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101 Kitchen & Bathroom Design Ideas
Bathroom Ideas and Articles
- Kew Bathroom Renovation Case Study
- Alphington Small Bathroom Case Study
- Narrow Bathroom Designs
- 7 Bathroom Heating Ideas
- 5 ‘Hacks’ To Create A Budget-Wise Luxury Bathroom
- 5 Things To Know Before Your Bathroom Renovation Begins
- 7 Clever Small Bathroom Renovation Ideas
- 5 Expert Ideas To Make Your Small Bathroom Appear Larger
- 7 bathroom lighting tips
- 5 Alfresco Lighting Ideas

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Narrow Bathroom Designs
Narrow bathroom designs can be tricky to get right. Within a confined, narrow bathroom you need to somehow design-in a shower, vanity, toilet and mirror – and that’s just the start!
Sometimes you’ll have a room that requires you to enter from one end or you can place a doorway in the middle of one of the longer walls.
Remember, good narrow bathroom designs will also require you to optimise light, space, storage and functionality.
With all this in mind, below are 18 expert tips for narrow bathroom designs:
- Tip 1. Most often your shower or bath will run side to side at one end of the bathroom to efficiently optimise the space.
- Tip 2. A shower over bath will deliver the greatest versatility if kids are going to use the bathroom or you like to soak in the bath
- Tip 3. In wall toilet cisterns are a must in narrow bathroom designs. They cost about twice the price of a regular toilet but saving that little extra can mean a lot. In this image above you'll also notice that the space allowed for toilet width is far less due to it's positioning forward of the shower recess
- Tip 4.The smallest you can go with a shower is about 80cm from side to side. They can be done smaller but they’ll be noticeably small.
- Tip 5. A shower with a bi-fold or slider door will save space.
- Tip 6. Larger format tiles will make narrow bathroom designs appear visually larger.

Some narrow bathroom designs tick all the boxes: larger format tiles, large mirror, consistent & simple light colors, frameless shower screens, wall mounted vanity, in-wall cistern.
- Tip 7. Maintain consistent tile styles and colour to optimise the visual space.
- Tip 8. Try to design in natural light – either via a window or a skylight to keep the room light, bright and spacious.
- Tip 9. Minimalist, clean, neutral lines and colours will optimise your visual space.
- Tip 10. If you place a large mirror on one wall you will increase the sense of space in your narrow bathroom.
- Tip 11. Using a narrow or shallow vanity will dramatically improve the space available to you.
- Tip 12. Keeping all services to one side of the room will allow for a thoroughfare effect when moving through your narrow bathroom.

Or, a thoroughfare down the centre.
- Tip 13. If you choose a frameless shower screen, you will reduce the visual punctuation in the room creating more visual space.
- Tip 14. A large window above the bath dramatically increases the size of the room.
- Tip 15. If you have the option to place the door way on one of the long walls this will enable you to place the shower/bath at one end and the vanity/toilet at the other.
- Tip 16. Using a cavity slider panel door will save swing space for your door.
- Tip 17. Recessed light fittings (such as downlights) will reduce visual clutter.
- Tip 18. Recessed mirrored shaving cabinets will deliver storage above your vanity
Free download: 101 Kitchen and Bathroom Design Ideas
Narrow bathroom designs have become an important part of inner metro bathroom designs. If you’d like to find out more about narrow bathroom designs, contact us.
You might also like:
- 7 Small Bathroom Ideas to Create Space
- Small Bathroom Renovation - Melbourne CBD case study
- Narrow Bathroom Designs - 18 Expert Tips
- Small Bathroom Renovation - Malvern case study
- 5 Expert Tips To Make Your Small Bathroom Appear Larger
- 7 Clever Small Bathroom Renovation Ideas
Author, Richard Armstrong is a Director of Melbourne firm The Makeover Group. With more than a decade of home-renovation experience, including narrow bathroom designs and build, Richard has helped thousands of Melbourne clients undertake renovations to modernise their inner metro homes.