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When it comes to refreshing a small downstairs bathroom, space is at a premium, which makes it absolutely imperative that you choose décor capable of improving your tiny toilet’s accessibility, light, sense of spaciousness, and style.
In this post, we have put together a guide to styling small downstairs bathrooms, wet rooms, shower rooms and toilets, complete with downstairs bathroom ideas for décor – such as installing a range of slimline storage – to help you create the perfect space for family and friends to use.
Let’s find out how to completely transform your bathroom, whatever its size.
Preparing for your downstairs wash closet renovation and redesign
First thing’s first, before we get to the fun part of choosing all-new small bathroom décor it’s important to take a moment to declutter, tidy, and plan for the redesign ahead.
Step 1: Declutter and organize
Before you can start to imagine what your dream downstairs bathroom might look like, it’s time to crack out the cleaning supplies and roll up your sleeves. Start your small downstairs bathroom redesign by emptying the existing space of all unnecessary clutter, including décor and bathroom furnishings which you don’t plan to keep.
Next, give your freshly decluttered space a good deep clean. Once the installation of the new downstairs toilet décor is complete, your space will likely need another clean before it’s ready to use. However, cleaning at this point in the planning stage allows you to get a better feel for the space you have to work with.
Step 2: Planning the layout
Depending on whether you’re opting for a quick and classy redesign, or a full-blown renovation, the next step is to plan the layout of the new small downstairs bathroom. Since space is the main issue with any tiny toilet space, time spent here is time (and money) saved further down the line. Below we take a look at a few key aspects of any small bathroom layout.
Pipes and ventilation
If you’re building a small downstairs bathroom or stripping an existing room to newly fit as a toilet, you’re going to have to think about where the plumbing will go.
Soil pipes leading away from the toilet are best placed in an outside wall, so if there’s a wall in your downstairs that faces the exterior of the property, this may be the best option for where to place both the toilet and sink.
Of course, if an exterior wall isn’t an option, a macerator – which breaks down waste so that it can be pumped to your drainage plumbing – will need to be incorporated into the toilet’s installation.
Ventilation in downstairs bathrooms is also fundamental – to help make the space light, airy, smelling fresh and free of moisture build-up, which can quickly lead to mold, damp, and damage.
Dimensions and clearance
Next, it’s time to dig out your measuring tape. Make careful note of the exact dimensions of your bathroom so that you can reference back to these when choosing your small toilet décor.
You’ll need to work out not only what can fit where, but also how you and your guests will be able to move in and around any new fittings – in a word, clearance.
The key to making a small downstairs bathroom feel more spacious than it actually is is to maximize empty space, especially along the floor, so compact fittings and slimline décor are a must.
Accessibility
In line with assessing the dimensions and clearance of your tiny toilet space, it’s worth also considering accessibility for disabled and less mobile family members and friends.
Whether this is an immediate factor of concern to you or not, it’s worth remembering that we all age – as we get older, our accessibility requirements may change. Make sure your small downstairs bathroom ideas take this into consideration.
Downstairs toilet décor: How to style a small downstairs bathroom
Okay, time already for the exciting part! Choosing small toilet décor need not be stressful. With a huge and versatile range of bathroom furnishings, fittings, décor, and accessories available on today’s home improvement market, there are always options suitable for your space, no matter how tiny it is.
In addition to choosing your décor, though, there are a few other factors we think it’s important to bear in mind: things like color, material, and lighting. A careful combination of all three could be the difference between a room which feels cramped and uncomfortable, and a small downstairs bathroom you never want to leave.
Color and materials
One of the joys of styling a small bathroom is that your budget may be able to accommodate materials which would not be cost-effective in a larger space. Marble tiles, for example, look exquisite in small bathrooms, but tend to be more costly than ceramic or porcelain.
A small downstairs toilet redesign may be the perfect opportunity to welcome some more luxurious and opulent materials into your home.
To keep a small space feeling big and bright, we recommend opting for a single uniform tile or color scheme. Keeping the color the same throughout avoids the distinct chance of a small bathroom becoming a dizzying eyesore.
Another top tip, if tiling, is to tile your small downstairs toilet from floor to ceiling. The higher your tiles go, the more they create the illusion of a room much taller than it actually is.
