Room of the Day: An 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom Gains Beauty and Space
Smart design details like niches and frameless glass help visually expand this average-size bathroom while adding character
Mitchell Parker
February 8, 2016
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Designer Teresa Buchanan had two goals for her 8-by-5-foot guest bathroom in her townhouse: personality and space. Although the floor plan — and her budget — prevented her from adding actual square footage, she embraced clever space-saving tricks to do the job. These included a pedestal sink, frameless glass and recessed niches, all of which also helped bring character.
Bathroom at a Glance
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Cost: About $14,000
Designer: Teresa Buchanan of Designline (also the homeowner)
To give the bathroom a more spacious feeling, Buchanan started with a pedestal sink and a monochromatic color scheme. The frameless shower door lets the eye travel the full depth of the space, also giving it a larger feel.
For textural interest, she added subway tile capped by a chair rail, plus fluffy towels, crown molding and basketweave-patterned floor tile.
Shower head: Dillon collection, Restoration Hardware; floor tile: light and dark limestone in a basketweave pattern, custom, New Ravenna
How to Lay Out an 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Cost: About $14,000
Designer: Teresa Buchanan of Designline (also the homeowner)
To give the bathroom a more spacious feeling, Buchanan started with a pedestal sink and a monochromatic color scheme. The frameless shower door lets the eye travel the full depth of the space, also giving it a larger feel.
For textural interest, she added subway tile capped by a chair rail, plus fluffy towels, crown molding and basketweave-patterned floor tile.
Shower head: Dillon collection, Restoration Hardware; floor tile: light and dark limestone in a basketweave pattern, custom, New Ravenna
How to Lay Out an 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom
To make up for the storage lost by using a pedestal sink instead of a vanity, Buchanan added recessed shelves above the toilet. She painted the walls herself in Sail Cloth from Benjamin Moore to save money. “All finishes are ivory rather than white because I feel it is softer and less clinical,” she says.
Buchanan believes that the most flattering light for a bathroom mirror comes from a pair of sconces at eye level, but that wasn’t possible in her 8-by-5-foot space. “A single sconce beside the mirror is a good compromise and helps to soften the lighting,” she says.
Sink: Memoirs Stately, 30 inches wide, Kohler; toilet: Memoirs Stately, comfort height with elongated bowl, in Biscuit, Kohler; faucet, pivoting mirror, towel bars: Dillon collection, Restoration Hardware; single and double sconces (discontinued) and towels: Restoration Hardware
How to Get Your Vanity Lighting Right
Buchanan believes that the most flattering light for a bathroom mirror comes from a pair of sconces at eye level, but that wasn’t possible in her 8-by-5-foot space. “A single sconce beside the mirror is a good compromise and helps to soften the lighting,” she says.
Sink: Memoirs Stately, 30 inches wide, Kohler; toilet: Memoirs Stately, comfort height with elongated bowl, in Biscuit, Kohler; faucet, pivoting mirror, towel bars: Dillon collection, Restoration Hardware; single and double sconces (discontinued) and towels: Restoration Hardware
How to Get Your Vanity Lighting Right
Custom frames made to match the polished nickel elsewhere in the bathroom hold a pair of dragonfly prints and were a small splurge for Buchanan.
Details
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No
Professionals hired: Buchanan acted as the interior designer, and through her work hired a contractor, Jeff Lasgana of Anne Arundel Houseworks, who also did the electrical and tile installation, which helped cut down on cost.
Special features: Recessed storage shelves, pivoting mirror, space-saving pedestal sink
Splurges: Floor and wall tile, frameless shower door
Savings: Buchanan used basic 1-by-1-inch tiles on the shower floor, and painted the walls, trim and ceiling herself.
More: 5 Ways With an 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom
Details
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No
Professionals hired: Buchanan acted as the interior designer, and through her work hired a contractor, Jeff Lasgana of Anne Arundel Houseworks, who also did the electrical and tile installation, which helped cut down on cost.
Special features: Recessed storage shelves, pivoting mirror, space-saving pedestal sink
Splurges: Floor and wall tile, frameless shower door
Savings: Buchanan used basic 1-by-1-inch tiles on the shower floor, and painted the walls, trim and ceiling herself.
More: 5 Ways With an 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom
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Don’t do it. It’s too narrow between the vanity and the tub shower toilet side. That was the whole reason we changed our bathroom around.
Anne Monaghan: Not sure I understand what you're pointing out to avoid. Could you please be more specific, as I'm going to be starting a small bathroom reno this fall? Thanks! In the main bath, I have the toilet right between the walled in bathtub/shower and the outer wall, which I really hate, as I can't get behind/adjacent to the toilet to clean without getting my chest and arms dirty. Unfortunately, I can't afford to move the plumbing right now, so the master bath reno's going to be done first, where there'll be no movement of the plumbing. Any other tips you have from your reno will be appreciated!
Aneternaloptimist. Someone wanted to change their bathroom lay out to be like my before picture. I was pointing out how narrow it is between the long vanity on one side and all the other fixtures on the other. I love our bathroom layout now but fixtures had to be moved.