4 Small Bathrooms Before and After They Were Redesigned
See how designers have reimagined bathrooms of 4.6 sq m or less and improved function, style and openness
Having a compact bathroom doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice function or style. With the right design decisions and a bit of creativity, you can create a bathroom that feels inviting, soothing and larger than it actually is.
To get a sense of what’s possible, browse before and after photos showing how design and construction professionals updated these four compact bathrooms.
To get a sense of what’s possible, browse before and after photos showing how design and construction professionals updated these four compact bathrooms.
Before Photo
The designers removed the shower-bath and added a bright, airy shower with a frameless glass screen, kerb-free entry and a linear drain.
Handcrafted glazed white ceramic tiles installed in a herringbone pattern add texture and enhance light. The flooring in both the shower and main area is handmade encaustic tiles in a pale grey geometric pattern.
A clerestory window inside the shower lets in natural light and captures views of the majestic live oaks outside.
Handcrafted glazed white ceramic tiles installed in a herringbone pattern add texture and enhance light. The flooring in both the shower and main area is handmade encaustic tiles in a pale grey geometric pattern.
A clerestory window inside the shower lets in natural light and captures views of the majestic live oaks outside.
The white tiles extend into the main area. Brass details and a new wood vanity unit and linen cupboard across from it (seen in the mirror) add warmth.
Read more about this project.
Read more about this project.
2. Rich tones and Palm Springs vibes
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A woman who loves Palm Springs, California
Location Vancouver, Canada
Size 3.8 sq m
Designer Sarah Desaulniers of Moor Design
Contractor Bizzarri Construction
‘After’ photo by Jonathan Folk for Ishot
The owner of this Canadian townhouse lives in Vancouver, but the vibrant desert community of Palm Springs, California, is her happy place. So when thinking about updating her generic bathroom, she showed her designer inspiration photos of Palm Springs midcentury bathrooms and told her to have fun and see what she could come up with.
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A woman who loves Palm Springs, California
Location Vancouver, Canada
Size 3.8 sq m
Designer Sarah Desaulniers of Moor Design
Contractor Bizzarri Construction
‘After’ photo by Jonathan Folk for Ishot
The owner of this Canadian townhouse lives in Vancouver, but the vibrant desert community of Palm Springs, California, is her happy place. So when thinking about updating her generic bathroom, she showed her designer inspiration photos of Palm Springs midcentury bathrooms and told her to have fun and see what she could come up with.
Blue elongated hexagonal tiles on the wall behind the new vanity unit provided a jumping-off point for the design. The homeowner found the vanity at a big-box store, and the brass hardware, thin legs and midcentury-inspired style were a perfect fit for the Palm Springs-inspired space.
White shower tiles in a basketweave pattern, meanwhile, help to reflect and enhance the light.
Read more about this project.
White shower tiles in a basketweave pattern, meanwhile, help to reflect and enhance the light.
Read more about this project.
3. Traditional details with a tropical twist
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A woman
Location Portland, Oregon, USA
Size 3.7 sq m
Designers Vicki Enger of Mountainwood Homes and Sharon Hocking
Design-build firm Mountainwood Homes
‘After’ photo by Nathan Holden
This dated and bland bathroom sits at the top of the stairs on the second floor of a New England traditional-style home. The client, who uses this as her main bathroom, had grown tired of the vanity unit, which had a tiled top that was tough to keep clean. Instead, she wanted an updated space that was fun, beautiful and traditional.
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A woman
Location Portland, Oregon, USA
Size 3.7 sq m
Designers Vicki Enger of Mountainwood Homes and Sharon Hocking
Design-build firm Mountainwood Homes
‘After’ photo by Nathan Holden
This dated and bland bathroom sits at the top of the stairs on the second floor of a New England traditional-style home. The client, who uses this as her main bathroom, had grown tired of the vanity unit, which had a tiled top that was tough to keep clean. Instead, she wanted an updated space that was fun, beautiful and traditional.
Since the bathroom is at the top of the stairs, the client wanted a space that was nice to look at and felt playful, stylish and updated.
Bold blue-and-white peacock wallpaper adds colour, pattern and personality. A traditional-style alder vanity unit with an antique cherry stain and traditional-style porcelain knobs brings warmth. The unit’s elegant top is the same Carrara marble used to cap the blue tile wainscoting.
Peacock wallpaper in Blue & White, Rifle Paper.
Read more about this project.
Bold blue-and-white peacock wallpaper adds colour, pattern and personality. A traditional-style alder vanity unit with an antique cherry stain and traditional-style porcelain knobs brings warmth. The unit’s elegant top is the same Carrara marble used to cap the blue tile wainscoting.
Peacock wallpaper in Blue & White, Rifle Paper.
Read more about this project.
4. Black-and-white refresh
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A husband and wife and the wife’s mother
Location Hudsonville, Michigan, USA
Size 4.2 sq m
Designer Leah Velzen of Delight in Designs
‘After’ photo by Troy VanLangen of Above the Horizon Media
In preparation for having her mother move into their updated in-law suite, this homeowner and her husband set out to make the basic and boring bathroom, with its white fibreglass shower-bath insert and wood-look vinyl flooring, something her mum would be proud to use.
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? A husband and wife and the wife’s mother
Location Hudsonville, Michigan, USA
Size 4.2 sq m
Designer Leah Velzen of Delight in Designs
‘After’ photo by Troy VanLangen of Above the Horizon Media
In preparation for having her mother move into their updated in-law suite, this homeowner and her husband set out to make the basic and boring bathroom, with its white fibreglass shower-bath insert and wood-look vinyl flooring, something her mum would be proud to use.
Designer Leah Velzen stripped the bathroom back and removed the shower-bath in favour of a new low-kerb shower that offers ease of entry. A frameless glass panel allows sightlines through to the white glazed ceramic tiles that wrap the shower walls.
Black-and-white porcelain mosaic floor tiles with a matt finish, designed to look like aged Carrara marble, add drama and keep the eye moving towards the back of the space.
A new, single-basin vanity unit in a soft black paint (Iron Ore by Sherwin-Williams) coordinates with the floor tiles and other black details in the room. The updated design now helps to emphasise the length of the room rather than its width.
Read more about this project.
Tell us…
What are the elements in your dream bathroom makeover? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Black-and-white porcelain mosaic floor tiles with a matt finish, designed to look like aged Carrara marble, add drama and keep the eye moving towards the back of the space.
A new, single-basin vanity unit in a soft black paint (Iron Ore by Sherwin-Williams) coordinates with the floor tiles and other black details in the room. The updated design now helps to emphasise the length of the room rather than its width.
Read more about this project.
Tell us…
What are the elements in your dream bathroom makeover? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here? Zane and Savanna Rodriquez and David Sitz, Savanna’s brother
Location Universal City, Texas, USA
Size 4.6 sq m
Designers Julie Risman and Amanda Silva of The Inside Story Design
‘After’ photos by Jennifer Siu-Rivera
The homeowners took issue with the original bathroom’s world map wallpaper and the ageing beige tiles surrounding a combination shower and bath. Medium-tone cabinetry and a lack of light were other frustrations.
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