After moving into an apartment, everyone dreams of a good renovation that will not only be beautiful, but will also bring the desired comfort and practicality. If the apartment is small, the renovation of a small bathroom – a room with a small size – can still be done fashionably and comfortably. There is no need to postpone the renovation work in the bathroom until the last stage, it is better to do the renovation in this room first, so that later you can enjoy a pleasant pastime in it and use its functionality, despite the small bathroom. What stages should you start with when doing the renovation, what needs to be done with the bathroom to improve the functionality of this area – these and other useful tips for renovating a small bathroom will help you do it much faster, more economically and more practically.
Preparatory stage
First, you need to study the room provided for renovation. Maybe some parts of the bathroom require a simple cosmetic makeover, rather than a complete change.
- Check the functionality of the communications. If the pipes are not leaky, not too rusty, then you can get by with simple painting. In other situations, it is better to start with replacement – steel pipes for hot or cold water supply, as well as cast iron pipes should be replaced with universal metal-plastic, copper or plastic ones.
- After a full inspection of the bathroom, you need to think about what you want the room to look like; even in small bathrooms, you can install all the necessary items conveniently and practically. Think about what furniture you need, how many cabinets, what shape the bathroom will be, maybe you will like installing a shower cabin. The location of the washing machine determines the piping, so it is worth thinking about everything at the preparatory stage.
- Measure the room dimensions precisely: floor, ceiling separately, because each wall may have its own features and unevenness. From practice, we can say that each wall, which is the same at first glance, may differ from the other by a couple of cm.
- Carefully inspect the walls and floors for mold and mildew.
- Pay attention to the ventilation; it may be necessary to change the opening in order to install an electric fan in the hood.
Only after a thorough initial inspection of the bathroom should you begin repair work.
Practical recommendations
Renovating a small bathroom is a task that requires attention to every detail. Take a closer look at the shower cabin. It fits well into any space. For the dimensions of modern small rooms, this is a suitable option. It has all the characteristics of a bathtub, but takes up less space.
- Clear the bathroom of unnecessary things. Remove all objects from the wall surface, take out household appliances, open the ventilation for airing so that the bathroom can dry well. If you plan to replace plumbing, then it should be removed at the last moment.
- After airing, all walls, ceiling and floor are well treated with an antifungal agent. If there is no fungus in these places, then treatment for prevention will still be required.
- It is better to remove plumbing, toilets and electrical wiring and replace them with improved models, especially if they are more than 5 years old.
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Sequence of repairs
Before renovating a small bathroom, you need to think through a plan of action:
- Determine the amount of financial investment that you can allocate for the renovation of a small bathroom. The total amount will determine the choice of materials, whether you can hire specialists or will do all the work (or part of it) yourself.
- Draw a rough plan for the placement of plumbing, bathtubs, household appliances, etc. Purchase building materials, consumables, accessories, plumbing, and decide on their location.
- Remove old wiring, piping, plumbing, tiles, and remove construction waste.
- Replace the electrical wiring.
- Replace the pipes.
- Prepare surfaces for repair work: plaster uneven areas, apply grout, fill the floor with modern self-leveling material (solution).
- Once the main work is completed, do the finishing: painting, grouting the tiles, gluing the baseboards, installing plumbing, sockets and switches.
After completing the last point of repair work, the entire list can be considered complete.
Tips for arranging a small room
For a small room, it is advisable to use the tips for installing the main elements:
- To ensure that the cramped bathroom is not cluttered with unnecessary objects and details, you need to remove all electrical wiring into the wall, then you can begin to arrange other details.
- The main problem of small rooms is pipes, so it is necessary to use new solutions that have been tested in practice and fully justify themselves.
In order to skillfully remove communications, a profile or bar frame is constructed, which is covered with plasterboard. In order not to block access to the tap water meter, a hatch is constructed in the box.
If you think through all the components and details of a small room in advance, the room will be comfortable and functional. Think about what can be placed in other rooms, perhaps the washing machine will be placed in the kitchen or in the pantry. If there are alternative options for placing household appliances in other rooms, it is better not to take up space in a small space.
Selection of finishing materials
Before choosing a material for finishing a small room, you need to remember some nuances:
- The materials must be moisture resistant.
- The color palette is selected in such a way that the room appears more spacious and wider.
The ceiling in a small room is selected individually, but the best option is a white gloss suspended ceiling. Small apartments usually have low ceilings, so it is highly undesirable to lower them. You can paint the ceiling or decorate it with panels. It is better to choose such materials from a light range.
The walls of the room are finished with ceramic tiles – this material is hygienic, easy to clean and process. For small bathrooms, it is advisable to choose small ceramic tiles in pastel tones. Multi-colored patterns and designs should be avoided in the bathroom. It is optimal to use mosaics, the pattern should be located diagonally.
