TINY rowhouse bathroom renovation/design choices

last month

Hello! Moving into a 1913 Craftsman era rowhouse with one family bathroom that is TINY. My partner is more traditional/mid century modern and I'm more coastal/transitional. The thing we agree on is we need a functional bathroom with lots of storage for the two of us and when our three kids are visiting.

We are in our 50s and he has some balance issues which will progressively worsen so we have considered tearing out the tub to put in a walk in shower/stall shower with a built in bench. Our real estate agent is okay with that approach even with the possible resale complications.

Here are the big design questions…how far out do we bring the tile? Out of the shower half wall behind the sink and toilet? Traditional subway tile? Longer subway tile? Traditional pattern? What about the floor tile? If we do walk in do you do the same flooring all the way? or do a traditional 20s pattern flooring in the tiny floor space and a different in the shower?

We are having a drawer vanity built but need to decide on wood or color. Wall color? Fixture and lighting suggestions?

Again this bathroom is tiny! The width is only about 52 inches and length 89 :)

Featured Answer

Kendrah

last month

last modified: last month

I've lived in narrow row houses, had tiny NYC bathrooms, and designed one in mind with aging and balance issues. I consulted aN OT who specializes in home design and did a ton of research. Here are my thoughts on your space:

GENERAL SAFETY

- Reverse swing of bathroom door to open out into hall. Even if it completely inconvenient and a banging hall of doors. Balance issues = higher fall risk. Should your partner fall in here, chances are great that he would block the door and you would not be able to open it to get to him. Show us a pic of your hall and how you can figure out and outward swing.

- Do not use ADA guidelines. They are for public spaces and made to accommodate the greatest number of people - aka the average person. Select heights and comfort levels based on your partner and his size.o

- Yes a walk in shower. No, you don't have to make this a whole wet room. Get a wall hung fold up seat so that he can use it when needed and it folds up so you don't have to. In a narrow home, there is not a lot of room for you or your kids to move the free standing bench in and out of the shower and into another room when you don't need to use it.

- Do not get towel bars that are also grab bars. A towel wrapped bar is a slippery surface to grab on to and increases a chance of falling. Use hooks for towels and grab bars for balance.

- If he doesn't need grab bars now, at least install blocking in the wall, mark carefully, and take many pictures and measurements so you can easily add them when he does need them.

- Add blocking in the wall behind your vanity and have the vanity screwed into the blocking. If he leans on it a lot, it won't go anywhere.

SPACE TRICKS

- Yes, use the same tile for bathroom floor and shower floor, it makes the room feel bigger. Get 1" hex with DCOF level or .42 or higher so they are not slippery. Sales people will tell you that the groutlines are enough to create friction and reduce slippage. Boulderdash! Don't believe them. Get non-slip. I'd get solid color and not make a pattern, or if you really want a pattern, just one dot hex of another color in a repetitive pattern. You space is not large enough even for the flower pattern.

- Yes, classic subway tile size, pencil thin grout lines. Light or light grey grout tones down the contrast and business. Tile the entire shower and the rest of the bathroom on all walls 2/3 of the way up the wall.

- Recess all of your non-vanity storage. Do not have cupboards or medicine cabinets that protrude into the space. For over the toilet storage, recess shelves and add a door. For behind the bathroom door, recess shelves between the studs, have open shelves, either just above the tile or all the way down.

- Get a single hole faucet. Without counter space, the extra few inches you pick up from having a single hole allows you more space to set things down. Single hole is also a safety issue because you only need one hand to turn water on and off and can use the other hand for steadying. With a two handle faucet both hands have to be freed up.

- Wall hung floating vanity. If your vanity sits on the floor, you have to entry stand in front of it. If it is wall hung and has space beneath it, you can stand even closer to the vanity, a real plus in a tight space. Plus, the room appears a bit bigger if you have an open space underneath.

- Mirrors! Having mirrors on the wall that meet at a corner really helps open up the feeling of the space. It is a tad bit more of a modern vibe though.

- Have a mirrored inside of your medicine cabinet - both the back of the cabinet and back of the door. It makes your room feel bigger and you don't have to swing the cabinet shut to be able to look in a mirror.

I'll post more about grab bar placement in another comment. Here are some pics of what I'm talking about above.

