A few weeks ago, I shared how I organized our boys’ bedroom closet with sloped ceilings and maximized their storage space, despite lots of awkward nooks and crannies.
These crazy sloped ceilings are part of EVERY room upstairs — including our bathroom — so we’ve gotten pretty good at working WITH them and using them to our advantage whenever possible.
Another example of this is in the kids’ bathroom…
When we purchased the house, there was a massive amount of wasted space next to a very small stall shower.
We maximized the space by putting in an extra-large, extra-deep tub with built-in shower storage and a “fake wall” built out so we’d have a place to put a chair (for adults giving baths), hang towels, or eventually butt a counter up to.
This bathtub has worked fantastically well for our family over the past 4+ years — always with 2 or 3 kiddos taking a bath every night.
However, now that Nora and Simon are both taking showers (previously in our bathroom downstairs) we decided it was time to hang a shower curtain by their tub so they could then shower upstairs.
Over the years, I have gotten SOOOOOOOO many questions about how we would eventually hang a shower curtain in this bathroom — many people were amazed we would ever choose such a weird bathtub/shower arrangement, and some were “certain we would regret our decision”. 🙂
Oh, ye of little faith…
Don’t you know Dave and I always have a method to our madness!?
Nothing fancy, nothing complicated — just a normal tension rod hung slightly lower than “normal” with a regular shower curtain cut to fit our space.
It took me roughly 10 minutes to remove the curtain from the package, hang it on the rod, install the rod, and then cut the bottom 18 inches of the curtain.
It’s still more than enough coverage for the kids, and no water sprays out the top — I promise!
When we use this area for the tub ONLY, we drape the curtain over the rod so it’s not in our way (we do the baths first, then showers — so the curtain isn’t wet when we drape it over).
Also, it’s probably worth noting that when we’re finished with baths and showers for the night, we hang our bathroom rug over a towel rod on the back of the door to dry (it’s always very wet by the end of the night!)
This arrangement should work for our family for a few years… and whenever the kids are taller than the rod, we’ll most likely be finished with baths at that point, so we have another plan for a “higher”, more permanent privacy curtain at that point!
Do you have any strangely sloped showers or interesting bathroom arrangements?
I’d love to know what solutions you came up with and/or how you maximize your space!
Christina says
FYI, we just use a towel for the floor for showers & baths. It is absorbent enough and we just hang it and wash it once a week. A rug NEVER dried in between so many showers and baths. And there is nothing worse than walking in and getting wet socks in the winter!
Andrea says
good idea!
Roxie says
I also use a tension rod but how on earth do you keep it from falling down from time to time? So aggravating
Andrea says
honestly, ours has never fallen down (knock on wood)!
I guess we just really wedge it up there!
Marcus Ford says
You have an extraordinary talent for house makeover. I wanted to add a sliding door in lieu of a shower curtain. Now the curtain idea looks good to me after seeing the post! Thanks Andrea!
Carol says
Marcus Ford, Having both a sliding door, and a curtain in two different bathrooms, I would opt for the curtain!!! The curtain can be easily removed and tossed in the washer if needed, and then the tub just as easily wiped with or with out the curtain in place. With the sliding door, you have to clean inside and outside the track as well as dust the top of the track, move the door back and forth for any extra cleaning (I do happen to do much of the tub clean/wipe down when I am still in the shower), and there have even been issues with the door coming off of its track (it is an older bathroom design). The curtain can also be replaced easily and less expensively if you desire to change decor.
Andreea, My children are teens and up now, but I truly cannot imagine giving them baths as babies and toddlers, with a sliding door.
Actually, when we renovate in the future, my dream book shows a walk-in shower with a curtain!
Andrea says
yeah, we most likely won’t do any sort of “fixed” panels any time soon — we love the flexibility of the curtain!
Andrea says
and the curtain is MUCH less expensive!
Andreea says
It looks very nice! Congratulations for the original idea! I have a similar space in our ground floor bathroom (so no sloped ceilings) and I always dreamt of an opaque glass wall with a sliding door to protect from water sprays. However, this would render the tub less practical for baths.
Andrea says
yes, we thought about putting in a glass panel over part of the tub but decided that wouldn’t be worth it for how much less practical the space would be for our family.
JJ says
I love the shower nook!!! And the shelf with hooks for the towels!!! Very creative with the curtain rod!!!
My kids are afraid of showers. How did you transition yours from baths to showers?
Amy says
I added a shower wand to our existing shower head. The kids didn’t like the pressure from the standard shower head. This attachment also allows me to better rinse my daughter’s very thick long hair – she is 7 years old.
https://www.menards.com/main/bath/bathroom-faucets/showerheads/rinse-ace-assisted-bather-w-detachable-8-hose/4620/p-1444431429257-c-5907.htm?tid=2678417939598389866&ipos=10
Andrea says
yes, we LOVE our shower wand too — and it is nice for rinsing off (even for kids in the bathtub)
Andrea says
our kids BEG to take showers and we don’t “let” them until they are 5! haha!
I guess I don’t really have any tips to transition — but we do use “pump bottles’ for shampoo and body wash so they don’t squeeze out too much.
fern says
Andrea, is that a Solatube or a light fixture over your shower?
Andrea says
It’s a light fixture… with a “vent fan”
Annette Silveira says
Perfect solution and it looks great!
Andrea says
thanks 🙂
Lorrie says
I love all the clever and creative solutions around your home! 🙂
Andrea says
haha –we’re forced to get creative, otherwise, we would end up with lots of wasted space!