Finally, we’d suggest leaning toward a lighter color scheme than elsewhere in the home. Small rooms by design receive less natural light, so a light-toned waterproof paint or tile can help lift the brightness of the room.
Lighting
As we’ve just mentioned, the lighting in small downstairs bathrooms tends to be in short supply. Not all have windows to let in natural light, and those which do tend only to be small.
A great hack for immediately enhancing the brightness of your toilet is to hang your bathroom mirror on a prominent, well-lit wall. The reflection of light in the mirror – be it natural or electrical – will bounce around the room, helping to lighten the overall feel of the space.
As for small bathroom décor ideas, a backlit mirror is highly recommended. Not only could the mirror’s built-in lights replace other, less space-conscious lighting, but it also serves to create the charming vanity mirror effect which your guests will love. After all, a trip to the home’s smallest bathroom needn’t make you feel like a gremlin – we should be emerging full of the glow of self-confidence in our appearance.
Fixtures and fittings
Fixtures and fittings is a category of small toilet décor which covers just about everything essential to the function of your bathroom. This includes the toilet, sink, bath and/or shower.
There’s no getting around the fact that your bathroom fixtures are going to take up a considerable amount of space, which in a small downstairs toilet poses problems. Thankfully, however, there are ways to minimize the impact of these installations whilst maximizing their look and how they complement the overall style of your redesign.
Floating mount for toilet and sink
The parts of the toilet and sink which occupy the most space are the toilet’s cistern and sink’s plumbing. A crafty way to erase these dimensions from consideration is to wall-mount both fixtures. By hiding the toilet cistern and wash basin’s plumbing within the wall, you can install floating units which not only sit flusher with the wall, but which also sit off of the floor.
Floor space is the first thing our eyes are drawn to when assessing the openness and spaciousness of any room, so a floating toilet/sink installation is a great small bathroom idea.
Design a wet room
If having the option to wash is a necessity for your small downstairs toilet redesign, then one of the first ideas we’d put forward is to create a wet room.
A wet room is typically an open plan, fully-tiled (and thus waterproof) room with a shower head and drain occupying one corner or side. Because the room is open plan, there is no need for a space-guzzling shower screen, doors, or glass.
Of course, if a wet room isn’t your thing, you can still maximize the free space in your small downstairs toilet by opting to install a space-saving corner shower instead of a bath. Bathtubs are big and unruly and not well-suited to small, compact downstairs spaces.
Other small bathroom décor ideas
Last but not least, let’s look at a few final small toilet décor ideas which don’t neatly fit into the categories explored above.
Heated towel rails
Tall vertical heated towel rails are a godsend for small bathroom designers. By combining bathroom heating with a storage space for your towels, heated towel rails take up half the space their constituent parts otherwise would.
Bathroom cupboards and consoles
Creating the right amount of storage space for you and your family in a small downstairs toilet is a puzzle – a bit like bathroom Tetris!
We suggest shopping around for integral bathroom fixtures and fittings which have storage built into them. For example, there are plenty of backlit mirrors which also come complete with slim in-built cupboards.
Shelving is also a neat idea, since it can be installed on any wall – at any height which is convenient – and be used to hold anything from toothbrushes and toiletries to houseplants (which will love your bathroom’s humidity!) to candles and photo frames.
For freestanding storage, we recommend opting for an attractive slimline console with open storage space below the tabletop and drawers above.
Accessories
So you’ve planned the layout of your small downstairs bathroom based on accessibility and style, chosen the perfect fixtures and mounted them in a space-saving way, and have decorated the room with small toilet décor designed to match your color palette and make the room feel big and bright. At long last, it’s time to put the finishing touches on that brand new downstairs bathroom redesign of yours. Take a look at our blog on unmissable bathroom accessories and get inspired!
A few final thoughts on small bathroom décor
Tiny toilets and wee water closets can feel impossible to redesign. Limitations on space and light, not to mention the necessity for large and unwieldy fixtures, make styling a small downstairs bathroom potentially more challenging than any other room in the house.
Thankfully, there are numerous expert tips, cheats, and hacks out there to help you along the way. Be sure to take your time during the planning stages, considering accessibility needs and the potential for hidden wall-mounts, before shopping for slimline décor which combines storage and style. Finish off with the right light, color, and accessories for the ultimate small downstairs bathroom makeover.
Happy styling!
