Sebastian Lane
A tiny house bathroom is the subject of many of the questions I get from people interested in making the leap. Write down everything you do in your bathroom, everything you reach for, the things you store there, the items required to make it all work.
Once you work through your list, clear out the extraneous bits to hone down to the bare essentials. Pare down to the bare essentials you want to take with you into your tiny house bathroom and see if it works for you. There is a lot that goes into a tiny house bathroom, there is plumbing, fixtures, lighting, electrical and all sorts of materials that have to work together. The kitchen and the bathroom are two of the most complex rooms in the house and they require a lot of planning.
Typically, you have a sink, shower, vanity, cabinets, toilet, mirror, towel rack and maybe a tub. What if you only kept enough makeup to fit into a small plastic caddy, the rest you set aside in a box in the closet for your experiment?
The reason for this is that while a bathroom is very necessary for using a toilet and hygiene needs, you typically only use it for 1-2 hours a day; that’s a lot of square footage only to use it for so little of a time.
A glass corner shower is a great way to pack a lot into your little bathroom.
The glass also extends your sight line, making the space feel bigger while still doing a lot. A prefabricated shower base keeps water where you want it while reducing costs and time to install.
Featuring a full tub, a great sink, and a composting toilet, it has a lot going for it. A great little nook allows for plenty of storage for linens and bathroom items, and a small sink is just enough space to do most of what you need.
Here is a wet bath concept that allows you to draw back the curtain to open up the space. Small white tiles make upthe space, but the dark wood sets it off with a contrasting texture.
This layout was interesting because it had a deep soak tub for a small space that doesn’t take up much more room than a normal shower. This bathroom also features a nice homemade composting toilet that’s simple to build and affordable.
A Wet Bathroom in a tiny house is a small room where everything is essentially in the shower. I also really like keeping the toilet firmly separated from my shower, call me a germaphobe if you want. If you don’t choose the right materials and vent properly, you’ll end up with mold issues and poor indoor air quality. I suggest you have a fan that you can set on a timer, so that it vents while you’re taking a shower, but continues to run for 30 minutes after you’ve headed out for the day. Add to this a way to dehumidify your air in the tiny house as a whole, you’ll have a comfortable and safe living environment. The right fixtures (sinks, vanity, showers, tubs, etc) will make or break your tiny house bathroom.
It can be hard to find some of these because they’re not always something your local hardware store carries or in some cases, they may not even be able to special order! That was way too big for what I wanted, I was hoping for something that was roughly 10 x 6, so it didn’t stick out into the bathroom space so much. I added a wall-mounted mirror that folds neatly out of the way and I had a setup that met all my bathroom sink needs! I’d suggest going with a one-piece unit made of fiberglass, this will prevent water leaking in from the seams of a panelized system.
The downside to this is you’ll need to put it inside your walls when you tip them up and build the house around the shower stall because you might not be able to fit it through the front door. If it’s a larger brand they all do a good job with their build quality, so just go with what works for your design and your needs and you’ll be fine.
That wasn’t in the budget and I also didn’t want all the inspections that came with it, so I ended up with a basic bucket system. Using the composting toilet requires a tutorial and conversation with everyone that comes to the house, it’s kinda a hassle to be honest. By in large, most of my guests just stop off at a gas station before they come over or wait till we are out at a restaurant.
In your tiny house bathroom, you’ll need a place to put your sink, if you have one, plus you’re going to want to pack as much storage in as you can. I love this color and the vanity walks the line between a functional sink, but not too big while having great cabinetry to maximize the storage in the square footage. The last thing I wanted to call out here is the smart design choice of putting a full-length mirror on the back of the pocket door.
Pocket doors are great for small bathrooms and tiny houses in general. Adding the mirror on the back of this door makes it very functional as you get ready in the morning.
source Here is another off the shelf vanity, I found this one for sale at my local big box store for $119 for the cabinet and sink, no faucet. Faucets are one of those things you can spend a lot of money on, I personally want something that has a metal housing for durability and looks, as opposed to the plastic. Starting at around $50 you can get a name brand budget all metal faucet, but you can spend hundreds if you really wanted to. A simple shelf or a cabinet can be a great place to stash towels or bins of less frequently used items.
You also have to consider where your pipes run for your shower, connections for kitchen items, and pocket doors. Assuming you don’t have any of these things, you can add very low profile storage to your walls wherever you need it.
Next to your sink, a nook for toilet paper and medicine cabinet are all great examples of how you can build into the walls. The tall form of the pull out lets you have a ton of shallow shelves so you can see a lot of what you have and not lose them behind other items like you do in a deep shelf or cabinet.
You can keep it simple with stacking storage to go on either side of things or you can have a fancy custom made shelving or drawers that go around the drain. From jewelry to makeup, and other various items that if we don’t keep in check, can create a huge mess.
Take the time to figure out what you need to keep in the drawers and either get organizers custom made or buy off the shelf kits. A special holder made of PVC like these for curling irons or something put on a small low profile door rack. Shower Caddies For Every Person I learned this when I lived in the dorm at college, sharing too few bathrooms with too many people.
If you have a bunch of people in your tiny house, consider having space for each member to keep a shower caddy. If you use containers of a modular design, you can mix and match sizes while still stacking them neatly. A really great source for modular caddies and storage bins for bathrooms and kitchens is a company called MDesign.
Luckily, I figured out a solution that worked in my tiny house, but you want to make sure you plan for this. A corner hamper is a great way to solve this need and you can find them around for pretty cheap. Take Advantage Of Empty Voids Sometimes your design might have a weird space that isn’t being used very well, places like under the stairs if you have a raised floor, etc.
There are a small number of things that are just necessary for everyday living, so group them together in ways that make sense, then show them off with a nice looking box or jar. When designing your dream tiny house bathroom, start with making a list of what it needs to do for you and what things you want to store there. Taking time to plan ahead here will save you a lot of headaches and the complexity of such a small bathroom means every inch matters.
Plan your drains carefully to avoid metal crossmembers of your trailer Where possible, put the fixtures requiring water close together for easier plumbing Don’t forget places for trash and dirty laundry, most people do Don’t forget a place to hang your towels Consider a place for clean towels, linens and cleaning supplies Make sure your shower, tub, and sink can fit through the front door or build it in Use pocket doors to make small spaces more functional Make sure you have a bathroom vent fan Always have extra storage, above what you expect your needs to be
