Small Master Bathrooms – There is hope

There were may houses build between 1950 and 1990 that included a small master bathroom. As our architecture and home expectations changed, the master bathroom was a new item in a house that became popular. Before that time, the owners of the house expected to use the same bathroom as everyone else.

Many of the master bathrooms built doing this time were very small by todays standards. In some ranch housed from the 1960s and even colonial houses from the 1980, many of the master bathrooms were as small as 8 x 5. Given the time that’s passed, many of those bathrooms are under consideration for remodeling or replacement.

The challenge that these bathrooms present is the small square footage. A house built in the 21st century is liable to have a master bathroom 2 – 4 times larger than these early bathrooms. An additional challenge is that enlarging the bathrooms can present logistical and budgetary problems. Enlarging the bathroom may involve taking space that is being used by an adjacent bathroom or bedroom. Not to mention that when you start changing the footprint of a bathroom, the price starts to increase.

The best answer in many cases is to be as efficient as you can with the space, and to make it very nice. One of the advantage of a small space is that you don’t need a large vanity or a ton of tile or light fixtures. You can invest your money in high quality fixtures that will help make the space elegant. Other ideas include changing or updating windows, adding skylights, changing the door swing or investing in a sound system that can provide great background music while you’re using the bathroom.

if you have a small master bathroom that needs an update – don’t despair – there is hope.

Chris Matey is the President and Founder of Red Apple Renovations. You can reach him at chris@redapplerenovations.com.