Hey there! Did you just see an amazing shower or soaking tub and decided to buy it for your bathroom? Then you suddenly remember that your bathroom is very small in size and you think you have got nothing to do..
Who said so?
Don’t get upset. By following some amazing techniques you can easily fit your desired items in your smaller bathroom.
So the question is: How to fit a shower and soaking tub into a smaller bathroom?
Choosing the perfect shaped shower or soaking tub ,Maximizing the space, finding alternative ways for storage,finding hidden spaces or utilizing the walls and corner spaces etc can be some general answers for this question.
But in order to make it a success, you need to know a lot more information.
I’ve gathered all those at one place in this article just for you.
Problems you may face while fitting in the shower or soaking tub in your smaller bathroom:
Entering the tub or shower in your bathroom:
While fitting the shower or soaking tub in your small bathroom, maybe the first problem you are going to face is to enter those into your bathroom.
It may happen that the doors are too small for those items to enter. So in that case you may have to consider the item’s size before buying. Or you may have to find some alternative ways for entering those things inside your bathroom.
A neighbor of mine had to enter his soaking tub into his bathroom through the window because of the smaller door of his bathroom.
Creating discomfort for your movement:
If you add a new item like a shower or a soaking tub in a smaller space, it may create discomfort for your easy movement inside the bathroom. You may not get enough space to even walk inside your bathroom because of those extra items and if they are unplanned or oversized.
Access for Installation:
Depending on the bathroom’s location within the house and its proximity to plumbing lines, it may be challenging to physically install a new shower or tub. This can require modifications to existing plumbing and fixtures.
Limited space for Door Swings:
In smaller bathrooms, the space required for the door to swing open can be limited. This can be a concern when installing a hinged shower door or tub door.
Ruining aesthetics and functionality of your bathroom:
In a smaller space , every single element present must serve a special purpose. So, if you unnecessarily add an unplanned or oversized shower or soaking tub inside for only relaxation purposes, then it will surely ruin the aesthetics and functionality of your bathroom.
Addition of extra budget for plumbing and electrical work:
In case you add a new shower or soaking tub in your bathroom, you will surely need plumbing systems and electrical work for those items.
Depending on the bathroom’s existing infrastructure, significant plumbing and electrical work may be required for installation of a shower or soaking tub in the bathroom.
It may add complexity in the installation process and can add extra budget for you.
Before you start, Consider these:
In case you want to fit a shower or soaking tub in your smaller bathroom, you will have to consider some factors before starting the project:
The dimension of your bathroom:
Firstly, you need to consider the dimension of your bathroom. Then you must select the perfect sized,shaped or designed soaking tub or shower which will be most suitable for your small bathroom space.
Proper access for Installation:
Installation of a shower or soaking tub depends much on the proper access of installation in your bathroom.
You must check the proximity of plumbing lines and find out the most suitable place for the installation of your desired item. Sometimes it can require modifications to existing plumbing systems and fixtures.
Enough space for comfortable movement:
Before the installation of an item, you must ensure that it won’t create discomfort for your easy movement inside the bathroom.
Sometimes, wrong installation of a shower or soaking tub may create problems like limited floor space, visual clutter or can create limited accessibility inside the bathroom.This can ruin the visual aesthetics inside the bathroom as well as can create safety concerns.
So, before you start the fitting in process, you must ensure that after the installation process, there will be enough space inside the bathroom for your easy and comfortable movement.
Consideration of storage:
In case of fitting inside a new item inside your smaller bathroom, it will surely cause a limitation to your storage spaces. So you must think of alternative storage solutions for your necessary bathroom essentials before you start fitting in a shower or a soaking tub inside.
Proper ventilation system:
Don’t forget to ensure a proper ventilation system inside your bathroom before planning the installation of new items.
Improper ventilation systems can build up moisture inside your bathroom which can lead to issues like mold or mildews.
Also, The bathroom should always have a system of passing water. If it’s blocked because of newly installed items, the water would not pass down and the bathroom floor may get slippery. In that case, accidents will be unavoidable
Consider your budget:
Don’t forget to consider your budget before installing a new item in your bathroom. Fitting in a new shower or soaking tub inside may cost you a lot of additional costs like plumbing and electrical work costs, maintenance cost or sometimes even renovation costs as well.