EXAMPLE OF FOLDING CHAIR

RECESSED STORAGE

Rustic Canyon New Home · More Info

ALL FLOORING THE SAME TILE

New York City Penthouse · More Info

Master bathroom · More Info

ALL WHITE, COLOR ON THE WALLS, EASILY CHANGEABLE.

Minnehaha's Modest-Sized Kitchen · More Info

Open-Concept Home Makeover With Pops of Color · More Info

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Comments (11)

Lyn Nielson
last month
no built in bench, get a teak seat so you aren't committed to anything permanent. an ovver the toilet cabinet for more storage. Tile all the way up the wall and above the vanity. Get a recessed medicine cabinet for additional storage.

Simple White tile, classic. Add the color and interest in towels. Do you have a skylight? Great!
chispa
last month
Will he need a walker down the road? Won't be easy with that space.

Is there room to reverse the whole door to have it swing ouside the bathroom?

To have a walk-in shower with that space, I think you will need to do a wet room for the whole bathroom with a linear drain at the back shower wall.

What is under the bathroom? Living space, basement, slab, crawlspace?

For walk-in showers our cement was poured 4" lower in the showers compared to the rest of the floor, allowing space for waterproofing, plumbing and tile, to have it all end up level with the house floors.
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Sigrid
last month
Do you have a master bath or is this the only one? People with balance issues often need grab bars, particularly for getting up from the toilet. With a shower over the tub, you tuck the curtain into the tub and you don't get water on the floor, but with a walk-in shower, you'll need a door or something. You need to think about exactly what you're going to do before you think about tile.

I'd second not building in the seat. If you don't it will be easy for the next owner to put in a tub. If you do, it won't. If Hubs has a degenerative disease and that's your only bathroom, you're either not going to be in that house long or you'll need a remodel that will make it a hell of a lot bigger.
jck910
last month
last modified: last month
Talk to a designer who can help ADA accessibility
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Elena Zzzz
last month
Sounds like you're about to make some fun yet functional design decisions for a small but important space! For the tiles, I’d recommend extending the same tile from the shower all the way to the sink and toilet area. This will give the bathroom a more cohesive, open feel. A longer subway tile could be a nice nod to both traditional and modern styles, while still feeling fresh.
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RedRyder
last month
Kendrah gave you great advice. Yes, OT’s know how to create a safe bathroom, but a designer OT would best be found by referral.

Using ONE tile is best in a small bathroom with a walk in no curb or low curb shower.

Yes, change the swing of the door for the reason Kendrah identified.

Look into a wall sink WITH SIDE COUNTER SPACE. I found one for my tiny powder room. Home Depot sells it. A wheelchair could get under it.
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PRO
lisedv
last month
Warm white walls, round medicine cabinet mirror, coloured vanity, new floor tiles, large white wall tiles for walk-in shower with glass panel.
Jennifer Hogan
last month
We had to take out a tub in my last home and have the floor jackhammered out to get to a leak in the drain pipe. We replaced it with a tiled shower and glass doors - not walk in, it had a small curb, but when my mother in law came to live with us she couldn't step over the side of the tub, but could step the 2-3 inches to get into the shower. She was in her 90s. Grab bars are essential.
einportlandor
last month
Speaking as an older person with balance issues and a tiny 1928 bathroom . . .

Yes to replacing the tub with a shower. Mine has a low threshold and works fine. Let the next owner worry about adding back a bathtub -- make the bathroom work for you.

I have two horizontal grab bars (not institutional-looking). One of the grab bars holds the shower mat when not in use. I use them when I'm rinsing my hair while my eyes are closed, and when stepping in and out of the shower. Money well spent.

Changing the swing of the bathroom door was an inexpensive change and made a big difference. It required relocating a light switch but that, too was a minor expense.

Good lighting is critical.

P.S. Remodeling a bathroom in an old house is expensive but I kept reminding myself that it's better than a long stay in a rehab facility recovering from a broken hip. =\

P.P.S. Please don't put mid-century modern finishes in a 1913 Craftsman house.
Denise Marchand
last month
I find when designing the only bathroom in a reno that considering "stealing" some space from adjacent rooms helps enormously. Can you post a floor plan of the entire floor with dimensions? Even if it's space for storage in the bathroom it will make a giant difference in the functionality. Only replacing the fixtures will not solve your dilemma. I would love to help and draw up a scaled floor plan, so we can all discuss on this forum.