We’re still waiting for a few more things to arrive (and for me to get my butt into gear and paint the trim once and for all!) before the full bathroom reveal. But there are so many details that went into the water closet (a small room for a toilet) that I thought it deserved its own post.
When we were re-working the layout of our bathroom (see this post), this water closet was giving us the most grief. We just couldn’t seem to find enough inches that we thought we needed (or the recommended 36×66″), and many people told us there was no need for a toilet to have its own room at all (eek, agree to disagree there!), but there were three things that really help this small, 42×50″ room feel actually spacious.
The first thing that helped our small water closet feel twice as big is going with a pocket door. We shared all about the soft close pocket doors we added to the bathroom in this post, but in addition to the luxury of soft close-ness, they keep everything feeling open. We only had room for a 24″ door and it’s perfect.
(if you’re reading from a reader, you may need to click over to see the gif)
As a final touch, we added the Prive sign to the door and it makes smile every time it’s closed.
The second thing we did to maximize space in here was to choose our toilet wisely. We ended up going with the Kohler Corbelle Comfort Height® Two-Piece Elongated 1.28 GPF Toilet with Skirted Trapway from Wayfair. The skirted trapway is so pretty and clean-lined and is perfect for tight spaces because wiping around it is a breeze. And the tank in the back is nice and slender.
Initially, we planned the 12″ rough-in toilet to give us even more room in front, but the floor joist ended up being right where the toilet needed to be so we had to move the toilet forward which cut down on the amount of space in front of the toilet by a couple of inches. It ended up being totally fine and there’s still a roomy 22″ in front of the toilet.
While we’re here, the toilet paper holder we chose (this polished nickel one) is making me want to change all of our toilet paper holders to match this one! It’s so beautiful and sturdy, and makes changing toilet paper so, so easy! Note: changing toilet paper is already very easy, but this makes it inexcusable to leave a finished roll sitting there, if you know what I mean. There’s no springs to mess with, it just slides on and off. I will say, we stayed at a hotel with a similar style toilet paper holder last week, except they had the open side facing the toilet. Not good. The paper slid off every time we tried to unroll it. So I would 100% recommend this holder and this installation direction. Ha!
Speaking of toilet paper, we thought it would be nice to have some storage in here for such things. We had our cabinet maker customize something for the space, and I think we could fit 600 rolls of toilet paper (exaggeration). Haha. We emptied a whole package and it didn’t even fill the bottom row.
The cabinet is 42″x44″ including crown molding and I’ve also packed in feminine hygiene products, my steamer, sunscreen, lint rollers, air freshener. Basically anything unsightly but useable is going in this cabinet. We finished it off with these knobs that match the vanity and linen cabinet in the main area of the master bathroom.
The initial light we got was not bright enough. But I found this pretty LED flush mount that looks similar but gives off an entirely better light. I’m sooo happy with it.
The third thing that really opened up the room was adding a window. Our former master bathroom had no natural light at all, so adding two privacy windows (in the shower and water closet) has been a game changer.
Lastly, but definitely not least as it was the thing that helped inspire a lot of the other decision in our bathroom, is the smoky floral wallpaper. The thing you probably noticed first and the easiest decision of the whole space. It feels modern, yet classic. It adds an organic feminine feel to an otherwise masculine, straight-lined bathroom and that juxtaposition makes my heart flutter.
A bold wallpaper is so fun to add to a small space because it is such a small space and a small commitment. There’s not room for art or anything else so the wallpaper is the art and the mood and the space-maker in here, for sure!
Can’t wait for you to see how the rest of the room came together!
SHOP THE WATER CLOSET
Do you guys have textured walls? I want to wallpaper so badly but our walls are orange-peel texture. If there’s a post or another DIY’er you know that has tackled this, I’d appreciate it!
Ours have a slight orange peel texture and we have wallpapered a few times at our house with no issue!
love your water closet!!! This is exactly what i was looking for. i have space for a 36 x 54. Do you think this could work?
def!
I’m wanting a water closet in my master bathroom also. Do you think 36”x50” will be too tight? Trying to have as much space for the vanity. It’s a small master bath. Trying to make the best use of space.
36×50 is pretty tight, but you’re the only one who can say what “too tight” is. I would map it out on the floor using painters tape and see if that helps you visualize.
Where did you get pocket door from?
I think we ordered it from the Home Depot.
Very pretty! Thank you for sharing.