So, don’t forget to check your budget before you decide to install a new shower or soaking tub inside your smaller bathroom.
You can use a Bathtub Installation Cost Calculator to get a predetermination of the necessary budget.
How to fit a shower and soaking tub into a small bathroom?
Follow these steps:
- Step-1: Measure the dimensions of your Bathroom
- Step-2: Checkout the Plumbing and Electrical Considerations
- Step-3: Ensure maximizing space inside the bathroom
- Step-4: Plan for ensuring proper ventilation, comfortable movement and proper lighting
- Step-5: Choose the perfect shower or soaking tub for your bathroom
- Step-6: Do the installation
Tips and hacks to make space to fit in your shower or soaking tub:
Maximizing space inside the bathroom:
In case of fitting an item inside a smaller bathroom, it is very important to use the maximum space available inside. You must redesign the setup of your bathroom interior for fitting in your shower or soaking tub.
This needs both creativity and strategic planning to redesign your bathroom. But generally, you can use wall mounted items, use hangers in the wall, folding fixtures or can use multipurpose products etc for maximizing space inside your bathroom.
Alternative space solutions:
The installation of a shower or soaking tub will need extra space inside your bathroom. So it’s necessary to find alternative space solutions for your accessories so that the items can easily fit in.
| Alternative space solutions | Description /Features |
| Use floating shelves or wall mounted cabinets | Remove cabinets or closets inside the bathroom. These take up a lot of spaces.Use floating shelves or wall mounted cabinets placed above the bathroom instead. This will provide additional space without taking up floor space. |
| Magnetic Strips: | Attach magnetic strips to the inside of cabinet doors to hold small metal items like tweezers, nail clippers, or bobby pins. |
| Mirror Cabinets: | You can Install a mirrored cabinet above the sink, combining a mirror with hidden storage for storing toiletries and medicine. |
| Hooks and Pegs: | You can use hooks and pegs at the back of your bathroom door or on the walls to hang your towels, baskets, bathrobes and other smaller items. |
| Drawer Dividers: | Use drawer dividers inside your bathroom for storing items like makeup, hair accessories, and toiletries separately organized at one place and easily accessible. |
| Ladder Shelves: | An unused ladder of your house can be a smart and aesthetic storage solution for your small bathroom.Lean a ladder against the wall that can hold towels, baskets, or other decorative items. |
| Use sliding Shelves and Folding Fixtures: | You can use sliding shelves under the cabinets or folding fixtures like foldable shower benches or collapsible elements to save space when not in use. |
Find out the hidden spaces:
If you want to fit in a shower or soaking tub inside your small bathroom, what will be the most perfect solution? Expanding your bathroom space right?
But how to do so?
Find out the hidden spaces around your bathroom and expand it a little more.
Methods:
Check around the bathroom:
First, check around the bathroom and see if there is any extra space so that you can expand the space of your small bathroom.
For example, if your bathroom is situated just beside the staircase, you can renovate and expand your bathroom under the extra space of the staircase.
Inspect the Walls and Ceilings:
Look for gaps or recessed areas in the walls or ceilings. These can be used to create shallow shelves or niches for storage. So, you can expand the floor space by shifting items to the shelves.
Examine the Floor:
Try lifting up floor tiles or linoleum very carefully. In a few older bathrooms, there may be empty compartments beneath the floor.
You can use these as storage options or can expand the bathroom space by renovation.
Tap on Tiles and Walls:
Gently tap on the tiles and walls with your hands. If you hear a Hollow sound, it may indicate the presence of concealed spaces.
Remove those tiles or walls to expand your bathroom space.
Examine Unused Corners:
Utilize the spaces in unused corners of your bathroom.Corners can sometimes hide potential storage areas for your shower or soaking tub.
Investigate Inside Cabinets and Drawers:
Remove shelves, cabinets or drawers and check inside to see if there’s any unused space behind or underneath. Sometimes, builders leave small hidden pockets there.
In that case, you can remove the cabinets and use those spaces as perfect storage options.
Take consultation of a professional:
Finally, if you don’t know how to expand your bathroom or are unable to find the hidden spaces, you can always take the consultation of a professional interior designer for better suggestions.
You will find many websites online for contacting with these consultants for their suggestions.
