Nice House, Tiny Bathroom

[Deleted User]

I'm a FTB - and have seen a house that I quite like - it needs a bit of doing up (which isn't a problem to me) - but it's got quite a small bathroom. 

When I saw the property, I noticed that the bathroom was small (2.12m x 1.45m), but didn't think it would be a problem as the house I was renting at university had a bathroom of a similar size. My parents have since expressed their concerns with buying a property where the bathroom is so small - suggesting that it would be very difficult to fit all the bathroom units in the room with making it feel tiny. 

I can't see too much of a problem myself, but I'm not sure if I'm just being naive and that a few months down the line I'll wish I waited for a house with a slightly larger bathroom. 

Would you consider 2.12m x 1.45m exceptionally small to be considered a 'family bathroom'? 

noitsnotme

Is there enough space in any of the adjoining rooms to steal some space for the bathroom?  This is what we did several years ago but we took the space from an adjoining double bed room that didn’t make a lot of difference to that room, but a huge difference to the bathroom.

comeandgo

I personally would not like a small bathroom but it depends on who is living there.  Trying to get a toddler on to toilet in double quick time in a cramped area is no fun but if it's only a couple staying there then there may be no problem.

Jamaicanmelaff

I’m single without kids so generally someone who doesn’t mind a small bathroom and sees really big ones as a bit of a waste, but this is really small for a family bathroom even by my standards, sounds a bit like en-suite size. If it helps, I’ve been using a site called roomstyler to pop some furniture etc into spaces so I can better visualise the room with everything I want in it and decide if it suits my purposes. 

Doozergirl

Do you have a floorplan? 

Jeepers_Creepers

Hi LaLa.

Does it have to be a bathroom? I think what I would go for in your position - and it's not much smaller than what I currently have as our main bathroom - is a large shower at one end, say, 1200 wide along the 1450 wall with 250mm of shelving to fill the remaining gap (or go full-width shower), by 800mm deep. That leaves a 1300x1450 space for a toilet and basin and any kind of built-in units you may want - more than enough space, and shouldn't look cramped. 

It will look roomy enough, and a decently-sized shower like this will, I believe, be very attractive to future buyers, as well as being a pleasure to use by yourselves. 

Another thing to consider is how this bathroom fits in with the rest of the house - is it in keeping? A 'small' bathroom in a larger multi-bedroomed house is obviously not going to feel right and likely will affect the desirability of the whole property. 

Finally, is there any room to expand the property, and is this something you would be considering in any case? 

I don't think that's a 'tiny' bathroom by many standards at all. But if you do plan to fit an actual bath in it, I think it'll be more obvious that its size is compromised; a bath would either need to be a 'corner' type - so also coming a fair bit up the long wall - or else be run lengthways, and I think that will also affect the possible layouts you can have.

JGB1955

Can you re-hang the door so that it opens outwards rather than inwards?  We did that and it made the space far more usable.  Or bi-fold doors.  Do you need a bath in it?  We NEVER use our bath and would have no issue with buying a property with just a shower room - preferably a wetroom with a rain shower.

MovingForwards

It wouldn't bother me as it's not a room to live in, merely bath / brush teeth / go toilet.

[Deleted User]

another vote to hang door going outwards. My bathroom isnt particularly small, but I wanted a cabinet in the corner. Simply rehanging the door made an amazing bit of difference to the usable space 

AdrianC

I presume it just has a shower cubicle/tray, not a bath tub? It's borderline. We've got a shower room that's 1.6 x 1.9 (3.05m2, almost identical to yours) , with a roof slope giving limited head height along the short edge. It's perfectly usable, but certainly not generous - shower tray, loo, sink built into a unit. But that's only a sort of en-suite for one bedroom, not the main bathroom.

Our main bathroom isn't generous - basically 1.8 x 3.0, again with reduced head height due to roof slope, and a fixed shelf along that side bringing it down to about 1.45m wide, same as yours. There is a bath tub, but that sits in an L at one end.

But I don't have to live in your house, and neither do your parents. You do. And if you find it acceptable, that's all that matters.

davidmcn

Jeepers_Creepers said:

It will look roomy enough, and a decently-sized shower like this will, I believe, be very attractive to future buyers, as well as being a pleasure to use by yourselves. 

Quite a few previous threads here about whether people would walk away from a house which doesn't have a bath - I suspect many buyers would prefer to squeeze a bath in there rather than have more floor space (and that they'll outnumber those who would prefer to have a shower cubicle and no bath).

But for the meantime it (I assume) is going to be the OP's home, so what do they (and not their parents, or future buyers) want? Refitting a bathroom isn't the biggest task in the world if somebody wants to do it later on.