathroom.
Good luck!
Susan

olldbobbi I would be tempted to hang a large but shallow (say 6" deep) shelving unit over the toilet for towels and such, you can roll them so they fit nicely. That's pretty much wasted space anyway. Then you could install a pedestal sink, one that has a towel bar wrapped around it: For makeup, recess a mirrored medicine cabinet. We did it, it's not that hard (if your husband does it and you don't look!!!)

[houzz=Ravenna Pedestal Sink]
[houzz=Vintage Recessed Medicine Cabinet]
Or [houzz=EDITION 300 Keuco Bathroom Cabinet]

ToolHQ Have you considered installing a pocket door? That would open up the wall space behind the existing door. Also, I have seen a shelf placed over a window, or along an entire wall where you can store towels, etc, and it looks really open. I bet a glass door on the shower would also make it look bigger.

pcmom1 I remember a show I saw once. Think of enlarging the window: same width only much longer. Then make a private enclosure in the garden around the window: a mini courtyard, so to speak. Makes you feel you have a lot more room inside than you do!

orangecamera One or two of these hung on the inside of your vanity doors will give you convenient storage in a usually-unused space. They're made for kitchens, but work anywhere. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17365126&RN=205&

You can add shelves to the outside of the vanity between it and the toilet.

New Concept 180 The very first step should be - setting your budget! That dictates the selections for all plumbing fixtures, finishes and complexity of the project.

maryrosek Liz, thanks for posting! I've got a small bathroom reno in my future and there are some great ideas here. I especially love the Revenna sink. I have a super small sink in my future bathroom and that is small but also has elegant lines. Great find, olldbobbi!

a4d2n Liz: I just finished a total small bathroom remodel (removed tub and custom built full tiled shower, new everything) ... it measures approximately 5 feet by 8 feet. To gain space I custom-built corner vanity and cabinet, built floor-to-ceiling storage in space between two 16" centered studs, and installed a glass shelf over the toilet. Some photos are attached. Good luck with your remodel as I know what you are going through. Besides all the obvious budget considerations I hope you have a spare bathroom during your remodel. Any extensive changes will require more time than you plan.

Parrish Construction Love what 'a4d2n' did with their small bath and the corner sink. Since this is your master bath, I would seriously look at your budget and try to make your bathroom larger by stealing the space from your closet and the space in front of the closet, if you have the room in your bedroom to build another closet, or steal closet space from another room next to the bedroom. It will not only help with resale, but be much more comfortable for you, especially if you're sharing the space with someone else. Glass doors would definitely make the space seem larger.

Before doing anything in your bathroom you should draw up a master plan to see what's possible. It's amazing how much wasted space there is in homes when you really start looking.

Jeff Samuels One of the least expensive, yet immediately saves you money, home improvements is a hand held bidet sprayer. It's perfect for a small bathroom because it takes up no additional space and requires no new plumbing or electrical like bidet toilet seats do. The Bidet Sprayer will pay for itself many times over in toilet paper savings which makes this a very smart and green thing to do. Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com .

orangecamera Curious how this works without additional plumbing. Cost savings would depend a lot on the price of water in a particular location.

Jeff Samuels Check out the installation page at: http://www.bathroomsprayers.com/ but you can also see in the photo below that it attaches to the same water connection as the toilet using a 2-way T-Valve so no additional plumbing is required. True about the cost of water especially if you live in Saudi Arabia where I hear it's more expensive than oil but for most people unless you want to be dirty this is the most efficient use of water to get clean with = direct, to the point, gets the job done!

orangecamera Thank you, Jeff Samuels.

I have a TOTO that while it does require electricity, it is hands-free (integrated into the seat) and also has a dryer function, which is very helpful as you can imagine for someone with limited mobility.