The smallest room in the house can sometimes be a little too small. However, by clever use of the available space, some innovative storage solutions, and a little forethought, it is more than possible to create a beautiful and practical small shower room.
Here are some fantastic ideas to help inspire you to turn your small shower room into something a “little” grander!
Consider a wet room
A wet room can be a great way of opening all the available space in a bathroom. By negating the need for space-consuming shower enclosures or cubicles, a wet room optimises every available inch of space.
Wet rooms are a popular way of increasing the functionality of a bathroom and can add value to your property. But before you take the plunge, it is important to consider a few things:
Floor and walls
Finishing the wet room with the right flooring and wall tiles is critical. Wet rooms are so-called for a reason; they are wet! To protect damp from getting into places it shouldn’t, it is essential to use tiles and flooring that are durable and water-resistant.
Starting from the floor, the first step is to ensure that a wet room tray is installed before laying the tiles. Once this is done, then there are many fantastic tile types to choose from, all of which work wonderfully well in wet rooms, including:
- Mosaic tiles – These contemporary tiles never go out of fashion.
- Porcelain – If selecting porcelain tiles for a wet room floor, always opt for non-slip
- Natural stone tiles – Timeless and classy, these can look stunning as a wet room floor
When it comes to the walls, ceramic tiles are the best option. One problem with small rooms is they often lack light, the finish on ceramic tiles is reflective, and particularly if lighter colours are chosen, this can help add brightness to the room.
Storage Solutions
Maximising the available space is important in small shower rooms where storage space is at a premium. Here we list some great storage hacks: –
- Recessed Shelves – Recessed shelves are a great way to incorporate more space into a shower room or even in the shower enclosure. Incorporate some atmospheric lighting for a visually stunning storage solution.
- Shower Baskets – Wall-mounted shower baskets save floor space and stop the shower tray from becoming cluttered with shower gel and shampoo bottles etc.
- Choose slimline furniture – Think vertical when it comes to selecting bathroom furniture, slimline and tall units can provide plenty of storage without taking up valuable floor space.
Corner Shower Enclosures
Depending on the shape and layout of your bathroom, installing a corner shower unit can free up valuable floor space and open up your shower room. These come in all shapes and sizes, so there is plenty of scope to choose a corner shower that will suit your bathroom.
The choice ranges from hinged door units to walk-in units, and there is a huge variety of styles and finishes to choose from.
Maximise the light
Clever use of light can make the smallest of rooms look big, breezy, and bright. We already touched on the use of ceramic tiles to reflect as much light as possible, but here are some other ideas:
● Mirrors and stainless steel or chrome fittings
Incorporating mirrors into the décor is a great way to add brightness and a feeling of spaciousness to a small shower room.
Most shower rooms will likely have a mirror above the sink. If you are starting from scratch, try to plan your room so the mirror is placed to reflect as much natural light as possible. If this isn’t possible, hang a mirror opposite a window for maximum effect.
Incorporate adding storage and light by installing mirrored bathroom cabinets where possible. Similarly, installing stainless steel or chrome fittings helps to maximise the light in a shower room.
● Recessed Downlights
Where every inch of space is at a premium, even the space lost to hanging light fittings can be important. Recessed downlights are a classy lighting solution that adds brightness to any room with no loss of valuable real estate.
● Choice of tile
As we touched on earlier, the choice of tile can make a huge difference to the appearance of a room. To maximise the benefit of brightening up a smaller shower room, then choose glossy white or brightly coloured tiles. Stamp your own identity onto the finish by incorporating other designs or colours into the tiling scheme, but remember not to overdo it and lose some of the benefits of the light colour scheme.
Feature Shower Wall
This is another hack that is a fantastic method of creating the illusion of space. Creating a feature wall adds an element of definition to a small room. This breaks up the “lines” of the space and gives the feel of there being more than one zone to a room.
This can be easily achieved just by selecting a different tile or mixing different materials for the feature wall. Normally feature walls are a darker colour than the rest of the room, so one word of caution here is to try and balance the colour and brightness of the wall against the need to keep the room as bright as possible.
Use glass shower walls
The use of glass instead of curtains in your shower instantly opens the appearance of any room up. Shower curtains or even frosted glass finishes create visual barriers that create “virtual walls”, this isn’t ideal when you are trying to create an illusion of space.
When it comes to small shower rooms – glass is class.
Conclusion
Here at Odyssey Bathrooms, we can help you make the most out of even the smallest of shower rooms. We stock a massive range of fixtures and fittings that can transform the smallest room into a luxurious space.
Contact us today to find out more about our range of space-saving and space-enhancing solutions.