It didn’t start off as an afternoon of revelation – it started off with me laughing hysterically. Okay, not hysterically laughing but close to it. You know the laugh I’m talking about, where you can’t believe people are expected to live in something so small?
Welcome to my first RV bathroom. RV bathrooms come in many shapes and sizes, but most autumn into the small/tiny category. Our first bathroom felt more like a phone booth with plumbing.
Challenging? You bet.
Doable?
Hell yeah. Measuring every nook and cranny with my trusty tape measure, I excitedly scribbled notes on a notepad. My boyfriend thought I had finally joined a cult because of the way I kept referring to my booklet like it was the holy grail.
Small space design is different than larger scale spaces because every square inch counts. Trust me, I learned that lesson when I bought what I thought was a petite towel rack. It was not petite by any means, and it nearly took over the bathroom.
Lesson #1 Hang Storage on the Door. Inspiration can come from the strangest places. Like my grandma saving onion bags and hanging them behind her kitchen door to store food supplies when she was a kid in the depression era.
Aha! I could modify that idea for my RV bathroom. After rummaging through the kitchen drawers to find the mesh produce bags (sadly my grandma was NOT crafty enough to save these), I had the epiphany to buy clear mesh shower caddies meant for children’s bath toys.
I hung three of these bad boys on the inside of my bathroom door and presto! Instant storage for beauty supplies, toiletries, washcloths, and even my hair dryer. The bonus?
The mesh allows for proper air circulation to dry everything completely. Lesson #2 Hang a Mirror That Actually Reflects Something Other Than Your Forehead. Let’s face it.
Mirrors are key to making a small bathroom feel larger and more open. However, that standard-issue rectangle mirror they gave me was minuscule. So I upgraded to one of those corner shower mirrors.
Not revolutionary, I know. But when that bad boy reflects light around the bathroom, it makes a world of difference. Lesson #3 Swap out That Fluorescent Light Fixture Thingy.
The original light they gave me was pure plastic and bluish-white. Nice job motivating me to get up in the morning, fantastic. So out came that atrocious light and in came some LED light strip dimmers.
LED lights come in all kinds of warmth and brightness ranges so you can pick what light works best for you! I have warm white for nighttime routines and brighter lights for daytime preparations. To hide the strips, I tucked them behind my new mirror and around the underside of my vanity.
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For aesthetics, try wrapping them around a cardboard piece first so you have an idea of how it will look when installed. Lesson #4 Modify Your Showering Routine and Storage RV showers are notoriously small. Forget about a shower caddy hanging from the head – those never work in an RV shower.
Instead, I opted for suction- cupped corner shelves made specifically for boats. They’re moisture resistant and made to handle a lot of movement, which is perfect for full-time RV life. My second shower-related lesson?
Swap out your liquid shampoo and conditioner for solid bars. They don’t leak, get knocked over, or pop open during travel. Not to mention they save tons of room!
Lesson #5 Get a Better Ventilation Fan Ok. So this one I didn’t realise until much later. But holy smokes, GET A FANCY VENT FAN!
The original vent fan that came with our RV sounded like a helicopter was attempting to take off every time we turned it on, and barely sucked up any moisture. Moist air is the worst, y’all. Not only will you feel less like you just stepped into a hot, humid sauna every time you shower, but your mirrors won’t constantly be fogged up from steam either.
Trust me, you don’t want to shave by feel. Lesson #6 Upgrade Your Floor Material Our original floor vinyl was beige. Beige shows every speck of dirt and water stain imaginable.
I opted for these peel and stick tiles that mimic real stone but are completely waterproof. Now when dirt or water happens to grace my shower floors, it’s nowhere near as noticeable. The darker colour also hides water much better than lighter colours.
And because these tiles provide more traction when wet, I don’t have to worry about anyone slipping either. If a tile chips or cracks, I only need to replace that one section instead of the entire floor. Lesson #7 Edit Your “Stuff” Speaking of throwing stuff into the bathroom…don’t do that.
My first mistake was thinking I could fit all of my toiletries into the bathroom that I usually kept in a full-size bathroom. Wrong. Not only does less give you more room to move around, but you’ll be amazed at what you can live without once you’re forced to edit your “essentials.” Trust me.
Hair conditioner that doubles as body wash? Say hello to my new best friend.
Lesson #8 Use the Door for Additional Storage I added hooks at various levels on the inside of my bathroom door.
One high for hanging towels, another just below for a robe, and a smaller lower one for washcloths. However, hang items far enough away from each other so you can close the dang door. Lesson #9 Install a Shower Head With Multiple Settings Water pressure is hit or miss when you live in an RV.
Some days it’s great, but more often than not, it can be less than desirable. I installed a shower head with multiple settings, including a mist setting. During times when the water pressure mocks me and decides to spit out water like a sprinkler system, that mist setting comes in handy.
It uses less water but still provides that satisfying feeling of being cleaned. Lesson #10 Use Light Colours With Helpful Accents Painting your bathroom a fun colour may seem like a great idea, but trust me when I say, that will make your space feel even smaller. I recommend sticking to whites and neutrals like I did, then add splashes of colour with fun accents!
A colourful bath mat, scented hand soap placed in a nice dispenser, and even plants that love humidity will help brighten your space. Fun fact: Trying to find room for plants in an RV bathroom is a skill you have to learn.