Utilizing Corner space:
Utilizing the Corner spaces can be a great solution to make space for your shower or soaking tub inside your bathroom. You can move and place any items like sinks,toilets or other bathroom furniture to the corner of your bathroom and see the magic happen. You will explore a lot of extra space on the wall and floor which was occupied before.
On the other hand, you can also place your new shower or soaking tub to the corner of your small bathroom in an angled way for fitting it inside perfectly.
But of course, in both cases you will have to make sure that the plumbing line is perfectly adjustable with the placement of your sink,tubs, shower or other bathroom furniture.
Clever Organization of bathroom accessories:
Your bathroom accessories surely take up a lot of space and you can’t even eliminate them from your bathroom to save space. But if you could think of a clever organization of those items, it can keep your small bathroom look organized, clutter free and save a lot of space to fit in your new shower or soaking tub inside.
I’m giving you some ideas below:
- Design a pull out hamper: In case your clothes getting pilled up at one place taking up a lot of storage, you can design a pullout hamper to keep the laundry hidden and organized in your small bathroom.
The hamper can be placed between two sinks or at the end of a vanity to make your bathroom look clean and clutter free.
- Under-Sink Organizer: If you don’t have plumbing leakage issues, you can put an under sink organizer in your bathroom.
You can just simply install pull-out trays or baskets under the sink to make the most of the un-utilized free space.
- Organize hidden drawers below overhanging counters: In case your small bathroom has a long countertop with an overhang system, make the best use of it.
Take full advantage of that spot by adding a secret drawer inside the counter.
You can place this beside the bathtub to get easy access to your toiletries, bath salts, candles and more.
- Create a tip out tray by turning the false drawers of your bathroom: You can turn the false drawers of your bathroom into a tip out tray as an inexpensive simple storage solution for your toothbrush, toothpaste or other toiletries to keep the countertop clean.
- Utilizing Walls for Storage:
You must put the shower or soaking tub on the floor and so you will have to manage a lot of floor space inside your smaller bathroom.
A perfect way to find space on your floor is shifting items to the wall space of your bathroom. You can use wall-mounted hangers, foldable hanging fixtures, wall cabinets, magnetic stips, hooks, wired baskets or other creative wall-storage solutions for making the best use of your wall space.
- Thinking of a perfect combination:
Consideration of a perfect Combination Unit may help to a great extent to fit in the shower and soaking tub together inside your small bathroom.
You can explore a combination of shower and tub units. These fixtures are designed to save space by integrating both features into one unit. That means you can get both experiences just from one single unit.
- Creating the illusion of a larger space:
While designing the interior of a small bathroom, the biggest challenge you may face is to put additional items for extra features.
Because those extra items will make your small bathroom look smaller.
What you can do is to create an illusion of larger space inside your bathroom.
Some ways are:
- Use light colors like white, sky blue etc in the walls and ceiling.
- Place a mirror inside the bathroom. Mirrors reflect light and create the illusion of depth. As a result, the bathroom seems more spacious.
- Keep surfaces clear of unnecessary items. A clutter-free environment creates a sense of spaciousness.
- Use open shelves rather than the closed ones to create a more open or airy feel.
- Choose large format tiles to create the appearance of a larger, more cohesive surface.
- Use the same flooring material inside all over your bathroom. This will eliminate visual breaks and elongate the visual appearance of the space.
Best soaking tub for smaller bathroom:
Soaking tubs are very popular for having a relaxing, bathing experience.
There is no special standard size for a soaking tub for a smaller bathroom. But you must choose the smaller and round ones for your smaller bathroom, so that it can easily fit in.
But remember choosing the best soaking tub for a smaller bathroom depends on factors like size, style, material, and definitely on your budget.
Best shower for smaller bathroom:
The shower best for smaller bathrooms may have features like space-saving or corner friendly design, compact dimensions,efficient ventilation,clear glass enclosure or handheld showerhead etc.
But remember, choosing the best shower for a smaller bathroom involves considering factors like size, style, functionality, and layout and of course your budget.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it’s clear that installing a new shower or a soaking tub in a small bathroom is not impossible at all.
You just need to put a little bit of effort into finding ways to organize your existing bathroom accessories to make extra space inside. Or what’s better to expand the bathroom size for more easeness.
But remember that, nothing should hamper your comfortability and always try to keep the bathroom clutter-free and design the interior to maintain its visual aesthetics.
All the best!
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