The walls of the room are finished with ceramic tiles – this material is hygienic, easy to clean and process. For small bathrooms, it is advisable to choose small ceramic tiles in pastel tones. Multi-colored patterns and designs should be avoided in the bathroom. It is optimal to use mosaics, the pattern should be located diagonally.
The floor is also done in dark tones. The material is light-colored ceramic tiles, not too contrasting with the color of the walls.
Which bathtub to choose?
The choice of a small bathroom should be given due attention, because it is the central part of this room. If there is a lack of funds, you can simply update the coating. Depending on the selected material: acrylic bathtubs, cast iron or steel, the work has distinctive characteristics.
A more modern option is a bathtub insert. It is made of sanitary plastic with an acrylic coating. The peculiarity of the bathtub insert is that it should ideally match the shape of the old one. It weighs little – only a couple of kg. The color of the coating is chosen at the customer’s request. The insert is convenient because it allows you to avoid unwanted consequences when dismantling the old bathtub in the form of broken tiles, etc.
Playing with color to visually expand the space of a room
Even for a small room and toilet there are tips on how to visually expand the space. In such a situation, a skillfully selected design will help.
By playing with color, you can achieve a visual enlargement of small spaces. This means using resonance or room lightening techniques. For this, light colors, such as pastel shades of tiles and light finishing materials, are used. Slightly warm tones visually expand the boundaries even with little lighting. You can use a horizontal contrast line, which is used as an accent.
Using mirrors
Mirrors have always been used to expand space. This technique should be used in small areas. For a small bathroom, the following rule applies: the mirror should be positioned so that the viewer can see the reflection. You can make one surface mirrored together with the ceiling, then the size of a small room will increase several times.
Agree that no bathroom can do without mirrors, especially a small one. Round mirrors make the room more cozy, special lighting along the edge of the mirror gives even more volume.
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Lighting up the space of small bathrooms
Expanding the area with light is an interesting solution, it is a play with light. To use this technique, it is necessary to find the optimal combination of the type of lighting fixtures with their brightness. You can make a ceiling with a niche under which lamps are placed. The backlight is placed in such a way that it does not blind the eye. In this way, a pleasant environment is obtained, not blinding the eyes, shadow transitions appear.
Use several small lamps, not one massive one. Original lamps can become that bright accent that is needed to diversify the thoughtful design of a small bathroom. Today, it is not difficult to choose something unusual, in addition, there are designer lamps specifically for small spaces.
Professional techniques for increasing the space of a room
Designers with extensive experience skillfully use special techniques to expand the area of small spaces:
- When renovating a bathroom in a small apartment, you need to pay attention to the door. It needs to be made sliding – it will increase the area of the room. It is better to choose door models made of glass than solid wooden ones. If it is not possible to install a sliding door, then make it open into the hallway.
- Use cabinets to hide everything you need. And they should be located somewhere under the sink or under the bathtub. In a small bathroom, every centimeter of space is important, so use it effectively.
- Using special tile laying techniques, you can visually expand the area of the rooms. Tiles are laid in small squares of different colors and textures. Thus, unique “zones” appear in the room – this adds contrast.
- You can place a mirror with lighting above the sink. One light bulb in the room will not visually add space. Use several light bulbs.
- The installation of the bathtub is also important. It is better to replace the standard bathtub with a shower cabin – this will add space. In addition, the shower cabin reduces splashing of water during bathing, it can be separately treated with antiseptic agents. The shower box creates the effect of a “room within a room”, it saves space, because inside there is usually room for placing the necessary little things.
- How to choose a design for small bathrooms? To choose a design for a small bathroom, you need to draw a diagram-plan of the room. Its main elements, from which you will need to push off. In most cases, such items are plumbing. For example, a washbasin and toilet are quite difficult to replace, so they will be the fundamental details.
Today, plumbing hanging systems are used. They are used to construct a partition on which a bidet or toilet is hung. All pipes and other parts are hidden in the wall. Such a system can be implemented if you remove the partition between the bathroom and toilet, for example, if the plumbing is unusually located.
Conclusion
Thus, for an effective renovation in a small bathroom, it is necessary to think through all the details. Key points: organizing the space, saving space due to the practical placement of shelves and cabinets under the sink or under the bathtub, you can make niches in the wall or small recesses, if the project allows.
Pay attention to the model of the bathroom, if you are interested in a shower cabin as an option, pay attention to its small models. Mirrors and well-chosen lighting will help to visually increase the space of a small bathroom. Try to finish the walls, floor and ceiling in pastel or light colors. If desired, you can make a bright accent.
Using convenient plumbing and furniture, you will achieve the optimal result and will be able to visually increase the size of the bathroom and effectively enrich it.