Design cottage bathrooms to be universally appealing.
Smaller bathrooms in a cottage home can provide great charm for the overall space. And because that space is limited, the homeowner can utilize special touches and features to make the bathrooms stand out. Create bathrooms that will appeal to a large number of people, however, in case you ever decide to sell the cottage. Make a detailed plan to retain any special features of each room, such as wide baseboards or unique window frames, if possible. By incorporating different colors, textures and materials, each bathroom will add value to the home.
Instructions
1. Measure the floor space of the cottage. Use a sketch pad to draw a floor plan of all rooms, hallways and closets to visualize how one or more bathrooms may be enlarged, if needed. Define the kitchen, living space and bedrooms as you picture remodel one or more bathrooms. See if there is a way to borrow space from a large closet for a larger shower, for example. Add just 12 inches of depth along one wall to enlarge a cramped shower or tub space in a tiny house.
2. Use light colors to set a cottage mood. Plan to paint the walls pale yellow and utilize white floor tiles, for example. Use pale colors to make seem bigger and reflect more light off wall space. Incorporate overhead skylights in small bathrooms or install a wall of glass blocks to add more light. Buy white or cream-colored tubs, sinks and premade showers to lighten the room as well. Draw each bath space on your sketch pad in detail with colored pencils.
3. Plan the demolition in stages. Gut each bathroom if this will make changes easier. Disconnect all plumbing and electricity to make it safe to tear out fixtures and remove old wiring. Add insulation in exterior walls to improve energy efficiency. Build the bathroom framing back with 2-by-4-inch boards, if you will expand into a nearby room. Build the bathroom framing out to the end of the exterior house overhangs as an additional way of gaining space in a small cottage.
4. Install new flooring, walls and ceiling material. Construct the new space by adding a skylight at the ceiling level and installing recessed lighting, for example. Correct any sub-flooring problems and run new wiring and plumbing through walls and flooring before adding drywall to ceiling and walls. Add bead-board paneling on the lower half of one or more walls, if desired. Seat the new fixtures and install flooring before installing a new toilet with a wax ring on top of new flooring.
5. Finish the room with quaint cottage-type materials. Review cottage makeover magazines to get ideas. Install an old copper-colored mirror above the sink, and add light-oak shelving for towels and art objects. Hang a stained-glass window over an existing window above a cast-iron tub as another choice.
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