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kelvar

Very small bathroom remodel - glass tiles?

kelvar
11 years ago

We want to give a very small bathroom a facelift. It's only 6x9 - tiny with no windows - 8 foot ceiling. As you come into the room with a left hand door swing, the 36" vanity is immediately on the right, followed by the toilet, with the tub/shower on the far wall. Very basic. I would like to try to give the appearance of space in the room as much as possible. We're considering a caramel glass subway tile 6X12 going up to the ceiling of the tub/shower with a feature strip about eye level of other glass tiles (a long, strippy glass mosaic). Three questions: For these ultra small bathrooms, is bone/white tiles the best color to give the appearance of space? Would caramel glass tiles be too much color for a small room and make it seem smaller than it already is? Finally, are glass tiles for the entire shower hard to maintain - as in constant water spots? The last thing I need is more housework. Thanks a bunch for your help!

Comments (25)

  • tartanhabit
    11 years ago

    Glass tiles are beautiful but be sure to have on your radar the possibility of glass cracking. When I was in a tile shop oohing over some large glass tiles and thinking of doing in a whole wall, they pointed out the possibility of glass tiles cracking when used over a large space and said something about soil movement in our area.

    So just be sure to ask the right questions about the specifics of installation of glass tile, possibility of movement, etc to be sure this will be appropriate for your space.

    I love the look of glass tile and it would style wise be a great choice for a small space.

  • kelvar
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the heads up on the possibility of them cracking. I originally saw these at Home Depot at 4.99 each. Unfortunately they only have three colors...an aqua/seafoam, caramel/honey, and a dark brown. Trying to find a vendor that has a 6x12 in a cream color to try to keep the space as light as possible. This is proving to be a daunting task. I can find 3x6 all day long but the 6x12 are proving to be far and few between.

  • sochi
    11 years ago

    More than the colour of the tile, I think the trick to making a small bathroom seems as spacious as possible is to limit the visual clutter as much as possible. Keep it simple and clean. I think a honey/caramel colour would be fine as long as it isn't too busy.

    I'm not sure if you are renovating the rest of the bathroom, but if you can, use recessed medicine cabs for storage and ideally no cabinet storage at all under the vanity. This is tricky for most bathrooms I know, but if you don't need a lot of storage in the bathroom foregoing the under vanity cabinets is a way to really open up the space. Try a shallow counter depth too (say 18 or 20") and if you have space in your wall, a wall hung toilet.


  • kelvar
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the tip on selecting a vanity that has a minimal footprint. It's my daughter's bathroom and storage will be an issue. We will certainly look into a built in medicine cabinet to squeeze extra storage space into this tiny bathroom. It's tight in there. I worry about resale with something so small, so that's another reason, I have to get this right the first time and make it look as airy as possible.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Depending on your style you might also want to look at the ikea godmorgon vanities, which are wall hung and only 18" deep, although they have a lot of storage. If you don't use the ikea sink/counter plumbing takes some thought, and they are all very modern looking, so if you're looking for traditional you won't like them. Their Hemnes is more transitional but not as nice, IMHO, and the legs make it heavier looking. Their other bath lines are junk.

    Here is a link that might be useful: ikea sink cabinets

  • stellawinslet
    11 years ago

    I love the glass tile in the shower. We are in the process of remodeling our bathrooms and got a lot of ideas to remodel my bathroom.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    I should have mentioned in my last post that dreamline has a couple of wallmount vanities that are even shallower (about 16 in deep, I think), but I've never seen one in person, so no idea how practical they are or the quality of construction.

    I completely agree with sochi that the more minimalist you are, the larger the space will look.

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    Love the idea of glass tile. I'm doing a very small bathroom in Mirage glass tile - grey sky is the color. Do look at Mirage - good quality and many, many different colors. Recommend you look at Fog. Absolutely stunning! Good luck.

  • gabelman
    11 years ago

    I'm also renovating a very small bathroom and also have a few questions.
    1) Would room look larger with small tiles (6 x 6) or large tiles on the walls?
    2) Should tiles go to ceiling
    Thanks in advance

  • annkathryn
    11 years ago

    Absolutely gorgeous bathroom, docdom.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Wow, docdom! Looks great.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Do you have any more photos, especially of the shower fixture?

  • jjaazzy
    11 years ago

    docdom, great bath! I agree with everyone here clean lines, keep it simple and use proper lighting. My entire bathroom is glass and it cleans wonderfully. Consider recessed oversized med. cab, nitches in shower.

  • docdom
    11 years ago

    Thank you annkathryn, writersblock and jjaazzy!

    This is a view of the shower from just inside the entrance. The remodel was a few years ago, so I'm not positive about the fixture models. I think the handshower and bar are Grohe Relexa Ultra.

    The combo valve + diverter in the other pic is Hansgrohe with a 'Pura Vida' trim that looks a lot like the Grohe Allure. The rainshower head is Hansgrohe. It fit the bill in terms of simplest shape and the smallest diameter that I thought would still be practical.

  • docdom
    11 years ago

    sleevepresto,

    A floating vanity gives you some under cabinet storage while giving a more spacious feeling to a small bathroom. I thought about adding rope lighting below mine to highlight this, but I decided it might be too busy for the room size, and that would defeat my primary design objective.

    If you need more storage, could you incorporate additional between-the-studs storage besides the medicine cabinet? I bought two between-the-studs medicine cabinets that look like picture frames, but I'm not ready to use them yet. They're for my master bath remodel. They're very expensive, but very nicely made. Anyone who's reasonably handy (we're not) could probably build their own for less.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Concealed Cabinet

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    I love your corner bar! Is that a grab bar by chance? I don't have the width in this shower to place a normal grab bar, but a corner one could work and also double as a washcloth holder.

    Here's what I did in this small bath. The only reason the shower is long is to fit a door.

    Glass will be going above the pony wall and a glass door. Lights not in yet. Need a basket-type solution for the area under the drawers (there was not room to open a drawer or door). The filler space is a spice pullout. My tween will use it for nail polish and little things.

    (by they way - how does one upload more than one photo? I'm on a mac).

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    Here's the shower.

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    And the rest of the bathroom. This is a wall-hung Toto aquia toilet. Not sure if any of the pics show, but there is a pocket door to the bathroom. Can't wait til it's finished and in use! (unfortunately the electrician botched the paint job, have to fix that).

    Countertop is Caesarstone Nougat (LOVE IT!).

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the extra photos, docdom. Really a spectacular bath. I'd like to know more about that corner shelf, too.

    Phylhl, how wide is your shower? I like the way you did the shelves in your nitch. Are they caesarstone?

  • salbwil
    11 years ago

    Fabulous bath; what is the paint color, please?
    salbwil

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    bumping for phylhl and docdom

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    I replied a few days ago, but the post doesn't show up. hmmmm.

    Beach glass (Ben Moore) is the paint color, and yes the niche shelves are caesarstone nougat as well.

    The shower is just shy of 30". not sure how it ended up less than 30", since the knee wall didn't move. Maybe the old contractor moved it post-inspection? Especially since there were extra inches in the vanity space that had to be filled. Just kidding of course, but it makes no sense to me.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Thanks, phylhl.

  • krndnr
    10 years ago

    docdon,
    Your bathroom is gorgeous. What size tiles did you use on the floor, shower walls and bathroom walls? Also, what kind of top is on the vanity? Also, your handles are great!