Hi Harmony25,
A small wall mounted piece could make the space instantly feel bigger.

We designed and had this simple piece (below) built to hold a wall mounted vessel sink and mirror above. I think something like this might be great for your space.



Happy Remodeling!
isARK Studio

Do you need the shower?

Google "universal design".

Your replacement toilet should be ADA height. The ones I've seen are essentially the same price as the lower ones, and are much nicer for people with back and leg pain.

Consider adding grab bars now, or at least adding bracing behind your walls so you can install grab bars later. Take pictures of the walls before you put up new wall board so you'll know where the bracing is.

You can remove the shower doors, and use a curtain instead.

Thanks everyone. Yes Norwood we need the shower, it is the main bathroom, we have a huge bathroom downstairs but all the bedrooms are upstairs so we use this bathroom a lot. Esp my son. Orangecamera what is ADA height? I would like to avoid shower curtain if possible, I was thinking a shower with doors on the corner and slide back when not in use.

ADA is the "Americans with Disabilities Act", so products that are "ADA Compliant" are manufactured in a way that makes it possible (or easier) for someone with disabilities to use. ADA height toilets are 17" to 19" in height. Most regular toilets are 14" to 16" in height. Being higher makes it easier to get up. Even if you don't have anyone who's disabled having the extra height is easier and more comfortable if you have knee or low back problems, break a leg, etc.

Someone posted on another thread about glass shower doors that fold completely out of the way. That might be something for you to look into.

Put up a very large mirror. Even all the way across the wall. It will make the room look larger, and make it easier for 2 people to get ready at the same time.

Can you get another photo or two so we can see the door into the bathroom?

One thing we did recently, though I'm not sure how much space it will save you, or if it will work for your needs-- but we renovated a bathroom last year and then waited to figure out what we wanted to do about a shower curtain (or glass door). But we finally made the decision to put in a fixed glass panel to one side. I was a little worried about doing that-- and ours is a tub/shower combination-- but we love it. It's so minimal and clean looking. It is installed on the side where the controls are, but it works for us-- just no problem at all-- and really lets the light in and has a very open feel, too.

The door opens into the bathroom basically where the shower is, so they bang into each other if they are both open ;( I was standing in the doorway to take the pic. Love the idea of leaving shower until later, might need to speak to tiler about this. Orangecamera the mirror idea is fantastic, we are going to put mirrored cabinets along the right wall, they will be above the vanity and toilet. Our biggest problem is the shower really.

harmony, are you going to just have 2 small-ish mirrors, or all the way across? I really wouldn't want to stand in front of the toilet to brush my hair or apply make-up. Putting a large mirror all the way across lets someone use the area between the sink and toilet too. As a matter of fact, if you have enough room between them, that may be a place for a full-length mirror (although really, I don't love full-length mirrors when I get out of the shower. EEK!)

If your biggest problem with the shower and door are the doors banging into each other-- think about having a pocket (or sliding barn door) put in if you have the room. You could also look into getting a sliding barn glass shower door. I've seen those, and they're really nice.

Funny orangecamera. We were going to put the cabinet mirrors all the way across, the vanity will be 900 (I have just enough room for this) so I don't see anyone standing in front of the toilet to brush their hair etc but it will provide extra storage and hopefully create that illusion of space. I definitely think the shower door needs to be sliding. thanks dianahb. we are in Australia so I think we might have less to choose from product wise.

I think I might go for a shower curtain in this room and spend extra on something really beautiful.

I like shower curtains with a gorgeous fabric.

A pocket door has been a wonderful solution for our small guest bath. We used the frameless shower doors, too.
A lovely shower curtain is certainly a great option and then spending on something that makes you smile everyday :-)

I was all set to spend a lot on a shower curtain, and came across one that I love that was marked down to (are you ready?) $7.00 I still love the curtain and would have bought it even at full price.

We renovated this bathroom and lived with a shower curtain (temporary rod) for nearly a year, because we couldn't decide on a glass door or a curtain. We had an issue with complicated lights, though, which couldn't be solved (old house)-- so every time we closed the curtain, it just seemed too dark. So we got the fixed glass, which we really love- and very easy to keep clean. But when we were thinking of a shower curtain, we did see TRAX-- which is this online place where you can get a curtain track that's installed in the ceiling (so no curtain rod in the tile), and you then have to get longer than average fabric-- but it's a very clean look. I think the track can be recessed in the ceiling, too, so if painted the same color as the ceiling, you don't even see it. It's a nice look. http://www.ceilingshowerrod.com/new/

Yes, I like this idea also, of track in the ceiling, I was going to do that downstairs but ultimately I don't want a shower curtain down there. I think for this small space though it is a great solution and it can be a decorative addition rather than just a necessity. Also, love the idea of being able to add in a shower screen at a later date if we want to. What was the temporary rod dianahb?? I would like to not leave marks on the tiles if we do decide to change later.

indomum what is a pocket door? thanks.

The temporary rod is one of those tension rods. You have to be a little careful about how vigorous you are pulling the shower curtain open or closed, because it will pop off-- but they work by tension/suction: http://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-Curtain-Tension-Brushed-Stainless/dp/B0052JOJC4

Harmony25, a pocket door slides back into the wall rather than opening in or out into the room. There are a number of examples on Houzz.

A great addition to any smaller bathroom would be to add a vanity. It allows for more space and easy access and hiding for your bathroom necessities.

