What is a half bath? What is a full bath? What is a three-quarter bath?
What does it all mean? When you’re apartment or house hunting, you’ll undoubtedly have to decide whether or not the bathrooms are the right size. We know that there are various sizes of bathrooms to choose from. So, let’s break down the various bathroom types and discover which one is perfect for you.
What is considered a full bath in real estate you ask? In order to be considered a “full bathroom,” it must contain a sink, shower, bathtub, and toilet. Additionally, a full bathroom usually requires a minimum of 36 to 40 square feet. Without those components, you can’t officially call it a full bath.
It’s called a full bath because each utility is counted as one-quarter – in other words, you add and deduct a quarter for each, be it sink, shower, bathtub, or toilet. Full baths are usually located near a master bedroom and are a highly sought-after feature of any living space.
Instead of all four components, a half bath only has two of the four, normally a toilet and a sink. Sometimes referred to as a guest bathroom or powder room, a half bath can generally be found on the main level of a home, or near the entry or kitchen of an apartment or condo.
A half bath generally requires the minimum space for the essentials but serves its purpose. Having an additional space makes entertaining less stressful, without consuming valuable living and dining space.
Of course, full bath and half bath aren’t the only types of bathrooms available to today’s homeowners. Here are some other different bathroom types you may run into on your house hunt:
While a full bath is often connected to the master suite, a true master bathroom goes beyond all four components, to include amenities such as double vanities, built-in shelving, whirlpool tub, walk-in shower, and more.
What is a three-quarter bath? It usually includes a sink, toilet, and tub – or sink, toilet and shower. While not as luxurious as a full bath, three-quarter bathrooms still offer plenty of benefits without taking up as much space. These could be included near a guest bedroom or in a finished basement.
What is a quarter bath? These are most commonly found in older, smaller homes, usually in the basement, especially an unfinished, and consist of just a toilet or shower stall. Sometimes, they aren’t even partitioned off into their own separate room.
If a space is advertised as having two bathrooms, the listing could be referring to one of those bathrooms that just contains a toilet or shower in the basement, so always double-check! Listings know exactly how to be misleading when it comes to the number of bathrooms or bedrooms in a home.
Adjoining bathrooms connect two rooms, making them an ideal choice for larger families where the bathroom might be occupied at any given time of the day. We all know what it’s like to fight over the bathroom, and this type makes it easier for everyone. Some examples of adjoining baths are a jack and jill bath, which connects two bedrooms, or a standard adjoining bath that connects a bedroom to a hallway.
No matter the size bathroom you have, when you rent you may think you have to live with your bathroom as-is. Well, there are some things you can do to jazz up your bathroom decor to give it a mini “remodel” without physically changing the bathroom what-so-ever.
Painting is a great way to add dimension and style to the bathroom. A single accent wall can give depth to the bathroom and give you a focal point to design around. Keep in mind, darker colors can shrink an already small bathroom. Keeping colors on the lighter side makes the room seem bigger, and also gives a nice calming atmosphere for your bathroom.
If you entertain often, a bolder color on one wall can be a way to wow your guests, but if you spend a lot of time in your bathroom taking baths or taking a moment before your day, a softer lavender, grey, or blue is a better everyday color.
You should be able to easily switch out the bathroom hardware. Upgrading the hardware on the vanity or closet, or even the toilet paper roll can be an easy swap out since it’s a simple replacement and not an install.
Choosing a shiny new chrome set versus the existing brass can make your cabinet look brand-spanking new without any additional painting or installing of a new vanity.
Once you have a color scheme in your bathroom, even if it’s just white, you can pick a theme or like-colors you want to have between the art, towels, textiles, etc. In a small bathroom, the shower curtain might just be your big statement piece.
It is going to be the larger space in the room and your chance to showcase your style in one, simple change. Rugs, towels, and art can create an awesome aesthetic even in the smallest space.
A relaxing color scheme includes greens like mint and pistachio or light blues, combined with a pearl or soft white. For a more colorful sanctuary, lavender, blush pink, and greys can offer a soothing backdrop to a nice hot bath, or mornings before work.
A small guest quarter bath can be made a bit more fun to wow your guests and since it’s not the main bathroom, it can be a great space to have some fun! Bold colors like red, teal, yellow, even black can give this room a fun look. A gallery wall, some nice mirror lighting, and some cool patterned textiles are perfect for your small quarter bath.
Something that makes a big difference is adding some greenery to brighten up the space! If your bathroom has a window, there are plenty of plants that can make do with indirect light, and would fit perfectly in a bathroom. If you don’t have a window in your bathroom, try a fake plant! It will still brighten up the space, but with much less maintenance.
Over the toilet storage is an ingenious invention, to be honest. Shelving that fits right over the toilet tank and creates sturdy shelves, without having to screw anything into the wall, but also utilizes that blank space above the tank, which is crucial for small bathrooms.
Those shelves can hold everything from oil diffusers to extra tissues, hand towels, and whatever you need handy! If you don’t have a bathroom closet, or want things like toothbrushes and makeup easily accessible, putting them in clear containers on shelves or even on the counter can allow you to keep your bathroom things out and readily available, while still being organized.
Places like IKEA and The Container Store are an organizer’s dream. They have all the small bathroom storage you could want. Putting sturdy Command hooks up in the bathroom is a great way to have towel storage in a non-invasive way. No holes in the walls! Simply tug the Command strip and remove. There are many ways you can hack your small bathroom and create more storage space for yourself! If you have a small apartment in general, check out this post on small apartment storage.
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