A bathroom is a bathroom because of the equipment it contains--toilet, sink, and a bathtub or shower stall. Absent these things, you don't have a bathroom, you have a closet with a tiled floor. But trying to fit all of these things into a tiny space can make your bathroom feel like a closet. When designing or remodeling a small bathroom, it's important to always be aware of ways to creatively use the space.

If you're not using the space in the corners of your undersized bathroom, you're wasting it. One of the best ways to open up the floor plan when bathroom remodeling is to put a pedestal or wall mounted sink in a corner (avoid sinks with vanities because they tend to make things feel more cramped). Many bathroom fixture manufacturers have corner sinks specifically designed for small bathrooms. Also available are corner-mounted medicine cabinets that have a surprising amount of storage space. If moving the sink to the corner isn't an option, you can still make better use of the space by installing corner shelves, which give you added storage without reducing floor space.

A standard bathtub is five feet long, which makes it the biggest bathroom space hog. Shorter tubs are available, but too often they are simply shorter versions of a standard model, and bathers are left with bent legs and most of their torso above the water. If you want a shorter tub that still offers a satisfying bathing experience, make sure it has a high rim, which allows for deeper water to cover your body.

You can open up even more space by forgoing a tub altogether in favor of a shower stall, but be aware. A poorly-designed, undersized bathroom shower stall can be aggravating. You can open up more space--or install a larger shower stall--by locating it in a corner. And when designing your bathroom shower stall, putting the shelves at chest-height or higher can keep shampoo bottles from constantly being knocked to the floor by errant elbows, a common problem in small shower stalls.

This Old House,Big Help for Small Bathrooms, by Ilene Meyers Miller