I do like the pocket door idea, but it looks like it might require some more structural work, which might pump the price up but I love the idea so will investigate that, thanks indomum. Cabinets To Go am going to put a wall hung vanity with two drawers and a cupboard. Thanks.

Definitely worth investigating :-) Good luck!

Pocket doors can be kind of expensive (because of the structural work involved-- and you have to have the interior wall space to be able to do it)-- but I think a sliding barn door (I love them, so have to mention it one more time here!) could really be a nice unexpected touch. I just find them to be so striking-- like pieces of art all on their own-- and really very functional. Houzz has some beautiful ones featured if you do a search. And they don't have to be all 'barn-like;' they can be lacquered into gorgeous colors and much more formal looking-- or you can just find an old charming door and use it. It's a relatively inexpensive way to make both a design statement and to provide function.

Barn doors are beautiful; so similar to pocket doors re: space since you have to have room for the sliding. We have one in/on our pantry and it really makes a statement. The options for doors are limitless, unlike the pocket doors.

I have a pretty small bathroom too. I got rid of the ugly Sears pressboard vanity & put in a vintage wall mounted sink with chrome legs & towel bars.

Made the room so much less cluttered.

Actually the pocket door would be the most appropriate for the space if it was to be some kind of sliding door but would need to look re: cost, hubby really likes the idea so that's always a bonus. Thanks all. I did consider something along the lines of what you suggest bungalowmo but I need the storage the vanity will provide. I like the look of that sink though !

Do barn doors really work for a bathroom? It seems to me that there would be gaps along the sides, and not enough privacy.

orangecamera: I looked into a barn door for a downstairs bath, and we had a carpenter look at what we wanted to do. If done correctly, there might be a very very very slight gap-- but you'd have to be right up at the wall, lean into the door (where hinges normally would be) to see anything at all. And the door is wider than the opening itself.

If you have the side wall space (outside the room), so the door can slide somewhere-- I think it would work really well-- and, again-- provide a piece of artwork on that wall-- all on its own. We got on to some other renovations and so have not yet done it, but do plan on it.

Good luck with the pocket door. I honestly don't know how people get that done, unless building a fake wall, building from scratch, or entirely gutting; either way, you're into serious structural work. And my feeling is, if you're going to do that, then the 'tiny bathroom' shouldn't even be an issue. Just do a little more gutting and simply make a bigger room.. We found a pocket door option to be next to impossible, in an existing house-- especially given electrical wiring, load bearing walls, etc. Again, if you're going to that kind of trouble for a door-- just open up a wall and make a bigger bathroom.

Barn doors can work in a bathroom if the door is over-sized. How much larger is up to the home owner. Locking the door can be done with a eye hook latch. Many are happy with this kind of door but there is a little more noise. We have many styles of hardware and doors some very unique. See: http://rusticahardware.com/barn-door-hardware/

I never considered the wiring actually so pocket door might not work but we are gutting the room, but there is not room to expand, it buts onto entry hall and top of stairs. I think the room is there but for the wiring. :( Renos aaaggggghhh,

Well, you can probably get the wiring moved. Of course, that requires an electrician (and, given some of the recent electrical work we've had done here, I've concluded that electricians are right up there with vets and dentists in the over-charging area :). But once a wall gets opened up, all hell seems to break loose-- but maybe we're in the minority here ??

If the bathroom backs to another room, then think about taking space out of that other room to enlarge the bathroom. ?

I find electricians reasonable compared to other trades, especially plumbers. The space it backs onto is my husbands wardrobe which I have just fitted out. Unfortunately this whole area is what was the original cottage, so its quite limited, we have looked at it from every angle, unless we do major moving of entries etc, which I am not up for this is the space we have to work with. Thanks :)

But having said that about electricians, I would rather minimise cost, I really don't want to have to go doing any major rewiring, it would blow out the budget.

If there's room, building on your idea to realign the toilet and sink to the right hand wall, consider replacing the existing shower stall with tempered glass (perhaps etched on the side facing the door to the bathroom) and have the toilet side function as the entrance to the shower. No more bumping, a sleek look on entry. It will come down to whether there is space for maneuverability.

garden oaks, I do love that idea, infact it was one of my first ideas, I was just worried about water going everywhere as the shower head would be facing the toilet if we are to use existing plumbing, this would be my favourite solution though. what do you think about the water going everywhere?

A trick I have used in a similar circumstance (where changing plumbing was not an option) was to install a hand held shower head with a base to hold the hand-held unit on the side wall. In this way, the water flowed from existing plumbing but the shower actually pointed the other way. This can work IF the flexible hose is not in the way. The base allows for pivoting the shower head, so we were able to position it on the side wall in just the right way.

Another idea is to check how your door will open relative to turning on the water. In another shower, we positioned the door so that turning on the shower simply hit the door and did not flow out into the bathroom (unless the door was opened out instead of in ;-)

Good luck!

Consult an Occupational Therapist about disability access.

You said that you've looked at every possible configuration (I remember going through this with our tiny bathroom renovation), but is the space where the vanity is too small for the shower? Moving plumbing is one of the most expensive propositions when renovating so I was wondering if the vanity could go where the shower is now and vise versa. Then you would only have to move plumbing for the toilet if you turned it onto the right hand wall. Of course this would cut out the possibility of the pocket door, I think.
Anyway, I'm sure you've thought of everything so, again, good luck and happy renovating!

Ohhh, I didn't think of that indomum. Will look and thinkn on that one today. Thanks. That's quite clever garden oaks.