Help with tricky small bathroom layout? (Long)

12 years ago

Hi, I am in the planning stages of a gut remodel of our small full bathroom (approx. 6x8). House is from the late 30s and the present bathroom is a hideous, shoddy remodel from the early 80s, by the looks of it.

Right now, as you walk in, tub & surround are against the left hand wall, taking up that entire wall. Toilet is next to the tub on the wall opposite the door, and there is a window above the toilet (35" high by 20.25" wide). Then there is a 30" vanity on that same wall, but there is currently a 6.5" gap between the vanity and the right-hand wall. There is a small, low radiator along the right-hand wall, the placement of which would interfere with a vanity being placed right up to the wall. If not for the radiator, a 36" vanity would just fit.

In hindsight, I wish I had looked into custom sizes for the new vanity, but I didn't think of it- bought a beautiful new one that is also 30" but furniture-style, with legs. (We definitely need both a vanity and medicine cabinet for storage.)

I am on a budget and would really like to avoid moving plumbing or ripping out the radiator. The toilet, now, is not centered below the window; hopefully my GC will be able to move it a couple of inches closer to the tub. But because of the window, I feel like the vanity needs to be centered into the space next to the toilet- which still leaves some sort of weird gap between the side of the vanity and the right-hand wall. My husband says it won't look as weird with the new vanity we got, since it is freestanding, but I'm dubious.

I also have to make sure I have enough room for a medicine cabinet above the vanity and a sconce on either side, rather than a fixture above the med cab- since the ceiling slopes down on that wall to only 6'10" high (it's 8" otherwise). Basically, I'm just really worried that I'm going to sink all this cash into a remodel that will still look bad because of the placement of the vanity.

My husband put together a drawing with all the dimensions, but I'm not sure how to post it.

If anyone has any ideas about how to proceed, I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

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Comments (7)

writersblock (9b/10a)
12 years ago
Here you go. It would help a lot if you post that drawing.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to post pictures
sugarski
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks so much. Let me see if I did it right.
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4'x7' is a waste of space when it comes to a closet. It's not big enough for hanging except on one wall and a bit of the small wall. You'll get better storage in less space with a simple reach in closet with organizers. The bath itself also needs to increase in size if you want a soaker tub and a shower. A soaker tub isn't designed to work with a shower. You need a shallower tub with an integral tile flange to work with a tub/shower situation. A deep soaker tub will be a PIA to step into to use as a shower, and you'll have water infiltration issues if you try to use it as a shower as well. Also, most 4 bedroom houses would want to have 3 bathrooms. You may want to rethink your wants and needs and the small size of the space you are working with. One needs to reduce, or the other needs to enlarge. Since you say the budget is small, and this will be an expensive project, I'd suggest reducing some of your wants, and eliminating one of the bedrooms to better utilize the existing space split between the others. A 3/2 is a common configuration, and would give you more space to work with for the design. Remodels like this are costly because of working within the constraints of the old footprint and accessing the major systems. Also, integrating the old and new isn't always successful. It's just easier to do plumbing and electrical and HVAC (all of the expensive stuff) when the walls are completely open and you don't have to fight the old stuff into submission. It's one of the reasons teardowns of older homes in older neighborhoods became popular. It's less money, and you end up with more house that has more modern proportions and amenities.
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Thanks! Yes, that's the lower cost version of Option 3--move the tub but leave the toilet where it is. (Could also do this phased and move the toilet at some future point, though that probably makes less sense if we're already doing the floor now.) The downside is that the toilet is still in line with the door; the plus to this option (in addition to being lower cost) is that we can keep more storage, since there's room on that side to do a 36"w x 15"d cabinet. If we flip the toilet to be on that wall, there's only room for a 24"x 15"d cabinet because there are sconces on either side of the sink. (We could of course switch to an overhead light instead, but we really like the sconces!) ETA: One challenge to this plan is that I just measured in the design program, and the distance between the edge of the toilet and edge of the tub is only 20", which is pretty tight. If we can find a rounded tub that didn't need the wall at the end, we could pick up 4.5", but I haven't found any in 30" widths.
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sugarski
Original Author
12 years ago
This should be a more informative pic:
alku05
12 years ago
I'm with your husband; the freestanding vanity design saves you from having to move plumbing and radiator to center it, and also will keep the gap from looking wierd. Indeed, the gap will look like a "I meant to do that" feature rather than a "I had to do that" feature.

Having that vanity centered/uncentered is one of those things that will show up more on paper than in your real life room. That means that you'll probably notice it (because you're aware of it), but no one else ever will.
sofaspud
12 years ago
FWIW, I think it looks fine the way you've depicted it.
sugarski
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks so much for the feedback. :) I think I will stop fretting about the gap.

New question- I'd like the bottom of the mirror to line up with the bottom of the window, but to do that means only having a 6 1/4" clearance between the med cab and the countertop. Not enough room for a toothbrush holder. Thoughts?
sofaspud
12 years ago
The worry seems to be you won't like the look if the bottoms don't line up. However, if you put the TB holder below the mirror, I think the eye won't care that they don't line up. With that said, I also believe it might actually look weirder if they do line up. If you are set on it, the only alternative appears to be to move the holder to one side or the other of the mirror, or eliminate the holder. There appears to be not much space on the vanity top, but you can buy holders that sit on the countertop.

Help with tricky small bathroom layout? (Long)

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writersblock (9b/10a)

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Help with tricky small bathroom layout? (Long)

Comments (7)

writersblock (9b/10a)

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