Small Bathroom Ideas and our tiny bathroom makeover with a bathtub
I think I first started looking for small bathroom ideas in 2015- roughly about the time I shifted in this rental of ours. The master bath is really small but the layout brimmed with potential. The washbasin area is bang in the center of the bath which meant I could literally divide it into two halves and work. And when the shower curtains are drawn, the center and left could independently work as a toilet without the bathing area being in your vision at all. I quite liked that and really, really had this crazy, wild idea of making this rental bath into a little refuge. I didn’t know when and what but I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this space: I wanted a small bath tub that could fit in the right hand side area- and which is rental friendly. I wanted a pretty light that could wash the tiny bath with light and make it look bigger. And I wanted a few plants dreamily swaying away because that’s who I am. It’s actually uncanny how I exactly knew what I wanted back in 2015 and how it’s turned out. But you see, a great idea had to wait! Why? You’ll see.
For now, get that drank you want to coz this is gonna be a long blabber on small bathroom ideas, digressions and other things. You gotta leave a message to me in the end, if you read the whole thing so I know who my friends are 🙂
How to begin materializing small bathroom ideas
Moodboards. When you are working with small bathroom ideas, your first step is to chalk out a moodboard and start drawing things. I am not an interior designer and I can’t for the life of me use all those software where you can draw 3D and stuff but I took a photo and started adding things in the photograph with a sharpie. It helps a lot. When you are working with a big bathroom, you are blessed with the amount of area available. But when it comes to small bathrooms, every single thing you decide or add needs to be evaluated carefully because the space is unforgiving. Clearly it took me two damn years to get the makeover in action but tell you what- the result is completely worth the wait. I evaluated lighting options, drew and redrew the tub position, what kind of tub, got in a galvanized tub for a real time feel of the space and pinned the heck out on Pinterest. Because you’ll invest once {atleast in some years} you better have it all figured than buy and regret. So start your small bathroom ideas moodboard today and research! Here are a few from my feed for inspiration
How I did up my rental bath: Stage 1
The first thing I ever did was to get a good light and add a shower curtain. Why these two first? Because:
A. I wanted to define the tub area and work the other elements around it. The only way I could have done that was to add a shower curtain.
B. I needed a good light and plants on the other side of the tub to cheer the space up a bit. Now, I can’t stress more on the power of good lighting- multiple recessed light can add much charm and mood to your bath as opposed to a single source of bulb. But if you must have a single source light, make sure its “lit”. I wanted a light that would not only fill the bath with light but also cheer up the other side of the bath {the commode side} which was by far just plain functional. Thanks to the Purple Turtles I found THE MOST PERFECT LIGHT EVER– and it did me good twice- once being a gorgeous light, and twice being a light that has space for plants. SOLD. A hundred times over and it’s dreamy in its beautiful antique brass finish and clean lines. While the popular choice for a bath is a wall sconce, we chose a pendant and flanked it with a hanging planter which instantly primped the space up. Take a look:
And here’s the light when not lit
What could have been an otherwise boring dull plain space got an epic face lift thanks to the Purple Turtle willow light and a cheap money plant. That bit was sorted. I hung them from a hook that we drilled in the ceiling. You can probably spot my husband sleeping. Haha, I wake up terribly early to shoot. Anyway…moving on…
Stage 2: Ordering the bathtub. One that’s suitable for Rentals
Now this took a bit of time because in India finding a custom tub for rentals on a budget from a reputed company was a bit of a pain but we found them. Them cool tub people who caters with all kinds of bathtubs here in India, and are called Madonna Home Solutions. And before I forget, they are the sweetest, kindest people to work with. They did not just custom make a tub for me {Customization charges are 1500 INR} but also guided me as to how to choose a tub: If your space measures 4ft, your tub should have an inch less so it doesn’t get stuck. Asked me for images so they can figure the drainage and also shipped it within a week of the payment made. Not even a week to be honest- I made the payment on Saturday. Tuesday the tub was here! It was nice and crated and reached to me in perfect condition.
I chose the Prestige free standing {because rental} and it comes with stand and front panel. You can also have end panels made according to your requirements. The standard was 4ft, but they customized it for me at 3.8. trust me, the bath is bae! And it can be dismantled in a jiffy!
Stage 3: Installation and charges
It’s pretty simple to assemble. The tub comes screwed to a stand. The iron stand again has adjustable plastic rests that can be adjusted in height. The waste pop up is already pre installed {need to buy separately} and comes with a small drainage pipe. You can add lengths to it or connect it to your main drainage. Honestly, I had called in my electrician/Plumber who is a nifty guy and he installed the same for me. Basically unscrew the acrylic tub from its base, take the stand in first. Measure the height you want and adjust the plastic stands below the iron stand. Then screw the tub back with screws and then fit the front panel with screws again- its pre-drilled and prepared.
Left: The stand                    Right: Where the tub is screwed to the stand
The pipe goes from under the tub and i attached a pipe with it to go straight near the drainage. Sahil charged me some 800 bucks for the fitting. Tada! We have already come a long way!
NOTE:
1. We did not want to invest in a faucet for the time being so we kept the tub height in a way that our regular faucet acts as a tub filler. Saved some bucks there.
2. We are also using our current shower as shower and dont have a hand shower. Will never have. Hate hand showers.
3. Because I cant drill the tiles in here, I used the area below the wash basin, used a steel wall shelf as a stand to hold my toiletries. Best part is I c an grab stuff from the tub in there and that is like pretty cool.
Major chunk of small bathroom ideas, right there!
Stage 4: Styling
Best part of all! You see I love a bit of beach house boho in my life so its all very casual and comfort laden here. On Day 1, I got a lovely little bougainvillea branch and styled it and this was day two when rest of the things were added. Other than a towel rack, I am using a towel bag perched right next to my tub. Here’s how it looked on day 1!
Total cost of the makeover
Bathtub: 15600
Alteration: 1500
Pop up waste: 1000
Light: 6806
Labour: 1200
Plant: 60 x 2= 120
Total cost: 26,226/-
Small bathroom ideas: Cornered and won! And ladies and gents, marks chapter 2 “done” from our #100smallspaceideas- a hefty 98 to go. Will I ever finish by Jan 2019? Who cares as long as things are getting done yeah? If you would like to follow daily updates on our series, please follow trumatter on instagram or if you’d like to follow our pins and inspirations, well, you can find me on pinterest too- the name’s Trumatter.
Always.
Off then.
Rukmini
