Bathroom Secrets

One may move to a larger home in Bombay but bathrooms never seem to get any larger. In fact mine has shrunk, if that's possible! What's more frustrating is that the guest bath is twice the size of the one attached to the master bedroom. Who in their right minds designs a house this way?! 

Just in case you're wondering whether I am overreacting, let me give you the exact dimensions...the room is eight feet long and three and a half feet wide. Would have made for a very spacious coffin but try accommodating a shower, a sink and a WC into it and there's not much room left to stand, let alone lie. So obviously there was little choice but to make the most of what I had. 

I didn't get too many 'before' images but the one below is of the sink area, which was by far the most problematic. The door of the bath opened inside to reveal a tiny sink immediately on the right. I guess one couldn't get anything bigger else the door wouldn't have opened. But this one was just a bad design with two serpentine taps and an ugly, nonfunctional metallic cabinet, with an even tinier mirror, nailed over it.

Quite sad looking, huh?

So here's my handiwork. Well, not exactly all mine, I had a whole bunch of people to carry out the job. First of all, I got rid of that overhanging ugly metallic box (it's a shame to have called it a cabinet) and instead got a large mirror that was nailed flat on the wall. No frames, no frills, just a plain mirror that would create a sense of space and where one could get a good look at oneself. 

Then came the most obvious storage solution...no matter how tiny, every sink has dead space under it ideal for a cabinet and more often than not, you will find one there. I wonder then if it's just a curse of the rented apartment to get one without one! So I bought myself a new sink, as large as I could manage, and had a cabinet built underneath. The counter was made of some left over marble that we had and the top was given a waved edge, to allow for the door to open easily.

Voila! Now there's enough counter space for tooth brushes and knick knacks, and also storage underneath for scrubs, cleaning liquids and all sorts of other things. 

Then followed a shower curtain to separate the bath from the sink. Yes, I had to install something as basic as that! I guess the previous occupants didn't find it a large enough space to segregate the sections but I certainly do not want the shower water cascading over my brand new wooden cabinet.  

At last, came the frills. Well not all frills really coz the shower caddy, for instance, is a pretty useful thing when you do not have enough shelving. It holds all the essentials within easy reach. And a little bit of green goes a long way to add some cheer to any dull space. So there's the bamboo in a pink vase, sitting on the window sill and a money plant in my favourite square bottle on the counter. 

There's even room for a cute little honey bee bowl that holds my rings and trinkets when I step into the shower. Perfect.

There you have a before and after...from drab to fab, all in a tiny little space and not too large a budget either!