The bathroom is often the smallest room in a Tiny House. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a plain white cubicle with a shower enclosure, washbasin and toilet crammed as closely together as possible. You can also turn it into a place with a story of its own. A space that feels like a rain shower in the forest, a green cliff or the cabin of an eccentric sea captain.
To get your creative juices flowing, we’ve dreamed up three bathrooms that are just a little different from the norm.
The outdoor shower that sneaks indoors
There’s something adventurous about showering outdoors. Water on your skin, the wind brushing past your shoulders and, above you, not a ceiling but the open sky. The only problem is that in the Netherlands, you need to be rather die-hard to use an outdoor shower. Especially in January.
But why not simply let that outdoor shower sneak inside?
Fortunately, the shower itself doesn’t have to be outdoors to create that feeling. Install a tall window that can be opened and looks out onto trees, shrubs or swaying grass. Well-insulated glass keeps the cold outside during winter, while in milder weather you can open the window and let in a breath of fresh air.
A skylight above the shower completes the connection with the outdoors. You can watch the clouds drift past and hear raindrops splashing against the glass. A wide shower head projects from the wall, leaving the ceiling above you completely unobstructed. You’re warm and sheltered, yet it still feels a little as though you’re standing outside in the rain.
The materials can be slightly untamed too. Think slate-effect tiles, warm wood tones and a niche filled with a few ferns, as if the greenery itself has found a way indoors.
So while an actual outdoor shower hasn’t slipped inside, all its best features have: natural light, a beautiful view and water that seems to fall straight from the sky. Without cold feet, curious neighbours or a towel that blows away with the first gust of wind.
A vertical jungle
In a Tiny House, there isn’t much room to spread out. Luckily, you can always go up!
The vertical jungle transforms the shower wall into a green rock face. Plants hang above your head, creep along ledges and emerge from niches. Water cascades down between the leaves. It’s as if you’ve accidentally found yourself beneath a small waterfall in Costa Rica, while your home is actually somewhere in the Dutch countryside.
Of course, you’ll need plants that won’t give up after the first hot shower. Ferns, spider plants, philodendrons and pothos generally thrive in warm and humid conditions. A skylight or tall window will provide them with natural light. If your bathroom is genuinely dark, however, you may be better off investing in some good-quality artificial plants.
The plants don’t all have to be inside the shower either. A narrow planter above the shower or mounted on the wall just outside it can create a waterfall of trailing leaves.
Choose deep shades of green and earthy tiles, and give the ceiling a soft sand or clay tone. Swap shiny chrome for dark metal. Stone and wood also feel perfectly at home in this miniature wilderness. And yes, every now and then you’ll need to take a pair of pruning shears into the shower with you. That’s all part of the adventure.
A ship’s cabin
A Tiny House and a ship have a lot in common. Every centimetre serves a purpose, and compact, multifunctional furniture is a must. That makes a ship’s cabin an excellent theme for a Tiny House bathroom.
Forget blue anchors and lifebuoys hanging on the wall. Think dark wood, a round window and brass taps instead. If you really want to get creative, consider a curved shower wall that follows the shape of a ship’s hull. Use an old-fashioned bowl as a washbasin and hang your towels from sturdy hooks.
A teak slatted floor, or a water-resistant alternative, immediately creates the feeling of standing on a ship’s deck. Add warm, low lighting and, in the evening, the bathroom becomes the cabin of a captain who has sailed the seven seas and lived to tell the tale.
The loveliest detail of all is, of course, a porthole. It could be a real window looking outside or a round mirror above the washbasin. If you see trees instead of waves reflected in it, your ship has simply dropped anchor beside a lush, green island.
Good to know: the images accompanying this article were created using AI. They show how we imagine the atmosphere of these bathrooms, but they aren’t construction drawings — and AI isn’t always particularly precise when it comes to dimensions and proportions. So use them primarily as a spark for your own ideas.
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