My apartment has this small guest bathroom and I have soooo many issues (functionality, design) with it. The toilet area is too narrow, the toilet paper holder is placed too low, the towel holder is too long, the vanity is useless (the plumbing hidden in it takes up 75% of the storage - and the door doesn't close properly after it was replaced...whatever..).. I hate the beige color..ugh..the whole space is an eyesore in my humble opinion...
If it were up to me, I would redo the place as a "powder room" (toilet and vanity only) but I know that is not a recommended from a long term investment point of view (2 bedroom unit with 1.5bath is worth less than a 2 bedroom unit with 2 baths)..
I would appreciate any ideas or even professional help in getting this space redone in a manner that it is both functional (more space for the toilet space because that is what guests would use the most frequently) and design point of view (budget friendly option to get rid of all the beige).
You could try a back to the wall toilet, that may give you a little more room. If you are prepared to re tile the walls then is a good time to pull the toilet roll and move it otherwise you will have a hole in a tile....
The mirror I would replace with a modern mirror cabinet, cabnet space is a must in a small bathroom. You can get some nice ones with led lighting which is fantastic for doing make up. Cabnet upgrade would make the bathroom look nicer also get a plumbing in for some quotes regarding re configure the pipework to allow more room under a new cabnet. Try an above bench sink.
Long towel rails are great for the use of two towels or double stack one above the other again you will have holes in the tiles so this is only a good idea if you are re tiling. White gloss tiles are dated atm.
I honestly hate my bathroom SO MUCH. The layout is dumb, the colour is awful (f-ing gray faux marble tiles up to the roof. God I hate that crap). It was built badly and not to code. I’m having to spend $2000 for a shower base fix that we HOPE will make it function so I don’t have to spend another year sitting on the shower floor with the water on only half strength while I sweep water UP into the drainhole. BUT….. ultimately an investment (to rent out or sell when the time is right - it’s definitely not my forever home and was never meant to be), aside from fixing that one shower base thing, I’m not touching it. This is incredibly annoying and frustrating, and sometimes a bit depressing when I’m having a crappy day and just want a nice shower or bath in a nice bathroom, but I’m not touching it. Why? Because it’s not worth it. Not for an investment. As long as it functions (which it will once the shower base issue is fixed), it will serve me fine and save me $30K on a bathroom fix which, most likely, either someone else will just rip out and redo if they buy the house within the next five years (because people seem to rip out perfectly good bathrooms even in properties that aren’t their forever house), or if I keep the place for more than ten years and still don’t sell, it’ll need to be ripped out and redone by then anyway because that’s pretty much the life span of most bathrooms anyway these days (based on most products lifespans and warranties too. And builder guarantees). If I sell around the ten year mark, I’ll see what the value of the house will be, without a bathroom glow up or with one, and decide on it then if it’s worth doing for sale. But otherwise? I will leave it. Even though I absolutely thoroughly hate it. Because to do anything else on an investment is usually either a waste of money (to over capitalising sometimes) or a waste of my energy to actually organise and execute. I say if it allows you to poo and pee and get clean in the shower like it’s meant to, just leave it. Reassess if any other circumstances change.
That said, if you have money to burn or it could raise the value of your house immediately AND you will capitalise on that raised value IMMEDIATELY too, then go for it. Do what you like. Just don’t make investment decisions based too much on emotional dreams and desires and wants. It’s money after all, esp if it’s not your forever house. I’m all for burning cash for enjoyment if it’s a forever house. That’s your LIFE and enjoyment that we’re talking about then, not investment. But until then, if you wouldn’t spend money twice on the stock market on the same thing that’s perfectly fine the first time around, don’t do that on a house. Both are investments (if that’s what you’ve decided). Remember that and make decisions with that mindset.
I realise you may need to keep the current layout due to strata and it being too costly to change the plumbing.
The standard width space for a toilet is 900mm with a 750mm space from the front of the toilet. A standard shower is 900 x 900mm. If you can stick to these sizes it will give you a bit more room for the toilet.
You might be able to do longer shower say 1000-1100mm next to the vanity depending on the length & shape of the wall. I would then look at doing a custom vanity and a shaving cabinet to get the most storage with the space you have left over.
Can you move the door a little? It looks like it's at one end? If you can, you could put in a cavity slider and move shower to the end and toilet at the Opposite end with slimline vanity central. I just revamped ours using existing structure (painted vanity carcass and doors) but replaced benchtop and toilet, then put vinyl flooring down as our flow was great so we didn't need to change a lot. Mine is 1.8m X 2.2m. **edited - I apologise as I tried to add the photo showing toilet to right if this as the space feel concept, but it won't load... I'll try as a comment.
One of the bathrooms we recently did was smaller than yours, 1.6 I think by 2.3m. We did a shower over bath, but you could easily do a walk-in shower instead.
We did 800mm wide bath, 750mm vanity and that left about 900mm for toilet. If you were to do this layout, you’d want 900mm shower as a minimum.
We also did a cavity door so we could have double towel rail
You could remove the shower screen and use an attractive shower curtain tucked around to the vanity end so it makes the toilet end completely open. The toilet could be moved over a bit with a bend in the pipe from the toilet to the back wall to give more "elbow room". This wouldn't be changing the basic plumbing or be expensive and could easily be disguised. When the shower curtain is closed it doesn't matter if it's very close to the toilet in its new position. That way the the toilet is further from the side wall and open on the shower side and very usable and spacious. The shower is still the same size but visually and physically doesn't take up any space at all except when in use. You'd have your spacious powder room look but also have the ability to have a shower.
Last bumped by Anonymous on Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:43 am.
