How to Fit an Extra Bathroom Under Your Stairs
If that space under your stairs is going to waste, why not put it to good use and turn it into a bathroom?
Adding another loo, bath or shower to your abode can be positively life enhancing if there’s bickering over your existing bathroom, or if you cringe when guests have to enter your sacred chamber – who knows what the kids (or your other half) left behind since last you looked! A powder room or compact bathroom can be squeezed into the smallest of under-stair spaces. All it takes is a can-do attitude and a little imagination. And, of course, some plumbing will probably help.
A similar doorway was chosen for this renovated Woollahra terrace in Sydney, where space was at a premium. The design was inspired by the Adolf Loos concept of Raumplan, whereby rooms are stepped rather than stacked. Here they were interlocked Tetris-style within strict wall boundaries.
The shape of the space-efficient doorway is continued inside the powder room with a ceiling that follows the same lines. In this case, the materials and colour palette are a continuation rather than an interruption of the aesthetic in the rest of the home.
The shape of the space-efficient doorway is continued inside the powder room with a ceiling that follows the same lines. In this case, the materials and colour palette are a continuation rather than an interruption of the aesthetic in the rest of the home.
Make smart use of the space
Positioning the toilet where the ceiling is lowest makes sense, but if bumped heads are still likely, move the toilet out from the wall a little. This has the added benefit of enabling you to hide the cistern out of sight and making the room feel bigger.
A small basin tucked into the corner gives users more room to move than a vanity or basin positioned against a wall. And, far from making a room seem small as is commonly believed, painting the walls black can actually make them recede and enhance the sense of space.
Positioning the toilet where the ceiling is lowest makes sense, but if bumped heads are still likely, move the toilet out from the wall a little. This has the added benefit of enabling you to hide the cistern out of sight and making the room feel bigger.
A small basin tucked into the corner gives users more room to move than a vanity or basin positioned against a wall. And, far from making a room seem small as is commonly believed, painting the walls black can actually make them recede and enhance the sense of space.
If the under-stair space has existing plumbing, or the adjoining room does, the project will cost significantly less. Architect Dominic Bagnato estimates that putting a toilet and basin under the stairs would cost $10,000-$12,000 – “closer to $12,000 if you had to try and get plumbing in there,” he says.
If you also hope to be able to add a shower, tiling and associated works such as a waterproof membrane, Bagnato says the price is likely to be closer to $20,000.
“It sounds expensive, but for one small bathroom you need a carpenter, plasterer, painter, tiler, electrician, membrane installer, a mirror and shower installer, plumbing fixtures and fittings, door hardware and more – it really adds up,” he adds.
See more of this inner-Sydney home
If you also hope to be able to add a shower, tiling and associated works such as a waterproof membrane, Bagnato says the price is likely to be closer to $20,000.
“It sounds expensive, but for one small bathroom you need a carpenter, plasterer, painter, tiler, electrician, membrane installer, a mirror and shower installer, plumbing fixtures and fittings, door hardware and more – it really adds up,” he adds.
See more of this inner-Sydney home
Make it disappear
Converted warehouses aren’t typically short on space, but why clutter up the open feel with an extra bathroom when you can sneak one in under the stairs? Although the interior of this powder room is a striking orange (aptly named ‘Pumpkin Pie‘) to match the front door, when closed you’d hardly know it was there. The stair wall and door feature the same textural finish, and the owners have even managed to fit in an additional storage cupboard into the under-stair cavity – see how well it’s disguised?
Converted warehouses aren’t typically short on space, but why clutter up the open feel with an extra bathroom when you can sneak one in under the stairs? Although the interior of this powder room is a striking orange (aptly named ‘Pumpkin Pie‘) to match the front door, when closed you’d hardly know it was there. The stair wall and door feature the same textural finish, and the owners have even managed to fit in an additional storage cupboard into the under-stair cavity – see how well it’s disguised?
The stairs were unsafe and had to be rebuilt when the owners took on the task of making the warehouse habitable, but the seed for the idea of an under-stair room had been planted.
See more before and afters of this renovation
See more before and afters of this renovation
The stair treads have determined the width of the gaps between the timber running across this stair wall here, and the powder room door fits right in. Again, when the door is closed it blends into the wall – who wants to advertise the presence of a toilet if they don’t have to?
A contemporary approach has been taken in this west Melbourne refurb. The dimensions of the door have been repeated in panels running the width of the stairway wall. Look carefully and you’ll see additional storage cupboards configured into the design as well.
Work in a tub
An awkward under-stair space can be challenging, but a little imagination can turn it into a workable room. In this children’s bathroom, a kid-sized bath fits nicely under the ceiling area impacted by the stairs, and the generous use of blue mosaic tiles throughout makes the multi-height ceiling less of a feature.
An awkward under-stair space can be challenging, but a little imagination can turn it into a workable room. In this children’s bathroom, a kid-sized bath fits nicely under the ceiling area impacted by the stairs, and the generous use of blue mosaic tiles throughout makes the multi-height ceiling less of a feature.
When you’re sitting or lying in the tub, there’s simply no need for a lofty ceiling, as this creative bathroom reveals. The eco-friendly extension was part of a renovation to a Heritage-listed Victorian terrace in Melbourne’s St Kilda.
Use clever lighting
When much of your ceiling is at a slant, lighting can be tricky. A mirror with lighting incorporated is one solution – no other lighting is necessary.
Tell us
Do you have a powder room or bathroom under your stairs? Share your advice with fellow Houzzers contemplating the same idea in the Comments.
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Find a bathroom designer near you
When much of your ceiling is at a slant, lighting can be tricky. A mirror with lighting incorporated is one solution – no other lighting is necessary.
Tell us
Do you have a powder room or bathroom under your stairs? Share your advice with fellow Houzzers contemplating the same idea in the Comments.
More
Find a bathroom designer near you
If the angle of your stairway is such that a standard-sized door won’t easily fit, an arched doorway could be a nifty solution. Your door can be narrower, for a start, and rounding off the corners defies the space restrictions a regular door would face. In this traditional home, a shapely doorway adds an element of surprise and the bright-red interior and modern fit-out provide further cause for delight.